Thinking of migrating? or already a migrant?

[KoKoNAT]

Why?

Where?

Reading a few threads about Pinoys migrating to other countries, makes me wonder about what are your reasons for doing, or planning to do, so.

For those who have taken the plunge:

Would you recommend this life-changing event to anyone? Are you satisfied with with your decision for doing so? Will you go back to the Philippines? How do you feel when some members of our society label you as 'deserters'? Have you regretted your decision, or have your ever thought that you made a mistake?

So you've taken the plunge, are you going the whole nine yards by being a citizen of your chosen country? Why? Why not? What if your chosen country doesn't allow dual-citizenship? Would it affect your decision?

For those planning/working on it:

How do you feel about starting all over again? How about language and cultural differences in your target country? Having second thoughts?



I know I may be opening a can of worms with this topic but I believe that any topic, no matter how controversial, if discussed in a civil and respectful manner, is a measure of how truly open our society is.

So fire away...

edit: added some more questions...

[GlennSter]

my parents decided to migrate because of my younger sisters..education ang pinaka reason nila.

sobrang hirap mag umpisa..daming kailangan bayaran.start from scratch.swallow your pride.

dad ko businessman sa pinas.dito sa canada wala pa siyang trabaho. investor lang.

yung kasabay namin lawyer ng sikat na fastfood chain jan.dito server siya ng same company.

yung isa naman sucessful businessman din jan...dito clerical jobs ang ginagawa.

all have the same reason: education ng children nila.life of their children. i dont know..maybe i dont fully understand because im not yet a parent.

i know some of you sasabihin na "ok naman sa up...sa ateneo..sa lasalle..or wherever..."

but they have different perceptions talaga eh. lumalabas ngayon walang tama at mali. nung una nakikipag talo pa ako sa kanila...kasi ko personally i dont wanna go here.

but then...kaniya kaniya talagang opinion sa buhay eh.

[budakdak]

i've taken the plunge and never looked back since. kung ikukumpara ko talaga, ok na ok kesa diyan sa atin kasi somehow ramdam mo ang binayad mo sa tax. dito walang masyadong pila, accessible at malilinis ang toilet, maraming parks na puwede mong i-enjoy with your kids at may mga benefits din from gov kung wala kang trabaho.

[Rediesel]

Worth it, won't exchange it (green card) even for 10M PHP.

Deserter? So what who the f*ck cares, I just know at the end of the day I have a fatter bank account a nicer ride and a happier life. In the Phil can't even dream of buying a decent SUV, here, hell I can go to the local Lexus dealer and get one even tom.

Go back to the Phil? honestly speaking I don't even have the desire (for now) to visit, gastos lang, dahil mga tao sa Pinas feeling nila ikaw ang solusyon sa lahat ng problema nila financially. They think na dinadampot mo lang ang dolyar dito, dito sa america kung kakayod ka meron kang pera pero kung hindi gutom aabutin mo.

[Chip]

Deserter? So what who the f*ck cares, I just know at the end of the day I have a fatter bank account a nicer ride and a happier life. In the Phil can't even dream of buying a decent SUV, here, hell I can go to the local Lexus dealer and get one even tom.

+1

kaya gusto ko rin mag migrate hehe :D

[theveed]

Technically, nagmigrate na ako dito hehe di ako taga rito eh... But if may dumapo na opportunity that's hard to pass, won't even think twice coz providing for my family comes first.

[Bandido]

Will be migrating soon, mixed emotions natutuwa at natatakot

[Imau]

Go back to the Phil? honestly speaking I don't even have the desire (for now) to visit, gastos lang, dahil mga tao sa Pinas feeling nila ikaw ang solusyon sa lahat ng problema nila financially. They think na dinadampot mo lang ang dolyar dito, dito sa america kung kakayod ka meron kang pera pero kung hindi gutom aabutin mo.

di naman lahat ng tao dito Sa Pinas ganun bro. baka mga kamag anak mo lang yun

[66bunny]

I'm still contemplating. I'm doing OK here so far but I always think I can do more outside the country.

It's a pinoy thing not to leave their comfort zone.

For example: A son gets married but he moves in to his wife's parent's house or vice versa. Para makatipid. Or ayaw lang talagang sumugal at gumastos kung magsasarili. It's more of a comfort thing than a challenge.

My kudos to all Pinoys who made it big in foreign lands.

I wish I'm like you. Driven and hardworking.

[oldblue]

last resort ko na talaga migration. I have relatives in L.A. area na pinondohan ng dad ko late 90's pa. ngaun kahit papano nakaka-settle na. noon, nagseselos kami sa kanila, kasi nga naman pambili lang ng kung anu-ano tinatawag pa dito eh sila na nga nasa US. ngaun, I understand why my dad did all of it, para may matakbuhan kami magkakapatid if ever lumalala na ng husto Pilipins. and from the looks it, ganun na nga talaga direction ...

but my heart says otherwise pa din. i want to play along with what's happening here in country. there are different kinds of pinoys. some have low risk tolerance and can only be productive if there is an atmosphere of order and hope and so they venture in other developed countries. am just training myself on the opposite of that just like other pinoys who have had success here. maybe it's the key ...

