What Every Expatriate Needs In The Kitchen
Every year more and more American citizens are becoming expatriated and making the move to live abroad. Some will decide to move their entire households, part and parcel, and just set up their ‘old shop’ into the new location. Others will transport just a bare minimum of ’stuff’ with them, electing to begin again with all new things for their new place. There’s a lot of this going on in the Philippines. Here’s why.
One key factor drawing retired Americans to the Philippines is the low cost of living. A Social Security or disability check that can hardly make ends meet in the U. S. Can afford a comfortable living standard in the islands. How about a nice, 2-bedroom, 2-story house in a gated residential subdivision for about a hundred fifty dollars a month? Or a ten dollar a month water bill, $20 electric bill and less than $30 a month for high-speed internet and premium cable TV combination?
If you want to buy that same property in the Philippines you can get it for less than $30 thousand U. S. The only problem is that Filipino law forbids the owning of land by foreigners. You can marry a citizen and she can buy the house with your money, but you’ll NEVER own it, probably not even if she passes away.
For this reason (among others) renting a house can be the best idea, especially a furnished house. Obviously there are some things that will be missing, especially in the kitchen, that you’ll have to provide yourself. A tiger rice cooker, if not already part of the furnishings, is a must have. Most Filipinos eat rice three times a day, so it’s a very big part of the culture. Tiger is the most popular rice cooker made.
A countertop microwave is also something you might seriously consider. It’s a must for reheating leftovers and who can live without microwave popcorn? All the appliances here run on 220 voltage unless used in conjunction with a voltage converter. In this case, a new converter will run almost as much as a new oven.
Tropical fresh fruits and fruit juices are abundant in the islands and a necessity in any well-equipped kitchen is a hand blender for use in whipping up smoothies and other liquid concoctions. They’re handy for lots of mixing jobs besides drinks, too. Available models are simple to use and easy to maintain.
Most appliances bought in the U. S. Won’t work where the voltage is 220 (unless a voltage converter is used). The exception is electronic devices like computers, cell phones and MP3 players. Most of these will either automatically adjust to the voltage or there will be a switch on the unit for toggling between 110 and 220. Consider this when you’re packing your stuff for the big move!
