Mabuhay, fellow expats!
I am a young expat originally from Western Europe. I was still studying in college when I met my then-girlfriend, a Filipina studying in Manila. We first met in 2011, got engaged in 2013 and married in 2014. We now have two children and could not be happier. She is 23, I am 25.
At first our relationship largely took place on the internet. We were in a long distance relationship initially, even the first year after our marriage. It was at times challenging, because at the time we had to deal with a newborn baby who needed her constant care. However, as she is a very smart lady with a good support system back home, she was able to graduate university despite the fact she was breastfeeding a child under the age of one.
From late 2015 to early 2016 she stayed in my country of birth for a few months where she met and was warmly welcomed by members of my own family. I continued to work in Europe throughout this time, and before. In March 2016 however I quit my job in my country, and my wife and I decided to move to try our luck and move to the Philippines. Whenever I stayed in her country I was always touched by the warm nature of her family, by their close family ties. I really wanted that for our own family. By this time, as we were leaving for the Philippines, we were expecting our second child.
We have lived in the Philippines for over six months now. The money I saved up in previous years has been invested in several little businesses. The main source of our income is the planting and selling of fruits, pineapple and mango especially as well as rice. I get along fabulously with my in-laws, who are both educated professionals. My wife's grandparents, uncles and aunties are a great to us in raising our family. Her father-in-law has proven to be invaluable in our business dealings and his advice has helped me a lot.
Right now we live with my wife's family. It's just her parents, us and our two (very young) kids. My wife's younger sister is still studying and lives in a nearby boarding house. For a Filipino family, they are not particularly large in number although there are many cousins and second cousins, all of whom are either our "insan" or "auntie" or "uncle".
I'm one of the forums youngest members from what I have read and also one of the few who has nothing to do with the military. For what it's worth, my father was in the military before haha. But I have enjoyed reading the forum and would like to be a more active part, maybe reading some more about you guys' experiences raising a family in the Philippines, or setting up a successful business in the Philippines. I do not, sadly, have the benefit of having a military pension already so I have to rely on what little savings I have left and the ways in which I am able to make my money grow.
Topic: Young European expat here (Read 2859 times)