Why did I move to the Philippines to settle down for good?

Since I am currently based in Manila, my reason for moving is certainly not because of car-free streets and the low levels of pollution.

My family and I have been “on the move” for over 30 years; there were some places we lived in that I loved and there were some that I did not. But all of them provided me with experiences that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

However, living here wasn’t a completely random option for me-- I have a wife who was born in the Philippines and our daughter is 50% Filipina but has spent her entire life in Saudi Arabia, has a very Polish surname, has a love for France, and with subpar Tagalog at best. That being the case, I’ve always considered that the Philippines could be an option one day.

The chance came when I connected with a young (although compared to me most people are young), passionate, driven, and hard-working American entrepreneur who had set up home and shop in the Philippines.

Patrick originally started Sprout to address this country’s amazingly, incomprehensively, complex timekeeping and payroll challenges.

I liked the guy. I haven’t met too many totally honest people in my life but he seemed to be very, very honest and blunt – I am happy to say my first impression of him was not wrong.

I love the company; it is passionate about developing the best solutions it can. But what I most admire is Sprout’s almost genetic belief that it grows and seek improvement in order to benefit all Filipinos in the country. Pat does not just want to create great SaaS solutions, he is actually committed through and through to giving back to the country that is now his home, and now mine.

So now we are here: I’m working for this strangely passionate man and his equally as committed and driven wife. After having spent some months in this company, it was quite easy to decide that there will be no more changing of countries...We have finally found our home.

Now whether I survive Manila is altogether another question.

I wonder whether Pat will allow me to run the Sales operation out of Dumaguete?