Say, is that the escape hatch?
Use in case of emergency
When the current Recession started, I mused to my wife that an extended visit with my Filipino relatives might be in order. Not the ones in California (although that’s long overdue, as well) - but the ones on the other side of the planet.
At first the suggestion was just kind of a joke, but as the situation worsened - as mortgages began to go up like roman candles, and everyone’s 401k plans evaporated - well, it seemed less funny with every passing day. I started considering the implications of moving my family to a foreign country. How would the kids deal with being dropped into an alien environment? Where would we live? Where would I find work? Could I find work?
Seeing stuff like this didn’t help much. Plus, my dad is always going on about wanting to retire to the Philippines so there would be a better than even chance I’d have at least one parent around. Whenever I ask my dad about emigrating to the Philippines, he always dismisses the notion - usually with ‘Why the hell would you want to move there?’
So I’m left with the nagging feeling that, though I may not want to move there now - I’ve always got the option. I’m fairly skilled - I’m trained and employed in a high-tech creative field. I could probably make a decent living if I put my shoulder to the wheel.
I suppose the real reason I bring this up is because I was listening to Art Bell on Coast to Coast AM from the November 30th broadcast. I know, I know - he’s a bit of a flake. But he’s a likeable flake, unlike most of the wingnuts on AM talk radio. Plus his guest that evening was theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, a show regular who never fails to disappoint. At any rate, early in the show Bell was addressing the economic situation and - coincidentally - his recent trip to the Philippines. Bell’s current wife (and previous wife, come to think of it) is pinoy and he consequently spends a good amount of time in the Philippines. He described his latest sojourn thusly:
It is interesting, I spent some time in the Philippines recently. We kind of live between two countries, that’s what we’ve been doing - and the Philippines to a large degree was not effected by what’s going on in the rest of the world, and one of the reasons for that of course is that it’s not been involved that much with the rest of the world in the first place. So it cannot be that much affected. And it has not been. Their banks had very little exposure - maybe a tiny bit, and that’s it. Otherwise everything goes on pretty much as normal, in fact not as much exposed as the rest of Asia was. So I guess that’s a good and rare thing. But back here, I just don’t know. And they tell me that - what has happened here in the U.S., as bad as it is, is gonna be nothing compared to what happens in Europe.
So while I have no immediate plans to skip town, lets just say it’s on the back burner. It’s always good to have a backup plan…
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