Retire In The Philippines Now

Philippines Video: Mall of Asia Ice Skating Rink

Owned and developed by SM Prime Holdings the SM Mall of Asia is the 2^nd largest mall in the Philippines and the 4^th largest shopping maal in the world. It’s land acerage is 42 hectares and floor space of approx 4.2 million square feet. It is located at Bay City, Pasay City, Philippines near Manila Bay. Approx 200,000 people visit the mall daily.

My favorite feature of Mall of Asia is the regulation size Ice Skating Rink. According to wikipedia:

“The mall features the Philippines’s first Olympic-sized ice skating rink. At 61 by 30 meters, the rink is described as the biggest of its kind in Southeast Asia. It can accommodate both recreational and competitive figure skating, as well as ice hockey. Along with plain access and skate rentals, the rink’s operators also offer training programs in both figure skating and ice hockey. Several ice skating competitions have been held at the mall’s ice skating rink, the most prestigious yet having been Skate Asia 2007. It was also the first time that the Philippines had hosted any international ice skating event.” I have a video I shot recently while visiting the Mall to show you what the rink looks like.

Philippines Video: My Place to Relax

The saying about all work and no play makes life boring is very true. When the hustle and bustle of the city gets me wound up I go to my place to relax which happens to be in Macaleeng Pangasinan. With a sunset like this everyday and such a beautiful view from my front yard (beach) why would I ever leave? Notice the sounds of roosters in the morining.

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Philippines Video: High Above Manila

A friend of mine upon hearing that we would be eventually retirng in the Philippines said “There is nothing in the Philippines except rice fields and grasshuts.” Well to anyone else who would think that about the Philippines I give this view from high atop Manila.

Philippines Video: Lingayen Pangasinan Trip

A little of a tour of the Pangasinan Provinicial Capital of Lingayen. This place has great historical value during World War II.

Philippines Video: Pangasinan Entertainment

Filipinos of all ages are usually very talented when it comes to singing. This was small version of mariachi band type entertainement. The guys came by our house in Macaleeng Pangasinan and sang for a few pesos. What was more amazing is what the guy used for drums and drumsticks.

Philippines Video: Sison Auditorium Lingayen Pangasinan

Thanks to the Governor of Pangasinan Amado Espino Jr, the Sison Auditorium formerly known as the “Grand Provincial Auditorium” is renovated and ready to become Pangasinan’s center for performing arts and cultural center.

Governor Espino felt that the buildings in the capital area needed a facelift and wanted them done by the celebration of the Agew na Pangasinan celebration, marking the 430th founding year of the province.
Previously the auditorium was used for cultural events and other events such as beauty pageants, stage performances and even a badminton tournament.

The name Sison Auditorium comes from the name of the late Governor of Pangasinan Teofilo Sison, who was the first Pangasinese to become Secretary of National Defense.

Philippine Theme Parks:Enchanted Kingdom in Santa Rosa City Laguna

One of the best things about living in a place where the weather is warm, especially if you like theme parks, are the parks staying open almost year round. You don’t have to wait for the snow to melt to ride your favorite roller coaster or water slide. So it goes with theme parks in the Philippines and my favorite, Enchanted Kingdom.

Enchanted Kingdom, located in Santa Rosa City, Laguna is about 16 miles (29 kilometers) from Manila. It covers an area of 41 acres and is managed by Enchanted Kingdom Inc. Enchanted Kingdom has about 30 rides including 2 roller coasters and 2 water rides.
Some of the attractions include the Space Shuttle Max which is the premium roller coaster, a river rafting ride called the Rio Grande, and my favorite Dodgem Bumper Cars. In the park there is also a nice 4-D theater, actually a couple of them, and a Laser tag arena. If you get tired you can stop at the Lake Spa and get a massage.

Of course, there are differences between U.S. theme parks and Philippine theme parks such as food offerings and the cleaniness of restrooms but these differences make your trip to Enchanted Kingdom a little more special. The prices are much more affordable here compared to stateside theme parks so it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to take your family there.

All in all, I would recommend this theme park as a place to visit while in the Philippines. My only complaint compared to the U.S. parks is that you never know if your favorite attraction will be operating on the day you go. I’ve been there times where a couple of the most popular rides have been down, but that is less than 5% of the time and you can just find another favorite. Go to Enchanted Kingdom and enjoy a day at one of the Philippines best theme parks.

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Places to Retire: Nuvali/Santa Rosa City Laguna

One of my favorite places to visit close to my home in Binan is the Nuvali area of Santa Rosa City in Laguna. The City Of Santa Rosa is one of the best cities to live in Laguna Province of the Philippines. It’s nickname is “The Investment Capital of South Luzon” and it is about 40km south of Manila along the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). It is actually a suburb of Metro Manila with a population of around 267,000 people although it could have been bigger had it not split with the city of Binan, where I reside. Even though, Santa Rosa is the 4th largest city in Laguna behind Calamba, San Pedro, and Binan.

A few years ago Santa Rosa was mostly known for being the home of a Coca-Cola plant and Toyota facility but more recently it has become more famous for places like the Enchanted Kingdom, a theme park, as well as the Nuvali technological park and several new residential areas.

What I liked about Nuvali is the location of the park which has a lake which you and your family can take boat rides on. Or you can relax at Starbucks or one of the nearby restaurants and watch the workers from the nearby call centers enjoying a sunny afternoon. This place is a growing metro area but is still small enough that you don’t have to worry about pollution or traffic. They have a very environment friendly attitude and it shows with the cleanliness all around. This is definitely one place you should check into as a retirement area. There are new housing developments being constructed as I write that are very modern and inexpensive. I have included a video and links to sites about Nuvali that you can check out. I am in the process of editing a video of a recent trip I made there with my family and will be posting it on YouTube soon.

Helpful Links

Nuvali Evoliving

Santa Rosa Magazine

City of Santa Rosa Website - under construction as of 3/9/2010 but does contain helpful phone numbers and email addresses

How to Travel the World and Still Make Money

This post is about a recent post on johnchow.com that shows Yaro Starak giving a presentation of how he travels the world and still makes a good living while doing it. Yaro is one of the leaders in internet marketing and affiliate marketing. His material was one of the first I studied before deciding to start my internet marketing business. Here is a good example of how you can retire in the Philippines and still make money. To read the article CLICK HERE

Dive Philippines

If you like to dive the Philippines is the place to retire to do it. Just search the many sites relating to diving in the Philippines and Philippine Dive Resorts. The water is clear and the water temperature is very comfortable and you are guaranteed to see things underwater that you will not see anywhere. Check out a video I enjoyed from YouTube and think about making a trip to dive in the Philippines.

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