The house was inside an established neighborhood with a village in its suffix.  However, we did not see any 24-hour guard and gates which bothered us first but after seeing the house we were willing to set it aside.   At the back of the house, we could see a giant Buddhist Temple and it was breezy and full of mature trees around it.  There were plenty of spaces for gardening which is a great plus for us.  It also had an enclosed or screened sun room or verandah with doors that you could lock.  Everything was in great condition and lovingly cared for so to speak.  Only thing is that it was not airconditioner ready but it was a house made to be well ventilated.

And so, we called the owner and told her that we were interested in renting the house and told her about our requests regarding installation of airconditioning units, extending the height of the gates among others.  All of our communication was done via e-mail.   We filled up a whole application form that looks like a job application form.   We had to fill in our incomes, employer information (current and past) and even had to provide 2 personal reference letters and 1 from our bank!  Geez we’re not even buying the house yet.  And then then we didn’t hear from her for a couple of days.  We got a bit worried so I gave her a call.  She told me that she is still working on the documents and her power-of-attorney to be given to her friend who lives here.  So in the end, we agreed on a September 1 target move-in which would be reflected in the contract.

Another issue that we still had to settle was the live-in caretakers.  We were given the choice of hiring them. If we do not hire them, then they obviously have to find a new place to live.  Eventually, we could see ourselves hiring household help primarily to have someone watch over the house while we’re not there and also for the additional work and maintenance involved in having a house with a garden.  We decided to visit the house again and interview the caretaker couple living there.  They seemed quite a nice and industrious couple.  However, as it turned out, she was already 4 months pregnant!  OK, that is a deal breaker indeed.  With this in mind, we thought it might be better to offer the place to our current driver and his wife who is also our all-around cleaner who comes everyday to clean the office and our condo.  They have been working for us since March and we are very impressed with their attitude and the quality of their job.  Only thing is that they have a toddler .   But that issue can be solved with a little organization and some house rules I think.  I hope they accept our offer.

Meanwhile, at work, a new developer was hired for doing .NET work but we were lucky to find out he was also good in Linux he was able to setup and configure our internet well in the office.  We are currently interviewing more Junior to Medior PHP programmers.

With regards to the work, MrC’s team is on a crunch time now. They even had to do overtime last weekend. So, it’s really quite sad that while everyone had to work a little extra hard these days.. the facilities are not working so well.

It’s hard to deny that the pollution is bothering us a bit. We have put a 3M filter and it turns black after one week. We also have an ionizer/air purifier that also turns black after a couple of days. It seems that our patience is running out also with regards to our apartment. We need a bit of order and breathing room and looks like the place just isn’t something we see ourselves staying for more than 6 months.

I would be a hypocrite to admit that I am all happy happy joy joy during these days.  But the truth is, I may be experiencing some sort of reverse culture shock.  In a way, I am quite shocked to realize that I have not totally embraced the idea of living my life here permanently.  First of all, the biggest thing I am having a hard time getting used to is finding out what I really want and what my role is in MrC’s business. From time to time, I get into a mini-panic mode that I am totally f#$% up in my career so to speak.  My usual default is to find a job but somehow this is no longer practical for me.  In short, I am very confused now about what the hell I am doing in this country.  My first instinct is to go back to the States where I could be with people I know and somehow be in a sort of system which I have come accustomed to.  I like the freedom and independence there, and also having simple stuff that works like HOT water, electricity, plumbing– things like that.  When I say independence, I also mean financial independence, earning something that I know comes from my own efforts.   I definitely do not want to be a housewife (not that there is anything wrong with it) but it’s just NOT ME and I do not ever dream of being one. I sometimes worry  about not having a career (whatever that means).

On the lighter side,  I would also miss spring!

However, this situation I am in is a double-edged sword.  On the other hand, I am in a place where starting a business needs so much less capital I know I can start up things with much less risk.  However, I totally have no clue where to start and if I start on something I have this tendency to get lost along the way or lose fire (ningas kugon).  I think this is one thing that I need to really change about myself.  I have to follow through– I need to be self motivated to continue on what I started.  One thing this country has an abundance of is plenty of nicer, courteous and helpful people. And true enough, abroad, I feel that most people are rather into themselves most of the time.  There is a serious recession taking place there and it is probably something I have not experienced or seen before in my 9 years of living there.  So with this, I am still grateful of being here and not having to worry financially.  And yes, I am quite happy for MrC’s business taking off finally and I am willingto support him in every way I can… After all, isn’t that what marriage is all about?

