How Moving to a First World Country Altered My Chemistry as a Southeast Asian: Part I
In September 2022, I moved from the Philippines to the UK for my master’s degree in marketing, and it made me ache for the things my beautiful country could have been.
Little Miss Nobody
8/3/20265 min read
Esplanade, Pasig City, Metro Manila, 2026
When I was a little girl, I would sometimes hear from my father or from an older person say that there was a time when the Philippine pesos was equal to one US dollar. There was a time the Philippines was looked up to by its Asian neighbors for its strong economic power and currency. There was a time the Philippines was second only to Japan. There was a time when the Philippines had promise.
If you’re from a developing country in Southeast Asia, one of the first things that will jump out at you when you move to first world countries is the order—organized and efficient public transportation, clean streets with clear signages, walkable and green cities designed for pedestrians, wide and safe sidewalks, and the absence of illegal peddlers, settlers, and street children—the curated beauty of a well-designed, prosperous capital.
Metro Manila is not a beautiful city. Far from Tokyo, Seoul, Paris or London. I don’t think it’s even fair to compare Metro Manila to other capitals. For starters, Metro Manila is made up of 16 cities which make up what we call the National Capital Region (NCR). Imagine 16 independent cities cramped together in a small land area that’s roughly 620 km2, a little bigger than Chicago (607km2) but smaller than Singapore (729 km2), each city run by its own city government. Latest statistics estimates there are 14 million people living in Metro Manila, which is more than twice the population of Singapore (6 million), making it one of the most densely populated cities on earth.
Depending on which city you go to, you could have a very different experience of Metro Manila. Taguig or Makati are the most highly urbanized cities—the areas foreign influencers usually feature in their vlogs with the clickbait captions “Is this better than New York?”, “I did not expect the Philippines to be like this.” If you venture outside to cities like Caloocan, be ready to experience the “third world”.
Moving to a first-world country made me hyperaware of the stark differences between a developed country and a developing one… and it made me realize how underserved Filipinos are.
Metro Manila is a city of contrasts—a metropolis that’s struggling to better itself and to keep up with its neighbors. While Japan keeps innovating with its high-speed trains, the Philippines’ railway system is only in its infancy. The country’s first subway system is currently underway, along with other major railway projects in partnership with Japanese companies. The best way to get around Metro Manila is to use Grab (Southeast Asia’s version of Uber), which is not cost-effective for a daily commuter, so they endure long lines for the MRTs and LRTs.
If you’re thinking, “Why not just walk or cycle to get in and around Metro Manila?” During the peak of COVID-19, when public transportation halted operations, thousands of Filipino workers resorted to using ebikes and bicycles to get to and fro work. I feel that’s when the “walkability” problem finally took center stage. In a walkability study by an Australian Insurance company, Manila was ranked the least walkable city out of 53 countries (Manila Times, 2024). So it wasn’t surprising at all when the Philippines ranked 4th in the World’s Laziest Countries for Walking (SEASIA, 2024). Metro Manila is a poorly designed city, with roads built to accommodate private cars and vehicles rather than the safety and comfort of pedestrians. The sidewalks are too narrow, sometimes you literally have to “walk sideways” to pass through.
The decline of open green spaces is also one of the biggest problems in Metro Manila right now. In cities like London or Singapore, there are large, green open spaces in the heart of the city. Trees and urban grass have been integrated well into the everyday life of locals and commuters. However, for Metro Manila, that probably didn’t even come as a second thought for urban developers and real estate developers.
Today, these problems are starting to gain more attention from the public, media, and politicians. A couple of months ago I was doomscolling on Instagram and saw a report that said some politician was proposing a bill to require local government units to create and maintain a local green park. Recently, the government started a sidewalk widening project and a busway modernization project along EDSA, the major highway in the city. It’s a small step to addressing a humongous problem, but I admit my heart fluttered a little bit.
Seven years ago, when I was working in Mandaluyong, another city in the center of Metro Manila, I used to get on a 5 or 6-hour bus ride to get home to my parents in Pangasinan. If we had a railway system, that journey could be halved. It would not only improve the commuters’ experience but would also improve the mobility and transport of goods, which would have a positive impact on the economy. But this necessity, along with so many others, have been stolen from the Filipinos.
Now that I’m a full-grown woman, the Philippines has recently joined the Upper Middle Income Class category along with Vietnam, a status Thailand had long reached in 2011. South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore have all caught up with Japan. Today, 1 US dollar is equal to 62 pesos. And somehow along the way, we’ve gained a reputation in the media and the rest of the world as a ‘dangerous’ country due to local terrorist attacks.
Sometimes I still hear my father, who used to be in the military, reminisce about how goods were much cheaper back then, how he could buy something valuable with 1 peso (That’s inflation for you, Pa.) These days, he watches the news and often complains about how corrupt the country has become. Politically, sometimes we don’t see eye to eye, but I know we both ache for the same things: for a better Philippines.
The Philippines isn’t a poor country. It has everything it needs to lift itself and its people out of poverty—from natural resources to global talent and young population/manpower. But it’s a country riddled with deep-seated corruption and decades of mismanagement. I could go on and on about the lost and wasted potential of my home country (I could probably write a book about it if I tried), but despite everything, I choose to remain hopeful. I want to think that in the coming decades, the Philippines will rise, no matter how painstakingly slow, to a place where it can proudly stand among the best Asian nations.
Author’s Note: I surprised myself by how this piece turned out. I originally wanted to write about the emotional or psychological impact that moving to the UK has had on me. This blog took an entirely different turn and became somewhat of a rant, a cry, a longing for a more peaceful, greener, more commute-friendly Metro Manila. Please don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate this city. In fact, some of my fondest memories and most transformative years happened here. I’ve found some of my best friendships in this city. However, I know we could do more and better as a nation. Being open to discussing these problems and addressing them is one small step towards contributing to the long-awaited change. - Little Miss Nobody