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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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One of the things we miss about living in the Philippines & Indonesia is having a bidet in our bathrooms.

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When I was in @jumbo.schweiz recently I saw a bidet that can be installed with the sink.

It only works if your sink is near your toilet so sadly it won’t work on our master’s bathroom.

I wasn’t sure our faucet was the correct size but I took a risk for CHF20.

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As a renter, I want to avoid making holes in the walls whenever I can. Even if I weren’t a renter I don’t recommend putting holes on tiles coz they might crack.

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*** Amazon affiliate links on my bio under BIDET HACKS ****

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The toilets here are all built in. There are no exposed tubes to connect bidets to like in Asia. 

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https://undiplomaticwife.com/how-to-install-a-bidet-in-a-european-toilet/

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FOR US:

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#udwinsantaclausvillage
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