Yesterday, MrC and I went to the Makati Extension Office of the Bureau of Immigration, located at the Board of Investments Building to submit our paperwork. There we applied for his ACR Card, and for the implementation of his probationary permanent visa. They fingerprinted him there both electronically and manually and also took his picture. Everything was done quite well and we are very satisfied with the experience. But note that we paid 500 pesos extra per service for express lane. I think it is well worth it. We didn’t really line up at all! However, I had to make several trips upstairs to make photocopies. We also made a separate trip to the Glorietta for MrC’s 2×2 ID photos. We used taxis all the time. We waited a bit for a taxi to come by on several occasions. Overall, we find using a taxi very convenient and less stressful for us since we don’t have to worry about driving. We always made sure we had enough small bills on hand.

I find our first week much less troublesome than the first trip since we were more or less in a settled situation. Having an apartment helps a lot! And there are also less surprises now since we learned a lot from our first visit. For some reason my feelings about living in the Philippines are a lot positive than the first visit. Sometimes I even ask and wonder again why Filipinos leave the country — especially those that live comfortable lives, then again, I remember why. However this time, I see a lot of nice things we Filipinos miss abroad and locals take for granted here: nice, friendly, smiling and less rigid people, more choices in supermarkets and a lot more dining options. I am comparing this with US and Europe. Oh, I almost forgot to mention we were able to open bank accounts easily at HSBC. BPI was closer but they absolutely did not want our business. They asked to many things from us and things didn’t seem possible so we’d rather go to a bank that wanted us.

Til next time! I’ve got to work!

I had two goals: first, is to visit the house and neighborhood where I grew up and second, is to look around for places where we want to live.

Villages or subdivisions are the counterpart of the suburbs in the US so to speak. We visited both middle class and upperclass villages. The upper-classy villages

we visited were developed by Ayala Land and Landco. Ayala Land is one of the most reputable developers in the country. You can’t go wrong in your investment with them be it condominium or a lot. Don’t worry I don’t work for them at all. This is just from my observation after having lived in a Condominium developed by Ayala called the Columns and visiting a subdivision called Ayala Westgrove.

They do take care of many details such as security, infrastructure, and quality of life by making sure strict rules are implemented and using modern techniques such as underground power lines. We loved the Ayala Westgrove in Silang, Cavite! It is not cheap for sure but it sure is better than taking a 30 year mortgage for a small rowhouse (100 sqm) worth 250K euros in Holland.

A house and lot here would cost roughly 150K Euros and that will be roughly a 250 sqm FA house on a 400 something sqm lot. Another nice development in that area is the Ponderosa which is more like a hobby farming community.

Anyways, let’s not go overboard with this. We also looked into middle class housing

somewhere in San Pedro Laguna or Cavite area developed by Filinvest.

Ready for occupancy house and lot with 100 sqm FA costs roughly 3 Million Pesos or 45K Euros. We also looked into smaller houses that cost not more than 2 Million Pesos (below 30K Euros).

As of now, my main criteria for choosing a location would be:

• good and strong running water and village developer does NOT control water distribution, example centralized water works that is controlled by developer
• availability of high-speed internet connection and preferable not monopolized by a single provider
• availability of cable tv (not necessary but a plus)
• high elevation, no flooding
• movie theater, mall, restaurants, market, groceries, stores or schools within 10 minutes drive (I don’t want to live in a jungle or deserted island)
• Not too far from Quezon City, Taguig, or Mandaluyong/Ortigas CBD (maximum 45 minutes drive)
• lower pollution and cleaner cooler breeze (is that too much to ask?)

The places that interest me now are the following:

Here’s a good list of properties and prices in that area.

Bulacan (21 municipalities). The closest towns to Metro Manila are Meycauayan, Marilao, San Jose del Monte Bocaue and Santa Maria.

According to wikipedia:

“On December 12, 2007, Bulacan and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) signed an agreement for the development of an P11-billion bulk water supply project. Ayala-owned Manila Water Co. Inc. will implement the project. MWSS and Manila Water will provide a financial package of an infrastructure grant, a P10-million development assistance and a P10-million royalty fee to the towns of Norzagaray and Doña Remedios Trinidad, which will host the water supply project.^[2]“