Congrats on all your travels… you're doing it the right way. Of course you need to see Manila… just like you've probably seen Bangkok, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, and so on. Stick to your plan…. it's solid. One suggestion: add Malaysia, KL and Penang, to your travels.

Honestly, you've told us next to nothing about yourself other than that money isn't really an issue. You didn't even say why Indonesia was your favorite. If you want advice, you need to give people something to work with. Like... what will you do in retirement? Are you married? If not, will you be looking for company? Do you want to stay in one place or travel around? Without knowing anything about what you want besides ‘somewhere that feels like home,’ I don't know what kind of advice you expect people to give.

I retired to Thailand but left after the government started taxing foreign retirement income. I moved to Tarlac City, about three hours north of Manila, where the cost of living is affordable and stable. There are very few foreigners in this community, so the locals have welcomed me warmly. An S&R membership store just opened, which is a reason to settle here all by itself. And finally, the new airport in Clark is under an hour away, easy to get to, and the fares are dirt cheap.

Iloilo has been described as a retirement destination for Filipinos, so you might want to consider it, although it won't be as cosmopolitan as Manila or Cebu. NCR (Manila is technically its own city, but the whole ‘Manila’ region is basically one megacity) has been talked to death here. Baguio is a very popular choice too. I think Cebu is the best compromise. Still very cosmopolitan, but a lot closer to the provinces. Tons of resorts and it's still growing, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding a place to live. Ilocos is a bit underrated, I think. It's the kind of laid-back, chill provincial town everyone pictures when they think of the tropics, but you're not that far from city amenities, and you can always drive down to Manila if you need to.

For a soft landing, just go to BGC first.

If you're retiring at 50, congrats. English is widely spoken among professionals, and most people are at least familiar with it. Generally, Filipinos don't get offended if you don't speak Tagalog. But if you do move there, it's not unreasonable to be expected to learn functional Tagalog.

Just way too many people packed into a tight area. The traffic is horrendous. Most goods cost more than in the provinces and smaller cities. It's a whole different beast. In my opinion, Manila is its own thing, not like the rest of the Philippines.