Recently, I’ve had some friends ask me the reasons of my motivation to move to Pi. While the actual list of my personal reasons is numerous, there is something that I read a few months before I left the USA that has always “stuck” with me.
I cannot take any credit for this write-up. I found it on a Forum during all of my research about the Philippines, it’s lifestyle and more importantly; the personal experiences of many other Foreigners. Some of them from the USA, Europe, Australia, etc., after their arrival here and how things are going for them 2, 3, 5 and even 8 years later after their arrival.
Again, this is NOT my own personal experience, but my internal motives, thoughts and feelings are very, very similar. One last thing….I have edited it slightly so that it’s content can be more clearly understood by the reader. Enjoy!
I was an idiot up until my late 20’s. That is to say, I wanted all the trappings of wealth and success but lacked the patience, so was always up to my eyeballs in debt.
This didn’t make me happy.
Once I realized there were no shortcuts, I knuckled down to reach my goal of financial independence the hard way. So I planned, studied, worked and implemented a plan. Ten years later I had reached my goal and had the grand estate, luxury car etc, etc.
This still didn’t make me happy.
I should have been happy. I had everything I had worked so hard for; so what was wrong? It took a while for me to realize that all that fancy stuff I thought I needed, was just adding to my stress. My car made me happy initially but that quickly faded and it became just a means of getting from point A to B. I loved my huge house and my land initially, but again the joy proved to be transitory. What I learned is that whatever material possessions you accumulate in life cannot give you long term satisfaction. Every month there were so many bills to pay, bills I could easily afford but they were a constant nagging reminder of how lacking in real independence I was. My contentment seemed to depend on paying all this money and life shouldn’t be like that. Happiness shouldn’t be directly proportional to dollars; and in fact in my case I found it wasn’t.
It took me years to fully understand and realize what I needed to do and it was not an easy decision. It’s always been my philosophy that life is too important and too short to waste. If you are not happy where you are, then you owe it to yourself to make changes; big changes until you find an arrangement that works. So I sold the house, the car, most of my possessions and moved in to a small 2 bedroom flat here in Australia. This proved to be a wise choice as living simpler gave me more peace of mind and I’ve never regretted it. I didn’t miss the “stuff” and rather enjoyed a contentment completely independent of how many fancy gadgets I owned.
But after a while my thirst for travel and adventure compelled me to seek fresh fields to graze upon. I was so bored with Australia! I’ve been to many countries but never to Asia so I researched for many months before choosing the Philippines as a likely candidate for living a few years. I was there in Pi for 3 days when I decided I wanted to stay - at least until the differences cease to be so different and it gets boring.
My needs are few and any more than them……I do not want. I have no desire to slip back into a materialistic lifestyle I have long since foregone. I determined what my minimum needs are and will stick to them.
1. Comfortable, clean, safe, air conditioned environment.
2. Fast internet.
3. Cable TV.
4. Located in a good area in a City with lots of shops nearby.
The last point might seem a little ironic but despite rarely purchasing, when I do need to buy something, I don’t want to have to search high and low to find it.
Now don’t get me wrong… Money is very, very important. However, working your whole life seems to me such a waste but you have to have enough money so that your money can work for you and the income it provides can meet your needs. But what I discovered and maybe it only works for me, is that no matter how much money you have, and how well you can afford a gaudy lifestyle, to allow yourself to be seduced by the siren song of the shiny trinkets, is not a true path to contentment. It becomes like a drug that you constantly need another hit. The greater your presumed needs, the more fragile is the foundation to your happiness.
The simple life is a contented one. When you are less obsessed with accumulating stuff, there is more time for spiritual contemplation on the things that really matter.
So “How expensive is a relatively low needs lifestyle?” In my case, around $600 USD a month. Despite what others may think, I’m not poor and could easily spend many thousands a month but I know spending more than I do, would not add to the sum total of my happy life. On the contrary, doing so would likely detract from my net enjoyment in the long term. I don’t like spending money, because I always have to ask myself, is this going to make my life better or worse? Furthermore, indulging in a profligate lifestyle will find you surrounded by fair weather friends and women who don’t really care about you as a person but rather as a meal ticket and their company is predicated on the continuous flow of funds.
But there is no single answer to the question posted of how much it costs to have a “low needs” lifestyle. It is rather too subjective to define in a general sense. First you have to think carefully and define exactly what your needs are. The above is what works very well for me but each must follow their own path.