MoneySense Magazine has just placed Iloilo City at 5th spot in their list of best places to live in the Philippines on their March-April 2008 issue. The magazine attributes Iloilo’s strategic location, top schools, and natural wonders, among the deciding factors in including Iloilo in the list.
April-March 2008 Cover of Moneysense Magazine
Full Ranking of Best Places to Live in the Philippines:
1. Bacolod
2. Makati
3. Davao
4. Marikina
5. Iloilo
6. Las Pinas
7. Pasig
8. San Fernando, Pampanga
9. Mandaluyong
10. Quezon City
11. Manila
12. Batangas
13. Cagayan de Oro
14. Muntinlupa
15. Angeles
16. Baguio
17. Lipa
18. Calamba
19. General Santos
20. Cebu
Heinz Bulos, writer of the article, contacted me and quoted the reasons why thought Iloilo was an excellent place to live in. We writes:
A life-long resident of Iloilo, Marcos Caratao, Jr., 20, a student and administrator of ExploreIloilo.com says, “Iloilo’s peaceful environment, its food, and the hospitality of its people definitely make the city a great place to live. Aside from having an excellent peace and order situation, one can have a peace ofmind when in Iloilo simply because there is not much stress brought about by the problems of urban congestion.”
and…
Marcos says, “Ilonggos love to eat! And it shows through the variety of its delicious local dishes.” He adds adds, “Ilonggos generally prefer to have intimate gathering with friends and loved ones at home or in a place where they can enjoy each other’s company. Though once in a while, Ilonggos also like to party whether it is in a bar, club, during the town fiesta or its famous festivals.”
Fellow Ilonggo blogger, Junelle of Intiendes was also quoted by Moneysense Magazine:
Iloilo is also richly endowed with mountains, waterfalls, rice terraces, caves, white sand beaches, and numerous islets. “It has a lot of hidden treasures worth exploring,” says Junelle Caravana, 26, a project manager for a software company and administrator of Iloilo Bloggers (www.iloilobloggers.com) who has been an Iloilo resident since birth. And it doesn’t cost a lot of money to have a leisurely life. Junelle shares, “Strolling in the mall – it’s what I do. And mostly, stroll around the Iloilo. I can’t get enough of its beauty and there are still a lot of places I need to explore.”
The feature about Iloilo ends with:
Iloilo is a fast-growing modern city with hotels, shopping centers, restaurants, golf courses, and convention facilities. As Marcos notes, “Iloilo is a modern city set in a laid back atmosphere. What I like best about Iloilo City is that it has amenities that every modern city possess within a stone’s throw from each other yet still retain its idyllic old world charm.”
basi abi nila sng iloilo bacolod like the people i know nga ang players sang Azkals nga pinoy are mostly from bacolod. ayy nano……… nga ang matuod Barotac Nuevo (bacolod) iloilo./ hehehe
ang magazine ka na iya gid sang tagabacolod nga ubra mo. tinikal naman eh.
nga a gin post na di ni marc man? lol
@mur2s., agree…wala na gawa nonsense naglalabilin ba… hihihih…what you mean anti-social site?…keep on kutaw kutaw ah…basta wala lang matapakan na iba… practical joke is ok
@Gil… very correct observation of places…nothing more nothing less…. Manila Taxi Drivers— is beyond worst leeches , very dishonest and very rude
not 2 hostile
Wow nice flame war going on.
I’ll chime in.
I have been to Bacolod and it was very peaceful but incredibly boring. I didn’t find it as accessible as Iloilo as most destination is within 30 mins reach in Iloilo.
Manila was just plain awful. Can’t trust the taxis there and you would have to be a rich man to live comfortably there. Lots of attractions but too expensive for my blood. Everyone there also seems downright angry or out to scam you.
Cebu is a nice place to live in. It’s pretty much Iloilo but just richer, cleaner, has more to offer in terms of tourism and a bit more expensive.
hiding myself coz ders no more billy 2 pick on as well as other non sense ppol. maybe im just uncomfortable being serious kon ilonggo nami ya ang mag kutaw kutaw. also d u know an anti social site? m just saying dis 4 now but like anybody else no man s an island so expect il just gonna b around.
@mur2s… where you been man? miss you bah hahahaha…. @midnightclubPCL gani man… I vote for Cebu eh…
beauty s n d eye of d beholder. lets face 8 n a broader sense f we dissect how d magazine hav come up 2 der choices i guess we wil agree w/ 8 unless u havent bn out of iloilo or just hav compare 2 some places u hav visited nd not as gud as iloilo den definitely u wont agree dat bacolod city s d #1 place 2 live ( n die?). letz luk at cebu i was expecting 8 on d top but ending up last. maybe nxt tym.
gani man vic? daw palagpat aw…
I just wonder how Bacolod City came as the first in best places to live ( in their remaining life after lifelong work ) rather than Cebu… and why they put Iloilo City in there as number five and 7 NCR Districts First if youre native of Manila will you have to move to Iloilo to live considering you have no relatives there and you’ll be staying there for good … what are the criteria ?… It always depends to the choice of retirees , City is hostile to the oldies its usually for the young active people but if you’re living there all your life you cant switch the place that easy and , It takes a lot of decisive reflection to have major changes as if they want cool place they would choose Baguio, a country relaxing belongs to Batangas…quality Medical Care…in Makati… less than an hour distance to Manila and with many amenities is Calamba … and so on … It should be best place to work and live… best place to retire…best place to camp….best place for vacation…for party and so on….
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Pamatyag ko ang Iloilo mangin centro sang tourism and business. damo na nadevelop nga resorts kay ako may plan to have a holiday house and put up something in my birth village God willing.