[onie]

Will be migrating soon, mixed emotions natutuwa at natatakot

I felt the same way when i left. Excited to finally see places that i can only dream of but also a bit nervous if i'll be able to assimilate. I was homesick the first few months (left behind a gf). Then life started getting really busy.

[Imau]

but my heart says otherwise pa din. i want to play along with what's happening here in country. there are different kinds of pinoys. some have low risk tolerance and can only be productive if there is an atmosphere of order and hope and so they venture in other developed countries. am just training myself on the opposite of that just like other pinoys who have had success here. maybe it's the key ...

ditto! I'm still hoping pa din na someday this country will be great again. I'm not earning that much but I'm currently happy with what I have right now. I still drive a beat up corolla and have a meager cash in the bank, but I don't care, as long as I'm happy and thankful for what I have. I guess it all boils down to contentment with what you have wherever you may be.

[onie]

Imau
Great attitude !

[miLes]

i guess the causing factor for migrating is the living condition here in the phil

[miLes]

kudos to you Imau and besides hirap din kumuha ng visa hehe

[Hayward]

To each his own.
Everyone has his / her own reasons for doing so. As parents, it is our basic obligation to provide for our children all the best that life has to offer. On a different perspective however, as a Filipino, I am more concerned on the long term effects of settling down in a foreign land. Will I be able to take for example the way my teens act the way teenagers do in western countries? Will I be put in a home for the elderly when I am old, etc..etc?
I might be wrong but then, it's what my thoughts are at this point in time.

[theveed]

imau: great post

kanya kanya lang yan talaga, sakin, kung san ok dun ako, lipat ulit if there are greener pastures... wala akong sense of home-sickness kasi as long as kasama ko asawa't anak ko...

sakin kasi it's silly to be loyal to something that you dont have confidence on... right now, it's this country/economy locally for me... too much bureucracy, too much ego, too shallow ang mga may power to make immediate change... but that's another story..

[KoKoNAT]

Some very interesting insights.

As for myself, I chose to migrate probably because of the same reasons as some of you had. Economic, social, political, or whatever else, I took my family and moved to Australia to start anew.

Why Australia? Several reasons actually: first, it was much easier to migrate to Australia than to Canada or the US. Besides, Canada or US or even Europe is much too far for my taste. Besides, I like Australia. Years before we migrated here, I was sent to work in Sydney for 3 months by the company I work for in Makati. I liked my experience here so much that we have decided to migrate here. Spent 3 years working in Singapore so we can pay for the cost of getting here and starting anew.

Sold everything we had in the Phils. (or else gave away to kamag-anaks) then packed our bags and flew to Sydney. Came here with only our clothes and a small amount of savings. We stayed at my wife's distant relatives for a while intending to stay only for a bit until we get settled in. Life was hard at first and there was a time that I had almost given up and considered going back, thank God we were able to make it through that period.

Almost 2 years on and now we're in Adelaide (much better than in Sydney, IMO ). Pretty much settled in now. Wife and I now have stable and decent jobs and my daughter is doing well in school. Though we are currently renting, we are now making plans of getting our own home within the year. So all in all, we doing pretty well now.

We'd plan on getting our Australian citizenships as soon as we passed 2 years. I figured that since I'm a contributing member of the society might as well have say in it. Conviniently for us, Australia recognises dual citizenship so we won't get into that quandary wherein we will have to choose between being a Filipino or being an Australian.

[CVT]

Passed on a chance to migrate to silicon valley 10 years ago, with my family.
Never regretted my decision.

A few 'what if' opportunities come in once in a while, because I have a few colleagues whom I still have contacts with and have somehow made a good impression on them earlier.

However, I still am telling my family that we should be ready on short notice to move to another country. Tough choice, but sometimes, someone's got to make it... especially if this country halts to present opportunities...

[EL Chicane]

I stayed in America for more than a year before (sent there by our company). Kung quality of life ang pag-uusapan, quality of life in America is way much better. Food is cheap, I can easily buy a decent car, lots of tourist places to go around, blonde chicks everywhere (although many of them are fat), and best of all, **** is legal and part of your rights.

Pero habang umaandar ang panahon, the need to socialize with family and friends became too great. This is because I am single, and I was staying in my apartment all by myself. There were times that I never spoke for an entire weekend kasi I have no one else to talk to. Pinoys are usually far, unlike in Pinas na pumunta ka lang sa tindahan and you can mingle with the tambays there. As a result, I spent close to $800 a month on long-distance calls to the Philippines to talk to my folks and barkadas (buti na lang my phone bills are charged to company expense )

In summary, it's hard to survive migrating to another foreign country if you are single. I guess social needs is a basic need of humans.