Moving to Philippines From US
Are you missing the essence of adventure in your life? Then the Philippines might be the place you are looking for to commence the next chapter in your life.
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Introduction
For those who prefer having a laid-back lifestyle in a warm climate surrounded by numerous palm trees, the Philippines would be the best corner of the world to turn.
Especially when work from home has become a lifestyle everyone gets the liberty to explore new experiences with the perfect balance of work-life and family, then why not picking the most delightful country in the world, the Philippines?
The Philippines is located on the east side of Vietnam in between the south china sea and the Philippine sea. This geographical situation allows the country to possess this beautiful tropical marine climate.
In the Philippines, the monsoon season works differently in southwest and Northeast areas compared to other western countries. November to April Monsoon stays in Northeast corner while in the southwest it starts from May to October, quite fascinating right?
The capital of this country, Manila, is vastly known as “The Peral of the orient.” In this buzzing center of the country, more than 21 million people reside. Keeping that figure in mind, no wonder why the Philippines comes 13th among the most populated countries across the Globe.
Apart from the population, one of the prominent growth factors of the Philippines is its sustainable and extensive economy. The seaport of Manila makes the Phillippines a crucial point for import-export industries. Moreover, Numerous industrial developments have been built around the country’s capital, which enables the country to create a more sophisticated economy.
Furthermore, when it comes to biodiversity the country possesses around 70% of different variants of birds and species worldwide due to its diverse habitat and geographical isolation.
If we talk about the diversity culturewise, the Filipinos speak around 200 languages, although the most popular ones are Tagalog and Cebuano, amongst the others.
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Moving to the Philippines from the US
Undoubtedly, the Philippines is an exquisite country to live in, but Moving to Philippines from US could be a bit tricky and complicated process.
Both countries are situated in the opposite direction in all terms from the standard of living to the weather. So, moving to Philippines from US could not be a mere relocation, but one needs to prepare for every element of this country, especially when they are moving with their family and kids.
Here, We come into the picture to save you from all the trouble and clumsy relocation situation.
Our skilled experts will guide for a thorough procedure from visa to the Philippines’ healthcare and education system so that you could make stress-free relocation address the more exciting part of the journey, the experience!
Relocating
If you are moving to Philippines from USA for a significantly long period. In that case, it could be quite a grueling process for you to relocate all your furniture and delicates as you are not just only changing the countries but the entire continents as well!
To ease your complexity, we have gathered average shipping rates for various Philippines locations from the USA to give you a fair idea of what amount you would need to be prepared to spare while relocating.
In general, the Ocean fright rates range from $3500 to $4500 to the capital of the Philippines from different locations of the USA.
Let’s explore more fares in detail to get you the precise idea of the particular location you are moving to.
USA | Philippines | Rates |
|---|---|---|
Columbus | Manila | $1,561 |
Cincinnati | Manila | $1,721 |
Los Angeles | Manila | $1,098 |
Houston | Manila | $1,338 |
Charleston | Manila | $1,081 |
Best shipping rates for 20 FCL containers to the Philippines from US.
USA | Philippines | 20FCL Rates |
|---|---|---|
New-York | Manila | $1,071.40 |
Miami | Manila | $1,071.40 |
Jacksonville | Manila | $1,071.40 |
Charleston | Manila | $1,071.40 |
Earth Relocation provides shipping assistance in multiple ways providing the best price and service in the Industry.
We will provide you profound assistance from the Moving process to the settling-in process through our well-versed and highly experienced movers.
Now, let’s get a panoramic view of the top cities of the Philippines which will enable you to get the best lifestyle of the Philippines with the ample availability of resources to reside there comfortably.
American Expat Living In Philippines
The Philippines is filled with numerous Metro cities and states with splendid scenic views and robust infrastructure through which the Philippine economy is built. Expats choose their destination based on their employment opportunities, the education system for their kids and
Let’s move forward by taking the first destination, the capital of the country, Manila!
Manila
The Metro city of Manila is widely known for its expat friendliness. Cities like Bonifacio Global City and Makati city may top the list of the top favorite destinations for Expats coming to the Philippines from every corner of the world.
