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EXPAT LIFE: When home has changed as much as you have

February 11, 2016

I can’t believe that after more than 6 years living overseas, we are finally back in Manila! I was really excited to speak the language, be back to everything familiar and feel at home. I was in for a surprise!

I never thought I would say this, but after only 3 years without coming back for a visit, Manila seems so different!

I was shocked by how much the prices have gone up. How did it get so high in 3 years? This is bittersweet. Yes it is stressful to look for additional means of income to cover the higher cost of living. (So please do support my little blog by clicking on links But it is also sweet, because it means that Manila is progressing. The prices of rent and property are going up because there are many more expats in Manila. The economy is progressing, prices are going up and hopefully the income of people are going up too!

The traffic is way worse. I always thought Jakarta traffic was worse, but I think Manila has caught up. I can complain about it, or think positive and hope that this amount of traffic becomes a tipping point, so that the movers and shakers finally see the need for more efficient forms of public transport, better city planning – wider roads, zoning and limiting of number of vehicles that can be owned – so that we don’t have too many people and cars for the capacity of roads.

Vibrant, crazy Metro Manila has grown in so many ways. The skyline itself has changed. I didn’t expect I would have any anxiety about driving in Manila, after all this is where I am from. But with so many new developments, I feel lost in certain areas where entire communities have popped up.

It was different during our four years in Jakarta, because we kept coming home every few months, but during our 2+ years in Berlin, we decided it was better to explore Europe while we were there.

As we come back home, we are much changed after living in two very different countries and cultures. But like us, Manila has also changed and grown.

I remember reading an article about expat life, when we began this crazy adventure more than half a decade ago. I’m paraphrasing here, but it said that when you’ve lived abroad, you not only feel like an outsider abroad, but when you go home, you also feel like a bit of an outsider too, because you have missed so much of what’s happened at home.

Now I realize how true this is. And that this is okay. I will just have to get to know Manila again. Expat life has taught me resilience, finding beauty and joy wherever I am, and that home is wherever my husband and our little family is.

Have you ever lived abroad? How many years were you away and what was it like for you coming back home? What changes did you notice the most? Were there things that were the same, but that you weren’t used to any more? How did you cope with these things?  Post it in the comments below and let’s discuss!

image via best expat cities | migrating miss

10 Comments · Expat Life, manila good to know, What's Happening

Comments

  1. christian says

    February 12, 2016 at 11:49 AM

    Nice written, go on with your reports

    Reply
  2. Didi says

    February 12, 2016 at 7:38 PM

    You’re now officially repatriated! Welcome home!

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      October 10, 2018 at 6:21 PM

      it’s beens so crazy, that i’m just replying to you now!!! My gosh!

      Reply
  3. Kitkat says

    March 3, 2016 at 9:27 AM

    Welcome Back to Manila. A lot have changed — Please bear patience with traffic jams and a lot more….

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      March 4, 2016 at 2:30 PM

      Thank you Kitkat!

      Reply
  4. Pau says

    March 4, 2016 at 9:54 AM

    Nice to discover this wonderful read. Thank you and keep on blogging.

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      March 4, 2016 at 2:11 PM

      Thanks for the words of encouragement Pau!

      Reply
  5. Marvin says

    June 19, 2016 at 10:49 AM

    The last statement is soo.. spot on. Being an expat living most of my time in countries where my work needs me to be, always be optimistic to new surroundings even if the feeling is so sad to leave behind another place we got used to.

    Reply
  6. Jenn says

    November 27, 2017 at 1:33 AM

    REading this almost 2 years after it was first written, It still warrants a lot of discussion! being a toddler’s mom puts a whole new spin on cities, I cant wait to hear about how that has changed your view of what’s important in a place to live and grow.

    BTW, love the font that my comment is coming out in and the new sleek clean elegant look of your site- the glittery gold elements just stand out a bit more than before now, is that intentional?

    LOVE YOU!!

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      October 10, 2018 at 6:25 PM

      And here I am answering another year after. it’s just been so busy. when we arrived in manila, we were sure we wanted to live beside some green space so our toddler can run around and get tired. we really had to bite the bullet on rent, but it was so worth it. the quality of life having greens outside (and plants inside) is just better. Do i wish we had more greens, and less mosquitos and insects – yes – but i am happy with what we have, that we’ve basically bought with our rent money. we could have saved it, but I don’t want to imagine a life in manila without you in the same building luv.

      Reply

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Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

I love Halloween because it’s super fun for @dip I love Halloween because it’s super fun for @diplobaby. I love how his eyes light up. Before I was a parent, there was no reason to decorate.

Glad there is now a @gifi.ch near us with affordable HALLOWEEN DECOR & COSTUMES. 🧛‍♂️ 

I hope you enjoy seeing what they have in this short video! 👻 

It’s not lost on me how much plastic is used during Halloween, from the polyester costumes to the decor elements. 

ECO TIPS:

🎃 I usually slowly built up my Halloween decor. I buy 2-4 pieces each year

🎃 I take good care of them & store properly so I can reuse for years to come. It’s never singe use!

🎃 I also don’t throw away as much as possible. If there is damage, I repair.

🎃 If i dont use something anymore, I pass them on to others by selling it for a fraction of the price on Marketplace.

🎃 If it doesn’t sell, I pass them on the Pay it Forward Nyon group or place them in the donation pile in our dechetterie where others can take them.

🎃 if it’s not repairable, I take it apart so that the materials can be recycled.

🍭 As for TREATS, I hate the PLASTIC wrapped candy 🍬 so we usually give PAPER wrapped mini chocolate bars.

⛑️ HEALTH TIP:

If a piece of decor or costume SMELLS STRONGLY OF PLASTIC, DO NOT BUY IT! That’s toxic VOCs leaching into the air. It’s not good for you!

What about you? How do you try to have a sustainable Healthy-ish Halloween?🤪

I usually go in the same costume every year. Change is overrated lol. What about you? Do you know what your wearing this year?

#UDWinGeneva #udwholidays #udwhalloween
HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
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