It's been over a year since we escaped to the countryside, particularly in the flourishing Nuvali community. Here's a look at how we are coping with daily commutes, grocery shopping, handyman works, date nights, hospital trips, church attendance, and many more.
If you've read my old post 'Me to Missus,' you would know that we stayed in my husband's family home in Manila as we waited for the turnover of our Nuvali property for over a year. We had a lovely time in his parents' house and we enjoyed being with his family. But obviously, we now have our own little dwelling in the South. One year on to our adventure, how much has changed in our way of life? Oh boy, you are in for a LOOOONG read!
1. Full-time working (and commuting) conditions
It was actually a pleasant experience for me, ironically. It only takes me 1.5 hours to the office from Laguna, compared to my almost three-hour trips from Manila to Makati and vice versa. My long, unpredictable queues at the colorum shuttles in Gagalangin, Tondo and at Rada street in Makati are already out the window. No more soaking wet during typhoons at shedless, informal terminals. No more flood to evade in Buendia and Blumentritt. No more paying P500 for one-way rides with Grab just to get on with life.
Thankfully for me, the Point-to-point (P2P) bus route from Nuvali to Makati usually leaves on time. I normally take the 6:20am bus to arrive 15 minutes early for my shift. The 6:40am bus also lets me become punctual -- depending on how fast I walk from Landmark bus stop to my Ayala-based workplace. I don't gamble on Mondays, though (luwasan day foprobinsyanos like us LOL!)
However, the opposite was to be said for my husband. He worked in Ortigas for a year with an incredible company. And because neither the Nuvali P2P bus nor the Balibago terminal UV Express leave early enough to meet his 7am shift, we eventually opted to drive daily. Unfortunately, this has taken a huge toll on my husband's well-being and to our savings (P244 toll one-way, P200 parking fee, P300 gas equals a good P1,000 per day). I don't know how to drive and neither will he let me, so the physical burden of staying awake the whole time and making sure we get on and off safely to work relied heavily on him. Renting is an additional P5,000+, and I don't want to maintain (a.k.a. clean) two properties.
The first few months were a breeze. I was allowed to have 7am-4pm shift on rotation, and my husband was allowed to take off by 3:30pm. We get home before 6pm (no school months yet, meaning less traffic) and we still managed to watch sunsets from our village. Obviously, this did not go on forever. School started and so was the heavy traffic, and I felt bad for having my Quezon City-based teammate take the 8am-5pm shift to give way to my request. I eventually had her go back to her 7am shift (which was originally hers) so she can maximize her gym membership and still have work-life balance (EDSA is way worse than our route, if there's any consolation). Meanwhile, my husband and I started hating the long drive, because man, Don Bosco Skyway traffic is rude. It didn't help that SLEX is filled with daredevils (looking at you, XX number of arrogant Toyota Fortuner drivers!!! Cutting off at dangerous moments, flashing your headlights like you're so blind you shouldn't even be driving at all.)
Fast-forward to January 2019, my husband filed his resignation from the 7am Ortigas job, and after several hard-core St. Joseph novenas, landed at a full-time work-from-home opportunity (who prays nine days worth of novena in one go? Me). We are now looking forward to his first day next month :) Thank goodness the Lord and St. Joseph got fed up with me and just let us be :p (LOL, I'm sure they don't mind so thank you po! :D) As for me self, I am retreating back to my P2P trips. So long as I've got Netflix and Spotify -- and my iPhone works -- I'd be happy paying the P150 fare for a long time.
2. Grocery shopping
When we were staying at my in-laws' house, we used to buy groceries from SM San Lazaro. It's near, cheap, and easy-to-access. Parking can be a burden, though.
The great thing about living in Nuvali is the abundant supply of supermarkets along Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road! From Sta. Rosa SLEX exit, you'll first have 1) Waltermart (Dominos Pizza is here, OMG). Going forward is a 2) Puregold at Crosstown, also along the highway. A couple of minutes after that is 3) South Supermarket. Just across it is the newly-opened 4) Shopwise. Then you have 5) All Day Supermarket at the Vista Mall across the Nuvali man-made koi pond. Walking distance to the right is the 6) Robinsons Supermarket. And if you still fancy a little more exercise, you have 7) SNR.