As these cities are one of the popular cities in the country, one needs to pick an accommodation place very wisely as these cities are significantly populated and therefore, always consider the elements like available transportation services, commute hours at the time of choosing the place to stay.
Cebu
After Manila Metro city, Cebu is the second popular choice for expats to reside. Cebu offers almost every facility and comfort as Manila with less air pollution and urban congestion.
So it’s like a win-win situation that nobody could refuse!
The international Airport of Cebu connects you directly with several other international cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur in a single flight. Hence, connecting to other parts of the Asian region becomes convenient from Cebu.
Moreover, internal parts of Cebu, like Mactan, are considered a safer place for expats and Foreigners, so most of them tend to prefer living there as they find their community there.
Davao City
This Fruit Basket of the Philippines has everything to lure the expats towards the city. Davao is considered one of the prosperous and vibrant cities of the country due to multiple reasons like its Expat friendly community and its warm-hearted people.
It is also known as the main hub for commercial exchanges. If you are looking forward to experiencing the authentic culture of the Philippines, then Davao is the perfect destination to live in for the long term or at least a few years.
Davao largely makes its maximum revenue from the production and export of vast varieties of fruits. Mainly agriculture and gardening is the main source of income of the people of Davao.
To discover more about these and more fascinating cities of the Philippines, connect with the experts knowing locals and begin your life in the Philippines stress-free!
Working As American In Philippines
Even though most people consider the Philippines only as a popular travel destination, the Philippines has one of the fastest-growing economies in the Asian region.
Astonishing for many, the main source of income is not tourism of this country, but the Manufacturing and Agricultural business earn the highest percentage of income.
It simply means the Philippines also give vast opportunities for employment to the expats and its local community.
As an expat, if you are seeking a job in this booming economy, there are few factors that you would need to consider before applying anywhere.
This factor includes understanding the country’s social security system and how the hierarchy of the local business culture works in the Philippines.
As local government is making their full efforts to compete with other developed Asian Countries, as a positive consequence, the employment infrastructure can create more job opportunities for people in the country.
If we look into the employment structure in the Philippines by the job profile, each one has a different pay scale and demand of a worker in that particular sector.
Here are the rough latest estimations of salaries(In USD) of various professionals in the Philippines that one should look at least for if they are skimming the job market in the Philippines.
Profession | Median Salary Range |
|---|---|
Sales Manager | $42,000 |
Dentist | $27,000 |
Mechanical Engineer | $26,000 |
Teacher | $22,000 |
IT Manager | $21,500 |
Finance Manager | $20,800 |
Web Developer | $11,000 |
Nurse | $5,000 |
Cashier | $4,200 |
Waiter | $3,900 |
Work Visa Requirement
Every individual who moves to the Philippines from the USA must get AEP- Alien Employment Permit to start working in the Philippines. On average, the whole process of acquiring a work Visa can take around two to three months.
Every expat must report to the Philippine Department of Labor & Employment (DOLE) to get their AEP. For Non-immigrant visa holders, one can also acquire this report at the nearest consulate or the embassy in their country.
Moreover, Your work position and the duration of the contract largely affect the AEP validity. For private-sector employees, in most case scenarios, the social security services are covered. Although, voluntary coverage could be taken for the spouses and family members whose coverage is not included in certain categories of the insurance policies.
On the other hand, military personnel and Government employees have their insurance system figured out.
Quick Fact: the Philippines has been ranked 12th from the 40 countries in the Asian Pacific region in the Index of Economic Freedom in 2021, reporting only a 2.2 unemployment ratio in the country.
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Healthcare In Philippines
Since 1991 Local Governments of the Philippines have taken the responsibility of running the Healthcare system in domestic areas. Although the Private sector and Government both are well established and trusted for medical services in Filipinos.
However, Private Medical services are majorly popular and available in the urban areas of the Philippines. On the other hand, the Government rules the rural areas to serve the best healthcare by providing and building regional and specialty hospitals and health centers for common people.
