For many young people, particularly those coming from the provinces, living and finding employment in Metro Manila upon graduating from college is a particularly popular sentiment. Whether this is due to a false conception of the place derived from inaccurate portrayals of Manila in popular culture or simply a manifestation of a sheer desire to live away from home, many fresh grads do go out of their way to seek a new life in the city.
I will be graduating a semester from now. One of the things I am seriously considering upon graduation is to look for a job in Manila and live there, maybe for a few years. Should I end up liking living there, I may consider staying there for the long haul. The problem is, I have no relatives in Manila and I have no idea how life is like there. I’m not sure if this is just some dumb idea, but I like the prospect of moving out from our home and living on my own.
- Ella (Catanduanes)
There’s a reason why despite all the bad news shown in the media about life in Metro Manila, many young people are still drawn to the idea of living here. After all, Manila is the country’s economic, cultural, and political capital. As such, there are supposed to be plenty of available job opportunities, entertainment and cultural destinations, giant malls, and all sorts of fun things to do here.
But moving in to Manila requires a lot of thinking, particularly if you are coming from a far-flung province. You simply cannot hope for the best.
It’s important to place some context to how life in Metro Manila is. While it is true that there are quite a number of job openings here, the fact is life in the city is not the most ideal. Here’s why:
There are parts of the metro that are noticeably clean and modern, but the rest is just dirty, squalid, and strewn with trash, if not peopled by vagrants and street dwellers. You are walking in some rich neighborhood one moment then see informal settlers living in subhuman conditions the next. The contradiction is so stark, it’s almost scandalous.
When they say traffic in Manila is bad, they are not kidding. Because of the sheer scale of the problem, it takes hours just to go from one place to another even within the city. The commuters of Metro Manila who have been long suffering from this problem can do nothing more than bear it and endure the daily hellish ride.
The economic opportunities available in the metro require skills and educational eligibility. Most people who are uninitiated with the ways of the city migrate with the idea that they could pick up a job here in a snap. None of this is true. The fact is that if you do not have the required skill or education or employment background, you are likely to end up with a blue-collar job or a job in the informal sector.
If there are economic opportunities available where you are from, it is best to just stay there rather than take your chances somewhere uncertain. Life in Metro Manila, as has been concluded by various studies, is not the most ideal. Better think things through.
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Got a question yourself? Post it in the comments section below or on any of our social media channels. Watch out for the next edition of Q&A Tuesdays next week!
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Got a question yourself? Post it in the comments section below or on any of our social media channels. Watch out for the next edition of Q&A Tuesdays next week!