So which one do we love going to? Of course SNR! The downside is the P700 membership fee. But if you look closer, you might actually turn up with savings in the long run. Since the system there is buying in bulk, we save at least P20 per item which we are going to buy over and over again anyway. Unfortunately, if you only want to sample the good, you'd have to buy a ton of it all at once (example: we don't need gallons of soy sauce, right? But we will for sure consume a dozen of toilet papers for many months). Meanwhile, their meat selection is better than Robinsons according to my chef-chefan husband, hehe. The coolest buy in their frozen section is their marinated garlic butter chicken. We eat this for daysssss (3 days, 3 meals each?) and it only costs approximately P200-230. Note: I am not paid by any brand I mention here; I only wish I was! LOL.
For days that we don't need to bulks of toiletries and what have you, we resort to All Day Supermarket because we can buy regular amounts of everything and have ample parking. We'd go to Robinsons when we only need literally a handful of items, and my husband would just be in 'hazard mode' inside the car waiting for me. We don't frequent it because its parking is shared with all Nuvali malls. Hence, finding a parking spot could easily be a new plot for the Mission Impossible franchise. If you're commuting via the Nuvali village shuttle, then Robinsons is the best choice because it almost literally beside the terminal (FYI: this same terminal is where you can ride the P2P to Makati and Market-Market in Taguig, as well as UBExpress for the all of the airports in Paranaque. Tricycles going to Balibago and Paseo de Sta. Rosa are also here).
We have Puregold Jr. about 10 minutes away from our specific subdivision in Nuvali South, but this is in Calamba already, not in the commercial area of Nuvali North.
3. Leisure and dates <3
Nuvali's never short of restaurants and cinemas. Our new favorite restaurant is Nono's at Solenad 3. Our other loves Nonna's, Ramen Nagi and Banapple are at Solenad 2. Our go-to buffet All 4 U is at Vista Mall. Our pork flosss fix (yes there are three 's' according to their own poster) are in both Solenad 3 and Vista Mall. All of our favorite milk tea brands are scattered across Solenad 2 and 3. The ever-essential Potato Corner and Chef Tony's popcorn are also within reach.
Cinemas are cleaner and cozier both at Solenad 3 and Vista Mall, while having the same prices with those located in Metro Manila. I prefer Vista Mall's lazy boy couches more for special movies (a.k.a. Marvel flicks) hehe.
If we want to date a little bit further South, less than 15 minutes away is a hippie food park called South StrEAT. Thirty minutes away and you would have arrived along the stream of romantic restaurants facing Taal Lake -- provided you don't go during lunchtime on Saturdays or Sundays.
A superficial con that I can think about is that there are lesser spa and massage clinics available. Husband and I are full-body massage junkies and I think that's the only semi-luho we have regularly. I said 'semi' because while I understand hilot can be a luxury treat for some, we just happened to have A LOT of LAMIG (muscle knots) that keep popping up every now and then (to the point that we keep pile of Salonpas and therapeutic oils. Maybe those deserve another post hehe). We tried a couple of places in the Solenad area alone. One was subpar. I think it is the worst spa we've ever been to. Think of cockroaches, noisy attendants, itchy bed sheets, and hard beds as your package. I don't even remember the name of this establishment. But I can point you exactly where it is, if you ask me to ;) Haha!
The other one was at Esencia Day Spa at Solenad 3 and our two experiences there were both divine. They had private rooms, delicious hot tea, lovely scented candles, and pretty neat interior design. It kind of reminded me of the spa I had at Podium where my bridesmaids treated me on my bridal shower (A million thanks, Twigs and Kish!). We need to shell out more here than in our favorite Touch and Heal Spa in Salcedo Village, Makati. But with the gas and toll needed to get there, the higher price tag of Esencia Day Spa kind of offsets it. The only problem I had was an extremely chatty attendant who kept on telling me I should go there almost every week because my muscle knots were very stubborn. Ate, I want to relax :( Don't scold me. LOL.
While also only 30 minutes away, we've never revisited Enchanted Kingdom though, LOL! It's good to know we have it in the background in case we got ultra mega bored and wasteful with money (very unlikely for a cheapskate like me).
I guess all I'm saying is our community in Nuvali certainly has all the normal things that we love back in Manila, hehehe! The only differences are fresher air, less traffic, smaller crowds, and the lesser chances of getting mugged. Not complaining.
4. Medical care
Ever since 2015, I just noticed that I have been quite sickly. I've been in and out of the hospitals for various reasons. None of them are life-threatening thank God, but they are illnesses nevertheless (i.e. gastritis, gastro enteritis, UTI, to name a few). I used to be suki of Makati Medical Center and Manila Doctors Hospital. I think I was confined at both hospitals? LOL. NOT PROUD OF IT, OKAY? But then in 2018, I was yet again confined, this time for gastro enteritis. I spent several days at Qualimed Hospital Nuvali North. This building is hard to miss when you are going up to Tagaytay via Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road. It is walking distance from SNR, but I do not recommend doing that especially when you're vomiting sick. HAHA.
