Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Life in the Philippines versus Life in the United States-An Update

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Life in the Philippines versus Life in the United States-An Update

I woke up late this morning very tired but lucky I am alive. My 83.5 aging years is catching up on me and punishing me with aches and pains. However when I recall how lucky Macrine and I to afford two homes, it reminded me to post the following blog with the Trump/Duterte update. Forgive me my dear readers all over the world, but I can not stop writing about our Beach House and Conference Hall in the Philippines on this day of our 61st Wedding Anniversary, May 8, 2018. Today is also the 57th birthday of our oldest daughter-Dinah! Happy Birthday, Dinah!

If you have been following my blogs, you probably know we called ourselves snowbirds. We have a retirement home in the Philippines, but our primary residence is in Northern California. The following are some photos showing the differences and similarities between our two lifestyles. Since pictures are worth more than a thousand words, all you will read are labels and short description of the photos. Enjoy my photos:

The first photo is our ranch style home in the Philippines and the second is our home in Northern California. Both houses are ranch style( one floor) about the same size( 2,700 sq.ft). The major difference is the construction and style. Our retirement house in the Philippines has two patios ( balconies) both in Front and in the Back. It has also a long driveway and the whole property gated.

Our backyard in Marinduque versus our backyard in Northern California. We have no swimming pool in Marinduque, but the backyard leads to our beach house and Conference Hall, only a few meters from the Amoingon beach-of Western Marinduque.

The first photo is our side yard in the Philippines versus our side yard in Northern California. I have two ground orchids here in US but have more than 50 non-terrestial orchids in my gardens in the Philippines.

The first photo is the twin orchids in my front yard in the Philippines versus the yellow orchid in my yard in Northern California

My jack fruit tree in the Philippines versus my lemon tree in Northern California. I have several other fruit trees in the Philippines, including mangoes, avocados, citrus trees, guayabanos, star-apple and cashew trees.

My PC in the Philippines versus my PC in Northern California. My PC in US has a much bigger monitor (48"").

Last but not least is Party time: We prepared the same food in both homes. We enjoyed both Pinoy as well a American dishes.

The first photo is in northern California with salad and Dungeness crab, versus filipino cuisine of Marinduque.

Our friends often asked us which abode do we prefer. Our answer is always the same- both places. Marinduque is excellent during winter time and Northern California is excellent during spring, summer and Fall.

As an addenda here's a comparison of Duterte and Trump:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-15/trump-duterte-bromance-no-slam-dunk-as-manila-warms-to-china
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-similarities-between-President-Trump-and-President-Duterte

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Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.

The Rambutan Tree and Fruits

The Lanzone Tree and Fruits

The Jack Fruit Tree

The Durian Fruit Tree