Hello all,
I’d like to invite the regulars to reach out and introduce themselves. I’m here to make some new friends.
I expect to spend quite a bit time here over the coming years.
Initially, I’m going to stay relatively until I get to know some of the regulars. I chose the name “Asawa” because I was a moderator on the old Asawa.org message board started by Robert Lingerfelt in the late 90’s. That was a thriving community of folks whose actual names I rarely learned. I simply knew them as Ironmike, KAIBIGAN. Miss2tk, Equitis, Don Mac, Cos (Coselman), Michael Morey (MGMOREY), UsNavyGuy, Bill (BillAndLorana), OzOrangutang, Edwin Locke, RToddHarris, PiRod, Yardboy (Roger from Mississippi), ScottBuzz, Tom the Irish, etc. If any of you here or know of them, give me a shout out!
I wrote a step-by-step K1 Immigration guide and helped over 50 folks complete their own paperwork and navigate the process to apply for a Fiancé Visa. When the forum closed, I settled into other interests.
I have been married to a wonderful lady from the Philippines since 2002. She has an amazing family with integrity and character who have not taken advantage of our generosity. We've supported our in-laws overseas, and we've put all of our siblings though college. We've' built several houses overseas as gifts to improve lives of our relatives.
We live debt free on 60% of our income, and we are max savers. I am a flexible, life-long learner and process enthusiast who likes to research, solve problems, and help others.
I have the heart of a solution analyst. I was a moderator on the old Aswawa.org Forum from about 1998-2004, ad helped over 80 folks complete the paperwork to petition their fiancé’s and wives. I'm looking to move to the Philippines when I turn 59.5.
We've been unable to have children despite 8 years of fertility treatments and the transfer of 18 Frozen Embryos. I'm the last in the line of my family here in the US. I intend to move abroad when I hit 59.5 and never work again.
Since we can't have children, we'll intend to surround ourselves with our HUGE extended family of interchangeable nieces, nephews and cousins abroad in the Digos City Area. We'll are exploring the creation of two households. An ocean front home in Samal Island near Davao City Philippines (in Davao Del Sur on the Island of Mindano), and an Inland Condo at a secure area inland in case of flooding, typhoon, or unrest.
Over the coming months, I’m going to absorb the best info that everyone has to offer. Especially safety, security, and best approaches to reduce risk. The nature of scams and scandals have changed with so much access to Photoshop and Social Media to drive unfounded rumors. So, I need to re-educate and rearm myself.
I’m a Solution Analyst and a HUGE planner. As I aggregate info and collective wisdom, I’ll start to curate common answers. At some point, I hope to be able to parrot back some of the group’s collective wisdom if folks are away. In my professionally life, I gather requirements, document business rules, develop procedures, and lead teams. Much of what we do here is very similar.
I’m flexible, well intentioned, and never malicious. For now, I’m oblivious to local politics. I’m here to build my “Plan B” if none of our last 5 Frozen Embryos result in pregnancy. My wife and I have agreed to move abroad to surround ourselves with family if our last attempt to have children fails.
Overtime, I can begin to share the thumbnail of our plan to move abroad. It’s a work in process, and I have a few details that I’ll need your help to resolve. In a nutshell, this is where my plan stands. I have several trusted folks in the US who have agreed to “rent me a closet” and “Scan/relay Mail” so I can maintain a domestic US address. When I hit 59.5, we intend to put our household in storage for 1-2 years and sell our house. We’ll go over and rent for 6-12 months (and repeat) until we find an area we like and feel safe. Since my wife is a Philippine Dual Citizen, we’ll decide on whether to buy/build and get contingent beneficiary setup among her younger (responsible) siblings. We’ll probably setup 2 household eventually. A secure condo inland where we can retreat from floods, typhoons or security issues. And, a residence on Samal Island where we’ll stay when things are calm and quiet. If all goes well, I’ll fly back and dispose or ship our household goods. If it goes poorly, we’ll simply move back to the US, buy a house, and remove everything from storage.
We plan to lead a low-key existence in the Philippines, and nobody really knows how much we make/save. Our relatives think we’ve lived in austerity and we’ve exhausted all of our resources over the years to improve their lives. They are under the impression we’ll be coming because we are so broke helping them that we can’t live in the US. They think we struggle, borrowed and beggared ourselves living on beans-n-rice to help them have better lives. And, we’ve already established boundaries and dealt with the extended family who are drunkards, schemers and louts. The reliable family members with character are all new established and self-sufficient now. We’ve helped them get land, plant the fruit trees that take 10+years to grow and have the good harvest, and we’ve helped them unpawn their harvest rights. So, we have quite a bit of good will, and an army of folks to look out for us. If we move abroad, they think it’s their turn to give back because, we gave all that we had (leaving nothing in reserve).
It’s all part of a VERY long-term plan. And, part of why I’m staying anonymous and not associating this account with my name – as I usually do. Plus, it’s great to be ASAWA.
Kindest Regards
Asawa
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