10 Things You Must Know Before Moving to Makati City (From a Burned-Out Consultant Who's Been There)

look, i’ve spent three years consulting for firms that have offices in the Ayala Tower, and let’s be real: moving to makati isn’t moving to a city, it’s moving into a spreadsheet. a very hot, humid spreadsheet with terrible traffic. before you sign that lease, here’s the unvarnished crap they don’t put on the fancy expat forums.

*1. the rent trap is real, and it’s close to where you work. you think you’ll save money by living in pasig or something? that 45-minute commute in a grab car during rush hour will cost you ₱300 a day, plus your sanity. the sweet, financially suicidal spot is within a 10-minute walk of the BTS/Ayala stations. expect to shell out ₱25,000-₱40,000 for a studio. a one-bedroom? start at ₱35,000 and go up to ₱70,000 if you want a view that isn’t of a masonry wall. check out this brutal cost-of-living breakdown many newcomers miss.

2. safety is a barangay-by-barangay lottery. the psa data says it’s one of the safest cities, but that averages out the gleaming cbd with the quieter, residential zones. near c5? pickpocket central during payday fridays. in bel-air or urdaneta? you’ll forget what a שקרן (shikran) is. just know that the gated subdivisions are safe because you pay for the guards, not because the city police are proactive. overheard at a bar in p. obelisk: "don’t walk alone past 10pm near the pasig river estero. not even if you’re a guy. they’ll take your phone and your shoes."

3. the job market is a two-faced beast. if you’re in bpo, finance, or tech, it’s a golden age. recruiters are literally hunting on linkedin. if you’re in the arts, media, or non-corporate services? good luck. the gig economy here is brutal; you’re competing with thousands of fresh grads from Ateneo, De La Salle, and UP who all speak perfect english and will work for less. the secret? the real networking happens in the cramped, overpriced coffee shops of salcedo village after 6pm.

4. you are not a person; you are a traffic statistic. the mmda data is a joke. the 3km from guadalupe to c5 can take 45 minutes. an hour. more. you will learn to schedule your life around edsa’s mood. the only pro-tip? if you can wfh even two days a week, do it. your car (or your soul) will thank you. a local warned me over san miguel light: "your life expectancy drops by five years the first time you get stuck in a flood under the mcdo sa kalayaan. just sell your car and grab ubber."

5. food is a religion, but it’s expensive. you can get a ₱50 turo-turo meal, sure. but the „lifestyle“ you see on instagram? that’s ₱300-₱500 for avocado toast at a place in legazpi village. grocery bills at s&r or landers will make you whimper. if you like cooking, the public markets like quiapo or divisoria are your savior, but hauling a 10kg bag of rice on the mrt is a core memory nobody wants.

6. the weather isn’t just hot; it’s a physical assault. it’s not „vibrant“ or „tropical charm.“ it’s a wet blanket of heat that clings to your back 10 months a year. „summer“ (march-may) is a furnace. the monsoon (june-oct) isn’t just rain; it’s the sky opening a tap directly over the city, and suddenly every street under the pnr tracks is a river. get a waterproof bag. buy boots. accept you will get caught in it.

7. your social life will be dictated by mrt schedules and „traffic.“ making plans with friends in quezon city? you’re basically scheduling a half-day event. the phrase „i’ll be there in 20 minutes“ is always a lie. the only reliable hangouts are within your 2km radius. you’ll become fiercely local to your little baranggay bubble.

8. you are a 20-minute drive from everything, and that everything is chaos. makati is a fortress of glass towers, but blink and you’re in the manic energy of pasig’s fringe bars, the old-money dust of santolan, or the sprawling, chaotic markets of divisoria. boni in high-end taguig? 15 minutes if you’re lucky. the struggle is real. read the raw, unfiltered complaints on the local subreddit to see what i mean.

9. „authentic local culture“ means recognizing the layers. you have the old makati (the spanish-era houses behind the hospitals), the corporate makati (the cbd), the „new money“ makati (fort bonifacio’s spillover), and the residential makati (the puroks). don’t pretend you understand it in a month. you’ll constantly be in a place that’s gentrifying, historic, and desperately trying to be global all at once. it’s exhausting.

10. the burnout is different here. the pressure isn’t just work; it’s the constant performance of „making it“ in the country’s financial capital. you see people in salcedo village power-walking at 6am before their 7am meeting. you see the same faces at 11pm in the 24-hour jollibee. it’s a city that never sleeps because nobody can afford to.