This Family Left Their Home in Manila to Live in Siargao

Do you ever just want to live by the beach? With the palm trees swaying in the gentle sea breeze and the waves crashing against the shore, almost all beach lovers would love to get up and grab the chance to do just that. But there’s a lot more to living by the beach than the simple decision to do so. There’s the logistics to think about, your source of income, and of course, your family. Questions like where will they study, what will they do, and more will always be in the forefront of your minds. But, we’re not saying it’s impossible. In fact, we found a family who did just that! The Sias family, a longtime Manila-based family, decided to they wanted to move to Siargao… and actually followed through on it. Read more about how they did it as Carla shares her family’s story below!

Baby and Breakfast: Motherhood This Family Left Their Home in Manila to Live in Siargao

 

The Sias family shares their story...

Everyone in our family has always been a beach baby, and we noticed that our longest vacations are always on the beach. Since we also do see ourselves retiring by the seaside, we thought, why not get into it early?

There were certainly a lot of challenges, like thinking about what we would do for a living (we currently run Tattumundo, a temporary Tattu company which we can luckily do remotely), where we would stay and live, who we would hang out with, whether or not to bring our car or opt to live the real island way. It wasn’t a simple or easy decision, and we thought long and hard about it, but everything pretty much dissipated after we got to Siargao.

When we told our family and friends about it, the typical reactions were like, “Why??!!”, “Ang layo niyo na!”, “Anong gagawin niyo roon?”, “Is it safe in Mindanao?”, “Why Siargao?”.

They all had sensible apprehensions–“Safe ba diyan?”, “Paano kung wala kayong kakilala diyan?” But we did our research and had our set on the move. And when it boiled down to it, our families and friends were supportive of us and our decision.

Now that we’re here, we can honestly say that the quality of our marriage and family life has increased by sooo much! Our quality of life is at an all time high right now.

We spend more time together, experience new things as a family, and because we currently don’t have a TV here, TV time is replaced with walks on the beach, swimming, sand castle building, and simply talking.

Life here is simpler. We go to bed at 8 or 9 pm, then wake up at 5 or 6 am and go about our day sans the traffic and pollution. Siargao has an abundance of fresh fruits, seafood, and unadulterated fresh air. 

We'd dare say our quality of life has increased dramatically. 

In terms of education, our kids our home-schooled. They do their textbooks for 20 minutes a day and then they’re done. The kids love exploring, swimming, finding sea creatures, and seeing new things that they haven’t seen before.

 

What we love about homeschooling is that everything is a teachable moment. Fights turn into lessons about respect and forgiveness, hermit crab bites turn into cautionary tales about wildlife, etc. It’s pretty awesome!

Some of the things we love about living in Siargao? Being surrounded by beautiful nature, fresh air, that we’re able to go to the beach anytime we want to, genuine locals who are just so nice, and fresh seafood. Oh yeah, the simplicity of the island is a big factor–no malls, no traffic, no pollution. 

Siargao is also so much safer because it’s a smaller community where everyone knows everyone. We’ll admit that there are a few minor misdemeanors, like forcibly opening bike compartments (normally done by outsiders) and such, but nothing remotely like the ones done in Manila.

It's also so easy to make friends and the connections you make are genuine. Almost all the people we’ve met in the island are kind and honest. 

It’s such a breath of fresh air. And the people here seem to be enchanted with happiness. They always have smiles on their faces!

We haven’t second guessed our decision to move here yet, hopefully we never do. But we are so much better people here. Our family’s vibe perfectly matches the island’s.

As individuals, we are calmer, more zen, and just happier humans. As parents, we spend even more time with the kids without the distractions of city life.

Regarding our future plans, we are currently working on a few ideas that *fingers crossed* should materialize in a few months. But for now, we are simply just living.

We finally found a space we can call home. Everyday is such an adventure here in the island. Not everything is perfect, but everything just seems right.

Simply seeing the beach and the water brings us peace, the locals are so real with zero pretension. It’s absolutely refreshing, and exploring new areas in the island brings joy to our hearts. We are just so grateful right now.

We actually joke around with the kids and say that we are going back to Manila, and they collectively shout "No!!! We love it here!" Don't worry, we feel the same kids.

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  1. Hi 😊my husband and i have talked about these kind of stuff like, moving to a calmer place anywhere, but we haven’t really finalized yet cause starting it is really so difficult. One reason is cause of the usual where we are used to live in the city.

    How about you, how’d you take all factors before transferring for good?

  2. OMG, this is the family life that I want for my children, and their children. Simple and yet happy family life. What about the spiritual dimension in your life in the island? Siargao must remain as is. let keep it that way.

  3. Hi, I am actually enjoying the idea of moving to Siargao with my two kids and mom. I do stocks and commodities trading so internet is one of my top concerns next to medical needs. I have never been to Siargao, how’s the internet connection in there, btw? Would appreciate your response. Thanks so much

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