A retired Gen X couple moved from New York to the Philippines and built a $140K dream home facing the sea

• Greg and Wilma Maroney moved from New York to the Philippines in 2021.
• The couple put together a 10-year plan that led them to build a sea-facing dream house for $140,000.
• "Your retirement dollars are stretched here in the Philippines," Greg said.

After Greg Maroney's fourth trip to the Philippines with his wife Wilma, he knew it was where he wanted to retire.

"I fell in love with the Philippines from the very beginning," Greg, 56, told Business Insider. "It was kind of an ember from the first trip, and every time I came back, I fell in love with the culture even more."

The couple, who have been married for over 20 years, first met while working at a pharmaceutical distribution center in New York.

Greg grew up in a blue-collar family in a typical three-bedroom home along New York's Hudson Valley.

Wilma, 48, came to the US when she was 18. She was born and raised in Leyte — an island in the Philippines about 350 miles southeast of Manila — where she and her family were squatters who didn't have a proper place to live.

"Wilma always said she wanted to build a dream home for her parents, which she did after many years of sacrifice," Greg said. "So after we came back from our fourth trip in 2012, I turned to her and said, 'I'm building you your dream house.'"

While Wilma was initially reluctant to move back to the Philippines, she soon warmed up to the idea and began to share her husband's enthusiasm.

To ensure they could achieve their goal, the couple — who were living about an hour outside New York City at the time — put together a 10-year plan to save money.

"And for the next few years, we sacrificed. Whenever we got a bonus, a raise, or got our taxes back at the end of the year, we had an account that we called the 'Philippine Fund,' and we just kept packing money away," Greg said.

On the mountains, facing the sea

The couple managed to retire and move to the Philippines in July 2021 — a year earlier than planned.

Since they wanted to attend viewings in person, they waited until they arrived in the country before searching for the right place to build their home.

Two important factors for the location were that it had to be within 30 minutes of a good hospital and have an ocean view.

"We looked very hard in Leyte, because that's where Wilma's family is from. And then we branched out to Cebu, to Bohol, and spent about two or three weeks on those islands," Greg said. "We were living out of a suitcase, going from hotel to hotel, trying to find a good piece of land."

Greg estimates that they viewed about 150 lots over 11 months before they finally found the right spot in Dauin in Negros Oriental, a province on Negros, the fourth largest island in the Philippines. Negros Oriental is about an hour and thirty minutes by plane from Manila.

The plot of land they fell in love with measured about 12,000 square feet, and was located on the slopes of a mountain that overlooked the sea.

"When we came up here onto the property with the real estate agent, we were facing the mountain, and we both turned around at the same time to look at the ocean," Greg said. "Wilma said, 'This is it. This is the lot right here.'"

The couple paid 1.8 million Philippine pesos, or about $32,000, for the land. Since foreigners can't own land in the Philippines, the land title is under Wilma's name.

Challenges were faced due to geographic location

The couple spent seven months building a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a car porch and a pool on the lot.

They faced challenges during the construction process due to the geography of the land. Not only was the ground on an incline, but it was also covered in a lot of rocks.

"We are 640 meters — about 2,100 feet — above sea level, and we're only about seven kilometers to the ocean. That's a steep climb," Greg said. "We had to rent a very large excavator to move all those rocks so we could place the house and pool appropriately."

The single-story home, which measures about 1,808 square feet, cost 3.3 million pesos, or about $60,000, to build, he said. The pool was a separate cost of 800,000 pesos, or about $14,500.

The couple designed the house independently but found a local architect who could translate their sketches into proper blueprints.

"We sat down with paper and pencil, and we drew out exactly how we wanted it," Greg said. "Wilma's a great cook, and she wanted a real nice kitchen. So we did that in the center of the home and then branched the house out from the kitchen."

The entire project — land and furniture included — cost 7.8 million pesos, or about $140,000, Greg added.

They are 40 minutes away from the nearest airport, and it takes just 10 minutes for them to get downtown — where there are good restaurants and popular scuba diving resorts, he said.

"One of the things on our bucket list was to get open water certified for scuba diving," Greg added. "We passed, and so we scuba dive occasionally."

Being on-site during construction was crucial

One thing they learned from building a house in the Philippines was the importance of being on-site.

"Not all designs are perfect," Greg said. "We made changes to the house mid-build to make it better."

For instance, when the contractors were installing the windows for the master bedroom, the couple noticed that the openings were smaller than they'd like, Greg said.

So they approached the contractor, who took their feedback into account and created bigger window openings, he said.

"If we weren't here, they would've installed that smaller window," Greg added. "We would've been fine with it, but we made things better by being here every day."

A slow life like they always dreamed

Now that they're retired and living in the Philippines, the couple says that their pace of life has slowed down dramatically — something they always wanted.

"We were going after stress-free living. We were in the rat race," Greg said. "New York itself is a fast-paced environment, and then we come here, and it's almost like we need to find something to do."

So far, their first year in the Philippines had been spent looking for property, while their second year was spent building a home, he said.

"Now we're sitting back saying, in our third year, we need to find something to do — so we have a dog now," he added.

Being out of the rat race also means having the freedom to do what he wants whenever he wants — instead of having to wait for the weekends, Greg said.

"If I want to go scuba diving on Tuesday, I can go scuba diving on Tuesday. I don't have to be at work on Tuesday and plan it for the weekend," he added.

It also helps that the cost of living in the Philippines is much more affordable than in the US.

"Across the board, things are very much cheaper. Your retirement dollars are stretched here in the Philippines," Greg said.

Making new friends on YouTube

The couple has been documenting their life in the Philippines on their YouTube channel.

And it all started because they wanted to keep their friends and family back in the US in the loop about the progress of their home.

"I was doing all these little videos and sending them through email, and WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger," Greg said. "There was a point where I was sending it out to 10, 15 people a day."

At the suggestion of their three sons — two from Greg's previous marriage — the couple decided to upload everything to YouTube to make things easier for themselves.

"I didn't know how to upload. We didn't know how to edit," he said. "We had to go around and ask people for help."

That said, the couple's channel now boasts almost 9,000 subscribers. It's a hobby that has given them a chance to make new friends while reconnecting with old ones.

They've even had three subscribers-turned-friends who are now building homes in the same area, Greg added: "There are a lot of people like us that are looking to do this."

Take your time to find the right spot

The couple has some advice for those interested in moving to the Philippines: Take your time.

"Branch out and look at multiple islands — don't just focus on one location," Greg said. "And if you like to go to a nice restaurant and have a good steak once in a while — like we do — you don't want to be four hours away from that restaurant."

Have you recently bought or renovated your home and want to share the details and photos of the process? Email this reporter, Amanda Goh, at agoh@businessinsider.com.