Scenario: I’m 21 years old. I graduated last May from the University of the Philippines, and ever since graduation, I’ve been living with my sister who rents a house in San Pedro which is an hour and a half away from Makati on bad days and at good days.. its just a 40 minute ride, where I am working. I am paying half of the rent with my sister. My sister also works in Makati but doesn’t want to move out because she has her personal reasons, which I am not going to delve anymore... Now, I am going to look for an apartment which is nearer Makati. I am the only one that is going to move out to Makati...

When I was in college, I lived in a dormitory with lots and lots of roommates so I got little experience living alone in a room or an apartment.

Ive been planning on moving out since August but I just didn’t move out immediately because I felt like I needed to help my sister in her finances, and with me being there, I can help her better. However, it seems that it is quite impractical for me to stay any longer in her apartment because of the long commute, not to mention the fare is quite expensive, and am also contributing to the payment of the rent.

So here’s the deal... this is another scenario, I am single, I usually go out for drinks on weekdays, and I go home to my mom’s house at the weekend, so in short, I am almost always coming home late at night, or positively never home at all. I use to be like this when I was in college because I live at a dorm where my nearest relative is like 5 towns away, so I basically am super free, but now that I am living with my sister, I am very much restricted. So basically, I am looking for an apartment where I would only spend my time there sleeping, taking a bath, resting, or just to kill the time because I spend most of my time at the office or in the company of friends. So basically, I want an apartment where I could revert back to my own ways...

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

1. My budget is PHP 3000 up to PHP4000 a month

2. I am the only one in the room, a flatmate could be good, but no roommates please...

{I was supposed to move in with a college friend but she got reassigned to a place far from Makati so I guess I am on my own...,most of my friends in our company are guys...so I don’t want to move in with them}

3. Having own bathroom is a plus

4. I could also consider a dorm type room where the bathroom is shared or by cubicle

5. near Makati Avenue is much better, but anywhere in Makati even in Guadalupe is good enough

6. Having a laundry area is a plus, or being near at a laundromat is fine.

7. I don’t usually bring men at the apartment, for security reasons {wink}, but it ain’t no problem if I accepted a male visitor.

8. Safety is also an issue. I don’t want to live in a slum area...

9. Studio type apartments are also a plus...

10. Accessible to public transportation

11. There’s a reasonable source of water supply, I don’t want to fetch water everyday.

12. Doesn’t flood too much, its understandable if it happens on a typhoon, but if it floods even when the sun is up, that’s a NO NO...

13. I am not super rich to rent a condominium, I only make 50% above the minimum wage {but I’m probably getting a raise by January... will be regular at the job by then... wish me luck}

14. I don’t own a lot of stuff yet. My stuff is mostly clothing, shoes, bags, laptop, accessories for my laptop, and mobile phone. Most of my stuff is in my mom’s house and I don’t want to bring them because its another 4 hour drive from the province to Makati....

15. I don’t need to have own kitchen. Just a place where I could put my bed, and have own CR if possible. Doesn’t need to be big...

Scenario 3: I am a quiet person, so I don’t increase the volume of my computers too much when I’m jamming with my mp3s, I pay on time, I’m an organized person, mild mannered and i’m quite polite too...

If you got any more tips of what I should consider in choosing an apartment, feel free to comment. Or if you got a location in mind, try to comment also. Comments, Suggestions, and even just Musings are accepted... Or you can even say hi!

Cheers!