Manny was making good money in Jersey City.

And every single month he watched it disappear.

Rent was $1,800. For a studio. No concierge. No gym. No pool. No balcony. Just four walls and a bill that showed up like clockwork while nothing about the life felt like it was moving forward.

He is 40 years old, originally from Puerto Rico, and has traveled to Georgia, Armenia, Canada, and countries across Southeast Asia. A man who genuinely knows how to get the most out of life.

In Jersey City the most he was getting was a studio.

He pays $630 here. Floyd stopped by to see what that looks like.

One-bedroom. Balcony overlooking the pool. Gym in the building. 24-hour concierge that checks every visitor before they can come upstairs. A view of Metro Manila stretching all the way to Makati and Rockwell.

The unit came mostly furnished. Manny and his fiancée added a fridge, a TV, their own furniture. Their cat has a bed in the corner of the bedroom. He does not know the exact square footage. He just knows it is bigger than anything he had in Jersey City for $1,800.

That comparison is all he needs.

Manny lived in a different part of Metro Manila before making the move to BGC. More local. More neighborhood. He enjoyed it. But BGC fit his lifestyle better.

He is a walker. BGC is one of the only places in Southeast Asia where you can walk to almost everything. Restaurants, groceries, the greenway on the far side of the city he only discovered after months of living there. No car. No Grab fees piling up. Transportation cost is essentially zero.

He also travels constantly. BGC sits close to the airport. For someone who uses the Philippines as a base and the rest of Asia as a backyard, that matters more than people expect.

In America Manny was making good money and still felt like he had to watch every dollar. The costs were always one step ahead.

Here that weight is gone.

He said it plainly. If you make decent money and you are smart about how you spend it, you can really live a comfortable life here. You do not have to make a lot.

He felt financially free for the first time.

Come first. Do not decide from a couch in the States.

Spend at least three weeks here. Move around. See more than just Manila. Get a real feel for what daily life looks like before you commit to anything.

And find someone you can trust to help you navigate it. Manny was direct about this. There are scams here. There are people who will take advantage of you if you do not know what you are doing. Do not hand your money or your housing to a stranger with no track record.

That is exactly what our team is here for.

Click here to start your move to the Philippines the right way.

Travel Well,
Pinoy Floyd
Evan Lorezca
The Savvy Expat