Life in rural areas may seem unexciting or tedious to some people, just like my fellow millennials, and at some point, having a feeling of lower energy due to the lack of more significant and better opportunities offered to them.
That's exactly how I felt a little over a decade after finishing college and getting my professional license. Back then, I see myself working in an urban area, a bigger city that is vibrant and more alive.
That dream became a reality. I lived and worked in Metro Manila. That is the city of dreams for many people, especially my generation. It is a place where we can enjoy the best of the corporate world. Working in a great and big company. Wearing corporate attire. Earning better compensation. Living the best life. Those are the great things about urban living; we have the best of everything.
Despite some levels of success and career fulfillment, there comes a time of self-realization about what success means and what we must sacrifice to achieve our most coveted dreams.
I have experienced city life, which is highly livable in the Philippines. In Metro Manila, from the former Capital - Quezon City of the north, down to the finest Business District of Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The fantastic mountain resort of Baguio City in the Cordilleras and the Finest culture of Iloilo City in the Visayas. Those place I have lived and worked offers the best life with the highest National livability index. Rural areas or towns are not even considered livable due to a lack of economic development and other factors.
After more than a decade of living and working in the top livable cities in the Philippines, I see economic development and opportunities in the countryside, an emerging local economy through good governance and better planning.
I have experienced city life, which is highly livable in the Philippines. In Metro Manila, from the former Capital - Quezon City of the north, down to the finest Business District of Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The fantastic mountain resort of Baguio City in the Cordilleras and the Finest culture of Iloilo City in the Visayas. Those place I have lived and worked offers the best life with the highest National livability index. Rural areas or towns are not even considered livable due to a lack of economic development and other factors.
After more than a decade of living and working in the top livable cities in the Philippines, I see economic development and opportunities in the countryside, an emerging local economy through good governance and better planning.
Despite the economic development and prosperity in more fabulous cities like Metro Manila, people living and working in those cities are experiencing the downside of urban living.
For years, Metro Manila has been having difficulty solving issues on livability. For several years I have experienced problems with public transport as a commuter. I have suffered from falling in a long line on a metro rail due to glitches and a lack of train coaches. Due to traffic congestion, I have endured hours on the bus on the way home after work. We have suffered from days of rotational water interruption. Those are part of the basic needs we have endured, and the cycle seems to go on year after year. We have suffered from it, but that has become our worst reality.
There are more things we have sacrificed. Our health has been at risk due to the stress those problems have caused. More people are getting sick, maybe not due to the nature of work, but due to stress, anxiety, and fatigue caused by air pollution and travel time on the road, from home to the workplace, and vice versa. I endured almost 5 hours of travel time in a day when I worked in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig while living in Caloocan City. That is from North to Southbound and vice versa. I was not alone. I am among the thousands who share the same fate in the Metro. Those are the sacrifices we have to endure for a living. But that may have come to an ending.
Living in the Metro is excellent, but there are options here in a city that is no longer healthy but only for survival's sake.
There's life in the countryside, in the Rural area we used to live. We may have temporarily left Rural living, but it will always be in our hearts. While others make endearing sacrifices just to live their dreams in the Metro, we are fortunate to have a countryside we can return to.
In the countryside, we enjoy vast land and greenery. We have the best natural landscape and scenery. We breathe cleaner air and drink spring water. We are awakened and greeted by the chirping of the birds at dawn. We can see the incredible sunrise while having a cup of coffee. We have a bright sunny day and look up above the blue skies. We see the mountains, the hills, and the valleys. We can swim in a river or waterfalls. We can witness a beautiful sunset. At night we can go stargazing. We go to bed and fall asleep early. We have a goodnight's sleep. These are not our vacation escapes or fantasy. This is not a dream but our living reality, which best describes the place we love to be.
That's a quality life! Not much extravagance, but only a natural living that rural life offers.
In the city, people can build a fortune amidst chaos and suffering; in the countryside, we can live a life of simplicity and serenity. In the town, we define success by the number of wealth, while in the country, we feel successful when we are in perfect health.
No wonder, in today's time, more people invest in real estate properties in emerging Provincial areas even though they are already established in the cities. Some would acquire a townhouse property. Others would buy a lot for future house construction. More families spend their vacation on an eco-farm. More people patronize farm tourism activities to escape the city life's hustle and bustle.
© 2019 Del Cusay