My experience with them is mainly fine. Nurses were extremely patient and helpful. All of the facilities are clean and new. My room had a view, LOL. Hospital meals, even when I was on a diet, were still delicious. They welcome almost all HMO companies (health insurance). The only con was the room initially assigned to me (take note, it was already past 11pm when I got admitted) was not cleaned thoroughly. The toilet had some old body soap left by the previous patient, an opened sachet of shampoo, etc. But because I was having a diarrhea and needed to vomit like every 15 seconds, I did not concern myself with those. When the situation became calmer for my tummy, I asked them to clean it again.
I can say that I find it as an 'okay' hospital considering it is new and located in the province. It is nowhere as big as Makati Med, or as busy as Asian Hospital (which, by the way, is also quite near our place as long as you don't have an emergency), but its services seem complete. I know that Qualimed and my ob-gyne doctor there would do a good job should I become pregnant. But if I in case I become extremely rich, then I think Asian Hospital is the place to be for any labor. Hahaha.
5. Attending church
Just like grocery stores (I know, bad comparison), our area also has several places of worship for Catholics and Born-again Christians alike. Unfortunately, we have only been to two churches: St. Joseph the Worker parish (our parish) and the Xavier School chapel at Nuvali Central. We prefer hearing mass at Xavier (because guess what again? Answer: lesser crowds) as we go straight to eat out for dinner at Nuvali North right after, hehe. I also love the ambiance here a lot. The unique church exterior and intricate stained glass designs are already a must-see on their own. It also feels a lot like 'communal' here, in some sense that I can't put to words exactly. You just feel it once you're inside.
6. DIY projects
A very awkward transition from a religious activity to an altogether different one, LOL. Since our house was turned over as a bare unit, we need to do our own feeling-interior-designer projects whenever we can. May it be installing display shelves, wall decors, to picking different faucet designs, my husband pretty much enjoy doing them on his own. Lucky for us, we've got All Home, Home Depot, and Wilcon stores all within a few minutes away. We can quickly procure handyman stuff and get on with our small home-improvement projects. We've got a long wish list to go. I dream to replace the toilet tiles, add more bookshelves, paint bedroom walls to navy blue, install reading lights, move the existing placement of light switches and electrical sockets, etc. My husband wants cemented floors across the entire lot property, including the driveway. But those are merely wants. I do not intend to spend money on them immediately, especially not now when we have a lot going on with insurances and unexpected expenses. We're still in this transition phase in our lives and no project is urgent. Our home is more than 100% liveable (and pretty?) right now. Everything else in the wish list are just that, wishes.
BONUS content: Fitness and new internet connection!
Nuvali is perfect for gym rats, bikers, joggers, swimmers and even wakeboard surfers. A Gold's Gym branch is in the works, there is a Prime Elorde gym (very pricey, ugh), as well as Anytime Fitness and Prime Fitness (not sure if I got the name right. This is 2F of Vista Mall). The wakeboard park, a barely five-minute drive from our subdivision, is said to be frequented by celebrities! Admittedly, we are a couch potato couple so instead of getting more fit, we got fatter. Hahaha! I hope we can change this part of ourselves, especially when the community we belong to just empowers fitness so much among its residents. I hope Jeff and I take advantage of the good weather and do more outdoor activities soon.
As for the internet availability in this area, it was only very recently when we were granted to have PLDT Fibr. Imagine our suffering the whole year we were here. The Globe At Home Wifi unit works in the most off hours, and fails to do so when you actually need it. It was also very pricey at P750 per week, and yet our Netflix needs were never satisfied. Working from home was a pain too. Thank goodness that after so many damn follow-ups, we finally got a more stable connection. Whew!!!
Wow, you've made it through. I really didn't expect you would! Never did I even expect that I'd finish writing this entry too. Haha! There's just so many to chikka and yet so little attention span. Haha! Anyway, I'm sure I will talk (write) more in the future. I am trying to adapt a writing schedule this year (because that's what my therapist said. LOL relax it's just what I heard in a Tedx talk). Fingers crossed I'd actually follow it!
Again, I am not paid by any brand for anything I write in this blog. Nuvali has its faults, sure, but they probably deserve a different post so I can ramble on more. Hehe!
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