In two weeks' or so, we are upping sticks and moving halfway across the world to the Philippines. To a number of people, this may seem like a very strange decision - we are moving from a first world country to one that is, if I am to be positive about it, a developing country; we are leaving the UK and its seasons, free healthcare and tea to move to the Philippines' overpopulation, pollution, traffic and shortage of decent cheese. But for myself, my husband and our three children, this is the best move. The past couple of years have been challenging: two years ago loving husband (LH) was in a pretty serious motorbike accident and last year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Although we are both well now - LH has his bionic shoulder and I have been given the all-clear - it's challenges like these that make one re-evaluate and re-assess lives and understand priorities.
What the Philippines will offer us is time; quality time to spend with each other, our children and the rest of our family. It's very easy to get caught up on the treadmill of modern life and its material entrapments: the bigger and faster car, the bigger and fancier kitchen. So, we've made the decision to step back and be more mindful, and we're hoping that a move to the Philippines will give us this quality of life that we yearn.
After all, we intend to make annual trips back to the UK, giving us the seasons; we can escape Manila's overpopulation and traffic by visiting one of the more remote islands of the country; I've bought 1,800 bags of tea to take with us and I'm lactose intolerant and really shouldn't be eating cheese.
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