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Saturday, January 22, 2011

Where shall we live?

It might seem like a simple question, but it has been difficult for us to answer.  Finally, we decided to extend our lease at Chateau Elysee in Paranaque City, Metro Manila for 6 months.  We are trying to start a business buying and reselling used laptop computers, and most of our sales have been in Manila, so we need to stay here and see if we can get the business going. However, there are a lot of other considerations. Grace would like to live close to her mom so they can visit more often. La Carlota seems to be bad for my health.  I like it there, but I was sick most of the time, and the doctor thinks I'm very allergic to Sugar Cane pollen.  I'm not sure I agree, because I didn't get magically better when we came back to Manila.  I hate the crowded conditions and pollution in Manila. I would like to live close to the ocean and mess around with boats, but we really can't afford anyplace nice that is near the beach yet.  We talked about living in Baguio, and it is very nice there because it is cool in the summer and the taxi drivers are all honest, but I don't think Grace really likes it there.  We talked about moving to a different location in Manila to cut our transpo costs, but I got a good deal on my rent, and there wasn't any place comparable for the same rent. Location is very important in Manila for practical and status reasons, and you have to pay a big premium for a good location or endure substandard conditions. So we invested in better telephone service, and now have a land line, which will improve our ability to do business. We have tried several Internet providers, and I have not been happy with any of them, but maybe the newest one will be better. Most of our business comes from internet ads, so a good connection is important for posting ads and uploading pics of our laptops. Grace wants to go to work so she is "not a burden" but I would rather have her company than the money, so our buy and sell business is our compromise. We only make about 2000p on each sale, after expenses, so we aren't getting rich, but we are slowly saving up what we do make.

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