Hello guys! Whatssup everyone :). Glad I am off the hook from work today and tomorrow. Wheww! I totally agree that ILOILO CITY is one of the BEST places in the Philippines. I was born and raised there, presently I am a Mississipian by law but an Ilongga by heart ;)…BTW, hello to Chymera and Habagat!
i would say the northern part of the philippines is the one of the top 5 to live and retired, theres nothin else but the home of the ilocanos “d ilocos norte” you got everything over there. nice and clean ………….forget bout manila….province is the best….agree? give me a holla fellas…
Nice spot for Ilonggos.
I will try to check the subdivisions in ILOILO City and the Province probably this summer. Also I want to check the new subdivison there in Sta. Barbara close to the New Airport. A friend of mine who is married to an American here, and her hubby told me if I can do the checking for them, and take some photos and bring them back with me. Kudos ILOILO! Hala Bira! : )
Iloilo’s problem is very basic: power and water. Power supply is inadequate and unreliable. Availability of processed water is poor. Everything is else is A-1. Just those two fatal flaws.
However, it was only last year that we had tap water in our house in Mandurriao.
YEY!
i was born in the state of new jersey but I grew up in New York where my dad is working. It was not hard for me to understand ilonggo coz even when I was small, my parents were teaching us what’s the meaning of that word in ilonggo, my most favorite of course is the word,”Palangga”.hehehe!!That made me realize that word feels sweet.Right now i’m so fluent that i almost forgot to say english =). Kadlaw classmates ko kay sa kadugayon ko didto sa states, staright ako mag-ilonggo.=)
[re=58267]states_side_ilongga17[/re]: in what part of states you were raised?were u born there? it seems you know a lot of hiligaynon. are u taking a course in iloilo? from ther way u wrote u still being malambing. take care.
[re=58390]Jolly[/re]: youre back. cheers and keep it up.
The Hospitality and Retirement City of Panay Island, none other than ILOILO City, and the Province. Cheers!!! : )
@sss – I’m from Iloilo but now living here in Bacolod. The advantage of living in Bacolod compared to Iloilo is that traffic here is not so worse.
indeed, bacolod has wider roads that’s because Bacolod is a newer city compared to Iloilo. main streets here in Iloilo(esp in calle real) used to be a super highway during the spanish era (for kalesa lang galing). in the present, the city govt has been implementing new PUJ routes man to alleviate traffic pero daw wala pa epek..hay…
hi mr/miss sss, eiy, im not that too old yet..hehehe!!!im just 17 years old young lady.hehehe!anyways,actually its my 1st time of my 16 years in life that I got to iloilo just because I was born and raised there. I myself and other sibling in our family are also willing to live here in iloilo.So my dad allowed us to stay here. He’s been a successful businessman in states together with my mom which are also purely ilonggos.I was so impress with what our place have, old churches, heritage sites, old houses and beautiful beaches.I didn’t find it hard also to win friends because I prove it that ilonggos are really hospitable and friendly.Right now Im now studying in one of the university here in iloilo.That’s all for my impressions and sharings with you all.hehehe! ILOILO: Pinalangga, Matahum…Aton Siya! ; )
[re=56646]saint[/re]: sad to say were always on the shadow of bacolod. lets keep our fingers cross maybe someday.
[re=58039]states_side_ilonnga17[/re]: i bet you’re old and rich now. after living all those years out of iloilo its a great homecoming. good to be back.
oooh, yes!!it’s a pride and honor for me to visit and now living here in iloilo, my parents home place even i have all that comfort living when i was in states last 2 years now.And it’s my pride to say, i LOVE ILOILO much!We made even take ahead of other major cities like manila and cebu city.Congrats to all of us and let’s join hands to preserve our heritage, culture as an Ilonggo..And let’s pray to our beloved Patron saint of Western Visayas, Nuestra Sra. dela Candelaria that she will continue to guide our beloved city, ILOILO. ; )
I lived in many different places now but for me, ILOILO is still the BEST not because i was born, raised and educated there but because of its sweet ambiance and simplicity. There is really no place like HOME.
simple life lang..tani for our leaders please do something to preserve all of this. to our police officer and military too.
here are some basis of this selection i’ve read…
“There are three key components of what we believe makes a place the best place to live: standard of living, quality of life, and cost of living. You may be earning a lot but if you live in an overcrowded city with too much smog, a high crime rate, bad roads, and few schools to choose from, then it may be better idea to just move. Similarly, you can have fresh air, a peaceful environment, and longer life expectancy, but if you can’t find good jobs or business opportunities, you’ll also move.
What is standard of living? To us, the factors to look at are income (above average family income and per capita income), economy (high GDP and GDP growth), employment (high employment rate), and business (low cost of doing business).
Quality of life includes population (relative low population and population growth), demographics (good gender mix, good number of young economically active people, high ratio of singles), environment (clean air, clean streets), health care (high life expectancy, low mortality rate), education (high literacy rate, high proportion with high level of education), safety (low crime rate, high crime solution efficiency), and leisure (high level of tourist arrivals).”
i know mostly of us Ilonggos is really longing for this..
yes! that makes me proud as a true-blue ilonggo too. i think next time, we should aim to be no. 1. GO ILOILO!
Thanks Mike!
Yeah, it’s great that our city has been given such recognition
well said marc..
So true Marc. ILOILO is the best. A Retirement Place to be, with everything accessible. Cheers! : )
it makes sense.
Yes!!!! at this time we slowly moving without noticing our Iloilo are keeping track. Its back on its feet. This post really makes us proud..really make sense..really makes you an Ilonggo…