Stay here or migrate

We have been given new hope with our President-elect Benigno Aquino III. But it will take time before our “bad economy” really picks up. Thus, there are still many who are considering to emigrate for better opportunities. I’d like to answer a question asked of me: “Is it still possible to give our children a comfortable life here or is the most feasible solution to move abroad?”

You need to weigh your options carefully understanding the following:

The “bad economy” is not limited to the Philippine economy. It is the World economy that is badly hit by the extraordinary ramifications of the financial crises in all developed countries not to consider the rise and still rising prices of commodities (including uncertainty in oil). Anywhere in the world, perhaps unless you are extremely rich, you will feel the painful price increases in food and all other needs.

Your source of income is very important. With the decline in all economies, jobs are precarious. Losing your job while you are in another country is more catastrophic. Here, you have your family and friends you can run to. Abroad, you are usually alone unless you also have family and close friends there. However, those who qualify are given access to government “unemployment benefit” assistance.

You need to define the parameters of “comfortable.” If you live anywhere abroad, you will not have the luxury of house-help like we do here. Hopefully, your children are already trained not to depend on them. You also need to consider the higher costs of additional clothing and heating bills for winter.

Peace and order is a special desire of people who move abroad. The bad news is that kidnappings and killings also happen in other countries. We just don’t hear as much about it. In the final analysis, you just have to choose a good community and your entire family should be careful about safety and security whether you are here or abroad.

Free schooling and medical insurance seem to be the main advantages if you move abroad. However, the culture in other countries is usually more permissive and that may affect your kids’ development both positively and negatively. Medical insurance is usually attached to your job or your citizenship.

Here, the cost of schooling is substantial and needs careful preparation. While medical costs can be high, there are always doctor friends and relatives to run to in addition to relatively cheap medical insurance and/or HMO-based medical plans.

Your children's ability to find better jobs in the future is dependent on their chosen field and not where they were schooled or lived.

The good news however, could be that growth in global economy is now better poised to happen in the emerging Asian economies. Established companies and Investors in general are looking towards Asia as their main venue for expansion and establishment of new business operations. While China may lead the field in this regard, the Philippines has its own unique attractiveness if we get our act together. Going forward, we can expect real growth in the hospitality industries, such as hotels and other service-related operations, which every Filipino can be trained for. One needs only to look around to see that in more developed countries now (e.g. Singapore, Spain, etc), Filipinos are the professionals of choice. Why export our skills when we can build the industries that will hire them right here in our own country? By and large, we are still considered as an English-speaking nation with good familiarity in western business organizations. While our advantage in verbal and written communications is fast deteriorating, this can still be arrested and turned around with true political will as well as a unified effort among private educational and discrete training institutions.

While other countries may be speeding up to develop skills for global-oriented business operations, the Philippines still enjoys a substantial advantage. We can capitalize on this now!.

Finally, all things equal, it seems more idyllic to live and retire in the Philippines.

To help you cope with your financial issues, join any or all of our seminars: Pisobilities Seminar on May 29, Pera Mo Palaguin Mo Workshop on June 12, INVESTability: The Stock Market on June 18 and INVESTability: Invest for Regular Income on June 25. Call us at 6373731 or 6373741 or write info@colaycofoundation.com.