The idea of buying a house in Batangas used
to strike me as impractical. Heck, even knowing the idea that there are beach condos in
Batangas that are up for sale kind of makes me wonder how filthy stinking
rich do I have to be to not only afford that condo but spend time away from
work to stay there?
I work in Makati. I do graveyard shift for
some call center and go home to an apartment, rented solely by my. I seldom see
neighbors as most of them have day jobs. I wake up around 6pm, eat, dress for
work, work, go home and that’s about it for me every day for the past 15
months. It wasn’t until recently that I realized I needed a break—monotony kind
of got to me and I really wanted to quit a well-paying job.
One morning, before going to work, I
stopped to take in the city’s skyline.
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I set out for Matabungkay on my next off
days. Matabungkay is a little town in Lian, Batangas I remember going to as a
kid in the 90s. It’s a small beach community with quaint accommodations and
very shallow waters. I remember wallowing in the wave-less shores there and
fall into a nap.
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As usual, and as I excitedly expected, I
was met with the familiar rural vibe that made me feel at home, safe,
comfortable and so in touch with myself. I even rented out one of the floating
cottages all to myself. I spent 3 days just eating, reading, talking to people,
and napping. It was a lazy weekend and I found it to be just what I needed.
Looking at all of it, I could make a living here and probably only spend some
600 pesos a week; it wouldn’t be the most luxurious life, but it would be a
very simple and happy one.
The thing that almost got me to stay longer
was the night sky. It was unlike any night sky that I was used to seeing in
Makati. Not only were there stars, there were TONS of them! And there were ever
meteor showers. There was so much I wasn’t seeing because I was blinded by city
lights. I would call it a moment of epiphany.
So yeah, I guess from then on, I realized
how much value living in a house or beach condo in Batangas has—on any other
rurality for that matter. The urban life is definitely a good life but that
doesn’t mean that the rural life isn’t. The city lights are just as promising
as the night sky of the province.
I got back to work after the weekend with a
better outlook on work, a bigger dream for myself, and plans of going back to
Batangas—anywhere—and staying.
