Celebs fleeing the metro for a more peaceful life

The hustle and bustle is now definitely out of trend, especially when it comes to the preference of most celebrities. In recent years, we have seen the exodus of showbiz personalities from Metro Manila, and the list just goes on and on.

More than five years ago, it was still a big deal knowing that Chito Miranda and Neri Naig chose a life in Tagaytay to start their family.

Andi Eigenmann even trended back in 2018 when she chose to drop the city life and sell most of her stuff to settle down in Baler and build a sustainable house at that time. She is now in Siargao, where she is raising a beautiful family alongside partner Philmar Alipayo.

The Kramers, who are currently the top influencer family, reside in a mansion in Rizal with top-of-the line house features and amazing views.

After getting married, Mikael Daez and Miss World 2013 Megan Young relocated to Subic earlier this year to start a life there as well.

If it is not a home, celebrities are building their semi-permanent getaways via farms and resorts with the likes of Bea Alonzo’s farm estate in Zambales; Gerald Anderson’s resort in Zambales as well as Sam Pinto’s in Baler; Gwen and David Semerad’s cabin in Batangas; the resort sanctuary of John and Camille Prats in Batangas; and Zsa Zsa Padilla’s Casa Esperanza in Lucban, Quezon.

Nadine Lustre has also been living the island life in Siargao as she was even spotted buying a sarsa bottle in a sari-sari store and just living her life.

Even Kylie Verzosa along with boyfriend Jake Cuenca went back to Kylie’s family in Subic before the third Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was enforced in the NCR earlier in August.

For Kylie, it was all about her mental health. “When I’m in ECQ, na-claustrophobic kasi ako and I’m not really in a good headspace so when I’m here, I’m with my family and I’m by the beach so I’m really in a better mood.”

With this, Kylie told us that her productivity was also so much better that she was even able to launch a partnership with Konsulta MD along with her advocacy page Mental Health Matters PH to provide free therapy sessions for those who need them during these uncertain times.

“Sobrang dami naming messages, I felt a bit helpless like iyong mga messages, ‘Miss Kylie, I need someone to talk to saan ba pwede pumunta? Or lead me somewhere I could go.’ That’s why I partnered with Konsulta MD,” she said, adding, “if they use my code KYLIEKMD, they could talk to a psychiatrist for free, you just have to download that app.”

I also had a solo interview with Kylie’s co-star in The Housemaid Louise delos Reyes, who just left Manila for Tagaytay. Louise had a lovely homey background with indoor plants which, she said, kept her busy during the last few weeks since she is still fixing her new abode. She revealed that moving to Tagaytay was an amazing decision for her mental health. She decided to leave the metro during the pandemic in an attempt to feel more free and at ease despite the raging COVID-19 cases that we have.

Louise added that at least in Tagaytay, she could go out for a walk in her area and just relax with the weather as well. It is her mental getaway to face her feelings of being in a rut somehow because of the pandemic.

“Kasi before, noong wala pang pandemic, kapag nalulungkot ka, drive ka lang, you can go to the beach or go to other place else kapag na-burn out na ako aside from my house,” she said. “Pero now hindi ka makakaalis sa bahay, you’re very limited and kailangan mong harapin yung mga issues mo sa sarili mo. Those issues are valid.”

Louise is very grateful because moving away from the city is very reminiscent of her childhood in Cavite, where she grew up. It is also perfect for the new lock-in set-up in filming, which she is very grateful for.

“I’m thankful. It is a daily reason to live,” she said. “I have my work, I have my family and I think hindi lang ako nag-iisa sa struggle na ito, madami nakaka-relate and it is still valid.”