© Mike Gonzalez, 2005.
We haven’t yet bought tickets but we’ve updated our itinerary page and are researching ticket prices to Thailand.
We could stay longer here...I mean we’ve figured out the internet thing, we’ve nailed the housing thing, we’re really close to having a full time cook and maid. It’s like 3 out of 4 (factors in finding a home) ain’t bad right? We thought we could get acclimated to the heat and enjoy some of the creature comforts we have where we’re at.
But in the end, we’re not cut out for the heat. It’s all about sweating buckets here. Even though it cools off to 70ish at night the humidity is in the 80% range which makes 75 at night still uncomfortable. We like a lot about Davao, specifically how safe it is and how easy life here feels. However, there is one thing we cannot change, the climate. We decided at the beginning of this journey that in order for us to settle somewhere we’d need unanimity of liking the things we cannot change. Since Davao will not be home for us, it’s time to move on.
Yes, we could stay here for another couple months, we enjoy the great parts of being here and we can easily survive here in Davao. We do plan to keep exploring the Philippines and enjoy trips to Samal (the island right off of Davao) Eden Nature Park, possibly Mt Apo and the other cool things in this area. But in the end, if we know that this will not be home for us and there is an entire world to explore then let’s get going!
The most surprising thing for me (Paul) is that I initially had a resistance to moving from Davao, a couple things played a role in that:
- The transition to here didn’t go as smoothly as planned for the business due to lack of quality internet access
- We’ve got it good here now
- It’s really really easy to make a great life in Davao
- The climate of Chiang Mai doesn’t seem that much different (according to wikipedia).
However, before leaving the states from all of our reading and from connecting with friends who have been to Chiang Mai, I was convinced that of the four places we set out to visit we’d most likely find home in Chiang Mai. I thought we’d dislike the Philippines. Yet, here I was dragging my feet when it was clear that the time to move on is imminent. So after some time of reflection and prayer I’ve settled on the fact that it’s my fears preventing me from wanting to move on, and God didn’t call us to a life of fear, He goes before us and will help us through the next transition.
So when you think of us as these huge risk takers know that we have to watch our fears and keep them in check too.
Paul Kortman
Dad of 4, husband, blogger, digital marketer, follower of Jesus. I podcast at nomadtogether.com and own connexdigitalmarketing.com We're on this crazy journey to travel the world as a lifestyle. Looking for help in how to live as a digital nomad family? Join this Facebook Group!
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Hahahaha!! Compared to Thailand, Philippines is heaven!! Thais in general despise the Farang foreigners, they are forever trying to rip you off or worse, and they are sour!!…Filipinos are nice, polite, friendly and openminded people, very helpful! And real honest…compared to most…I do not think however Davao is the best place in Phils, others are way better, Bohol, Panglao, Camiguin, and Dumaguette is gorgeous! I have a restaurant about 6 hours to the north of Davao…that is Surigao Sur, it is an unexplored part as yet…no multitudes of druggies, sex tourists and child molesters who flood into Thailand!! No wonder Thais despise foreigners in general…
We never had any negative interactions with locals during our time in Chaing Mai or Bangkok. The people we met never seemed as though they despised us. I am sorry if you had a bad experience. The Philippines did seem ‘more’ friendly, open, and safe in comparison but not enough to put Thailand in a bad light.