A New Life in Paradise: Retiring in the Philippines

Escape to paradise... but can you truly find yourself there?

James Faulkner thought retirement meant slowing down. Instead, it became the start of everything.

Leaving behind the familiar streets of home, James moves to Dumaguete-a sun-drenched city on the coast of the Philippines-seeking peace, purpose, and maybe a little adventure. What he finds is far more complicated: language mix-ups, sweltering heat, expat misfits, and two young women in his household who upend everything he thought he knew about connection, love, and belonging.

From local fiestas to typhoons, quiet beach walks to community dinners under fairy lights, James begins to stitch together a new kind of life-imperfect, unexpected, but deeply human.

A New Life in Paradise is a warm, character-driven novel about reinvention, cultural discovery, and the messy, beautiful reality of starting over in a place that feels like home... even if you never meant to stay.