In general, one can diversify the public medical services in three major ways based on the providers. National, Provincial and Local Government Providers are targeting various localities as per locations.
Unfortunately, the medical services are considered quite lower quality than the services offered by the private sector.
Hence, while thinking about Moving to the Philippines from USA, one must be prepared to loosen up few bucks if they require to get frequent medical attention.
Housing And Accommodation
A proper housing facility is more necessary than a mere need if you move to the Philippines from the USA with your family and kids.
Fortunately, the Philippines have multiple lifestyle choices to offer you when you decide to live here. From Rural farmhouses to condos, you can find every kind of housing facility per your requirements and budget.
Usually, the rents are not quite high due to the low cost of living in the Philippines, yet you can find them high in urban areas like the Matro city of Manila.
To find the best housing for you and your family, you can rely on certain internet listings and national daily newspapers. The rent is usually paid on an annual basis and that too in advance by postdated checks.
Expats normally prefer living near where most people of their community live. However, safety is never an issue when it comes to Housing facilities in the Philippines.
Visa And Registration
All non-immigrants can move to the Philippines from the USA through various visa categories like Business visas, Investors visas, and the most popular pre-arranged employment visas.
The visa process is not necessarily a tedious process for this country as it does not require much documentation and formalities to be done.
Philippine Department of Affairs verifies the residential and family details of the visa applicant and then stamps the approval on the visa application considering various documents from the applicant like-
- Valid US Passport
- Two filled application forms
- Medical and physical report of examination by the authorized physician.
- Four identical pictures with signs of the applicant below
- Visa application fees
- Police clearance report
Having legitimate employment of the Philippines-based company could benefit the visa application of the applicant in significant ways.
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Education in Philippines
If you are worried about the drastic change your kids might face while changing countries and the possible mode of change in education they are getting till now, then put yourself at ease as the education system in the Philippines is pretty similarly modeled after the US education system.
As education is not a choice but compulsory in the country, the literacy ratio is pretty high here. Mostly the higher education is run by private schools and churches.
Primary Education
The Government has prominently focused on primary education. Hence, the drop-out ratio after primary education is quite high. However, the initiatives have been started to develop the education system on the primary level and cover each level of education for the kids.
Higher Education
Comparatively the higher education in the Philippines cannot come that up to the mark as the USA. Still, the opportunities of higher education are there if one wants to pursue through private institutions.
Cost of living in Philippines
One of the biggest flex of moving to Philippines from US is the low cost of living compared to the USA.
If the numbers speak approximately, the consumer prices are 83% higher in the USA than in the Philippines. This allows the Expats more opportunities for Saving and Investing.
If we go for the domestic expenses in both the country’s everyday consumer items, you can see the drastic difference between prices.
To get the precise idea, let’s explore the cost of everyday essentials.
Essentials | Philippines | USA |
|---|---|---|
A meal in a regular diner/restaurant | $150 | $750 |
1 cup of Cappuccino | $115 | $215 |
1 Liter Milk | $87 | $43 |
Eggs | $88 | $115 |
Cigarettes | $110 | $400 |
Taxi-Normal Tariff | $40 | $162 |
Monthly Local Transport | $550 | $3,200 |
Pre-school 1 month | $9,800 | $46,000 |
Primary school-Yearly | $270,000 | $770,000 |
1 bedroom apt in City center | $15,600 | $66,000 |
The inexpensive cost of living in the Philippines makes this destination more favorable to live in the Expats from the western countries.
Conclusion
The Philippines is the tap of opportunities for everyone, especially for the digital nomad community who loves to explore new experiences with the perfect work-life balance.
At Earth Relocation, our seasoned Movers will cater to your exact requirement and are aimed to provide you a custom service as per the size of your move and location.
Don’t take our word for it ask our more than 10,000 satisfied customers till now.
Connect with our experts now to get professional guidance on all the practical services you would need, from shipping your delicate valuables safely to finding your new home in a foreign country while moving to Philippines from USA, we will be there in your every need!
