Teripid

They're in many ways the ultimate service economy. Delivery for everything, everywhere. Tons of small or cottage industry, food stalls and sari-sari shops. Construction consists of 20 guys with hammers to break something down instead of one guy with heavy construction equipment. Not sure what their overall manufacturing job % is compared to other industries.

The big emerging industry there is actually BPO, call center and the like so "manufacturing wage rate" is not exactly the indicator I'd look at. Wages there are actually seeing some improvement, especially in urban areas but they're still low.
There's a lot of legal discrimination based on age/height not directly related to the job needs. When I did interviews there, every single resume would list age, marital status, height, religion and a bunch of other stuff US HR isn't allowed to touch with a 10 foot pole. Internationals are much less likely to do this but it didn't feel like there were any controls against it.

They're in many ways the ultimate service economy. Delivery for everything, everywhere. Tons of small or cottage industry, food stalls and sari-sari shops. Construction consists of 20 guys with hammers to break something down instead of one guy with heavy construction equipment. Not sure what their overall manufacturing job % is compared to other industries.

The big emerging industry there is actually BPO, call center and the like so "manufacturing wage rate" is not exactly the indicator I'd look at. Wages there are actually seeing some improvement, especially in urban areas but they're still low.
There's a lot of legal discrimination based on age/height not directly related to the job needs. When I did interviews there, every single resume would list age, marital status, height, religion and a bunch of other stuff US HR isn't allowed to touch with a 10 foot pole. Internationals are much less likely to do this but it didn't feel like there were any controls against it.

I think you're reading into this a little too much. I was just curious. Geeze louise

I worked for about a year in PH and met my wife during that time. We're very close in age compared to most couples I've seen here (both 30) and in general most Phil-Am couples I've met. Loved the culture, people and nature once you got outside of the cities.

Fast forward a bit and add a change of job and venue and I've found more opportunity back in the US. She's interested in a change of scenery besides what we've already seen together. She wants to experience snow and a lot of new things. Right now at least the US gives us the most opportunity together and I've gotten to see her country and live there for a while as you have. Now I get to show her mine and we can figure it out from there. We talked about it at some great length together before deciding where our next step would be.

She also has a fair number of relatives already living here which will help the transition a lot. I'm assuming that might be a major factor in your wife's wanting to stay in the Philippines. We're still not sure where we'll end up and it depends on what we both are able to do in terms of career but I can see the Philippines as a likely eventually retirement location very long term and frequent spot for trips back in the future. I know she'll miss her family and we've got Skype and a number of things setup for them to help.

Everyone is different and the US itself is extremely varied. Living in California or Florida might be much less adjustment compared to ending up in North Dakota or some other more extreme climates. Certain areas also have larger Filipino communities which can help. The Philippines too has a lot of variety. Check out Baguio to see a really nice moderate climate in the mountains about 6 hours from Manila.

Pre-nup? Nope. I don't have huge amounts of property and we're together as equals so it wasn't really a question. She's actually finishing out a pretty decent management job as we're waiting for the paperwork. I still remember the first trip we took together where she insisted on paying 1/2 of everything. The chances of a marriage not working in the Philippines is likely to be misleading based on how hard it is to get a divorce too. I've known co-workers trapped in pretty terrible marriages, perpetually single or extremely long-term with someone but not married. Of course there are plenty of happy, great couples out there too that I've met. Just saying there's not a bed of roses in every case or likely that significantly different among similar individuals and also extremely hard to measure.

You can still call USCIS and ask for your case # I believe if they have it entered. From there you can track status on their website. They'll give you some updates early and changes/touches or tell you they can't find it in the system yet.

Doesn't really matter because it'll sit there for months until NOA2 but still feels nice to know.

I'm getting a kick out of this because my wife was just describing the large age differences at the required govt counseling classes today. "20 marrying a 64, Ugh!!!" is an exact quote.

What ever happened to Age / 2 + 7? I can understand Filipina liking an older, mature man but we're quickly approaching creepy levels when a guy targets only women in their 20's on internet dating or matchmaking sites. When I look at a couple and assume they're a grandfather and granddaughter going for a walk until there's a really awkward kiss I get a shiver up my spine.

70 and 20? From a government perspective sure, knock yourself out. From a "what were you thinking!?" perspective,.. You've got a 2 generation gap in addition to a cultural one. Going to go to a concert together? What about rock-climbing?

"My soul-mate was an 18 year old super model!" seems like you're looking for all the wrong things and perpetuates a negative stereotype. We're built to fall in love and many relationships can be real but I have to worry about any woman looking for an extremely elderly man.

I'm curious about the 50+ year old guys. I'm pretty sure some have children from a previous relationship. Would you be ok with your 20 year old daughter marrying a retired 60 year old?
The guy doing the whole daughter/wife thing? I don't even know where to start there..