Buying Your First Home

Most people my age get so overwhelmed with the money they earn and the things they can buy with it. Ask any young office worker, and he or she will probably say that the first place they go to after payday is either the mall or the nearest watering hole. I used to spend my money wantonly on clothes and stuff, but lately I realized the practicality of saving at least half of my paycheck for my own place. True, it’d be great to have a closet full of designer clothes, but I see buying my own place as a real step towards independence, responsibility, and stability. A home I can call my very own is the most tangible reward for all the hard work I did and the discipline that went into saving my money. No cranky landlords to deal with, no parents to impose curfews on me, plus I can do whatever I want with the walls and the furnishings!

There are basically three kinds of homes that you can get for yourself. The first is the house and lot type, but these are becoming more expensive in the city; there’s no way I can afford one of those. House and lot units within my price range are located in the outskirts of Metro Manila, which is out of the question as it’s too far from my friends and all the exciting goings-on in the city. Plus with the rising gas prices, I don’t want to live somewhere you can only get to by car. Besides, house and lots are a little too large and domestic for my tastes; I’m a single woman and I don’t intend to get married or have kids any time soon.

The medium-rise condo is the happy medium between the high-rise and the house-and-lot. Located right in the city, these are basically condo units with the family-friendly atmosphere of planned subdivisions. While the city location makes it convenient, I probably won’t get a medium-rise condo since it sounds just about as domestic as the house-and-lot.

A one-bedroom unit in a high-rise condo is exactly what I want. It’s small enough for me to be able to maintain on my own and large enough to hold gatherings with friends. Location-wise it’s perfect, especially if it’s near public transportation. And I can just imagine the gorgeous, panoramic views of the city at night, and how pretty the sky would look when the sun rises at dawn. It’s gonna take me a while before I can come up with enough money for my own condo, but I’ll get there soon enough! The first thing I’m going to do when I get my own place is throw a huge party.

What kind of home would you like for yourself?

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About the Author Lauren Dado has been maintaining a personal blog since 1996. A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, she is now taking up an MA in Comparative Literature at the University of the Philippines Diliman while working as a professional blogger and freelance copywriter. Read more from this author

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