MANILA, Philippines - For one couple blessed with a great family, and a home within the grandness of nature, it is easy to believe that true contentment is indeed possible.
Though they have lived in New York for most of their lives, the Vistas have always been familiar with Laguna. Narciso had grown up in a nearby town, and over the years would pay friends and family visits every year. “On one visit, we saw an ad for a development in the area,” says Sylvia. “When we saw Ayala Greenfield Estates, the quietness of the community and the idyllic surroundings hooked us. That’s when we decided to come home to the Philippines.
“It took us nine months to build our house,” says the couple, who attended to construction from across the globe. Narciso visited the construction twice to check on the progress, and the couple eventually came home to settle permanently in Laguna in May 2009. While they have heard many stories about difficulties in construction in the Philippines, the couple sailed through the entire process without a hitch.
Coming back home after building lives for themselves in the US was not an issue for the married couple. “It wasn’t part of our plan, but somehow, this is how things worked out,” muses Sylvia.
“We like it here,” says Narciso, who points out that family and many close, childhood friends are in nearby towns that they can easily access. “There wasn’t much of a transition because living here is as close as we can get to American living,” he points out. Even their home, designed by one of Narciso’s classmates from the Ateneo, is similar to what they had been used to in the US.
“We also feel secure here,” says Narciso, who spends his leisure time walking around the development, making the occasional stopover at the swimming pool or at the treadmill. “We may be retired, but our lives are not much different from how we were before,” he adds. “We’re never bored,” says the couple, who talks about the couple’s many church activities, which keep them busy most days.
“We get up at 6 am—there’s always something we have to do,” says Narciso. The Vistas attend church services at Sto. Tomas and San Isidro regularly, and are third order Carmelites in the States. “Ministry plays a big part in our lives,” explains Sylvia. “We had no plans of retiring, but maybe God had other plans for us,” she says.
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