A local magazine recently confirmed what many of us had known for many years now: that Bacolod is the best place to live in the country.  Moneysense, a magazine geared towards financial planning and investments, declared this in its March-April 2008 issue, where the City of Smiles was ranked best city in the country to live in, followed by Makati and Davao.  Iloilo was No. 5, while Cebu ranked No.  20.

After listing down the numerous national awards and accolades from different third party groups such as AIM, the article hit the proverbial nail on the head when it pointed out that living in Bacolod will allow you to enjoy the best of both worlds: a laid back lifestyle with all the modern conveniences.

For me, what clinched the number one spot would have been the lifestyle.  Makati, the No.  2 city in the author’s list, may provide all the modern conveniences and slam bang entertainment for kids of all ages, but a quick comparison between someone who has been living in Makati for 10 years and another who has been living in Bacolod for the same period of time will immediately explain why the Bacolod lifestyle was able to edge out Makati’s.  We simply age slower here.  The moment a city slicker steps off the aircraft and into the modern airport, time magically slows down.  People here walk slower, something that could be unnerving for a first time visitor, but usually contagious if their stay is long enough.  Waiting for 30 minutes, which is an easy thing to do in Metro Manila, seems like an eternity here. 

Look at it this way: No matter how many new malls, cinemas, bars, and high tech entertainment centers they put up in the big city, none of those can recreate kind of genuine relaxation that a laid back lifestyle gives.  It may be something that we have taken for granted, but for a lot of people, that is something they have been dreaming of and working for their entire lives.

Of course, the laid back lifestyle can be found just about everywhere in this country, all one has to do is step out of the boundaries of Metro Manila.  But then again, not all those towns and cities outside Metro Manila can say they have all the modern conveniences.  And between those provincial cities that can brag about having all the modern conveniences, we can surmise that Bacolod must have impressed the author of the article the most.

Another plus factor for us would have been the cost of living.  Every time I go to Manila, I am reminded of just how cheap it is to live here.  Bacoleños can get away with leaving the house with just P100  in the wallet. The kicker is that live cheaply without being cheap, especially when it comes to food, where our restaurants probably give the best bang for the buck in the entire country.  The quality of cooking, vis-à-vis the pricing, is incomparable.  Every time somebody from somewhere starts to brag about their food and restaurants, I have to hold myself back from starting a silly argument, especially if they come from renown gastronomical areas like Pampanga or Iloilo.  I know it is debatable, but our food here is the bomb, and cheap to boot.  For my own safety, I have long added food critiquing to my list of taboo conversational topics among acquaintances, along with religion and politics.

 Another thing that would have set Bacolod apart might have been the city planning.  Traffic, while it may be already be bad for us, is not as bad as Cebu, or even Iloilo, because of our wide roads.  I reckon that this played a major role in pushing Bacolod to its top spot during the ranking process.  Can you imagine how much easier it would have been for the author to rank Bacolod if traffic had not been a little more organized and disciplined?  That’s something for our gloating city officials to consider if they intend to keep this honor, or maybe even reap more rewards from more established publications or organizations.

The people of Bacolod, especially the city officials, deserve a pat on the back for creating a city that has consistently impressed outsiders enough to make them think twice about staying here for good.  For cities, being labeled as a good place to live in, or an ideal place to move to, is one of the highest compliments it can aspire for.  Lets hope that this positive perception continuously improves, because for those of us who have been familiar enough with this place to have bred a healthy contempt for it, there are still many ways for Bacolod to improve. If our city officials will recognize those shortcomings and take the lead in overcoming them, maybe one day in the near future Time Magazine will pick us as its choice for the best city to live in.