The City of Smiles, the land of opportunities

The Masskara Festival draws thousands of tourists to the city each year, with its colorful parades and fun-filled shows.

If you seek happiness in the Philippines, many will immediately take you to the land of Bacolod. Known as the “City of Smiles”, this northwestern city on the island of Negros is famous for its cheerful people, delicious delicacies and the colorful MassKara Festival. This sunny Visayan city is also a paradise for tourists due to its historical monuments and natural wonders. A trip to this place will almost always be one that you will enjoy immensely.

In recent years, the people of Bacolod have been blessed with more reasons to smile. While the city continues to preserve many of its heritage structures and natural landscapes, Bacolod has gradually become more urbanized and progressive. It is an emerging power in terms of economic activities. In addition to tourism and parties, the City of Smiles now has much more to offer its people.

If you’re thinking of moving to the Visayas in the near future, here are a few more reasons why Bacolod should be at the top of your list of potential home sites.

Bacolod City offers a rich combination of heritage sites, new developments, and strong business opportunities.—LAMUDI.COM.PH

A healthy mix of old and new

The island of Negros is known for its majestic houses and heritage buildings. Bacolod, its largest settlement, offers a multitude of these. Some of the most popular are the Gaston Ancestral House, the Cathedral of San Sebastián, and Las Ruinas in the adjacent town of Talisay. A stroll through the markets and squares of the city would also provide you with eye-catching images of Art Deco buildings, such as the Daku Balay house built in 1936. These long-built structures are mostly well-maintained and preserved, giving you gives the city a historically rich character.

The city, however, also has its offer of new developments. His local government has four mega-projects planned for the next few years. These are the Bacolod City Coliseum, the Masskara Museum-Auditorium, the Bacolod City southbound terminal, and the Bacolod Negros Occidental economic highway. While construction of these projects has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia assures that these benchmarks will certainly continue.

This healthy mix of old and new structures provides a varied environment in Bacolod. While the city honors its vibrant past, new projects help it move toward a progressive future.

BPO business haven

Last year in July, Bacolod was declared one of the premier “Center of Excellence” for Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) . It has held this accolade since 2013, a testament to the city’s consistent delivery of quality in terms of manpower and infrastructure.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this distinction provides a ray of hope for the city. It assures citizens and investors that the city continues to do everything possible to serve businesses well, despite the challenges of COVID-19. Currently, 20 BPO companies provide 35,000 jobs in the city and are part of the Western Bacolod-Negros Federation of Information and Communications Technology (BNEFIT). This group helps drive the development of talent in the city by continuously offering training workshops in creative industries such as animation and game development.

The Cathedral of San Sebastián in Bacolod is one of the many heritage sites in the city.

Effective ecological program

For those who value the balance between a healthy environment and an urban lifestyle, Bacolod is your ideal home. In the midst of its urbanization projects, the city launched a five-year Urban Ecology Program in 2018. This government-led initiative aims to convert vacant lands in various area barangays into seedling nurseries, aquaculture sites and other green spaces. In addition, the project aims to plant one million new trees, establish a park in the 61 barangays of Bacolod and plant different species of flora on the banks of the rivers and roads of the city.

Recently, the project has caught the attention of the World Bank Group (WB). The WB committed to provide technical assistance to ensure the completion of the project as part of the COVID-19 economic recovery program. With this partnership, Bacolod will be able to implement more sustainable practices to ensure the healthy growth of the city following the principles of eco-design.

A bright future at Bacolod

If you are looking to resettle outside of Metro Manila and start over, Bacolod is the place to be. The city offers a rich culture, new developments, numerous job opportunities, and a green environment. It is an ideal place to start a new career or even a new family.

Head to Bacolod to see the wonders the city has in store for you. You will definitely find happiness in the City of Smiles, if not in its offerings of a better life, then at least in its tempting plate of chicken and sauce.

Sources:

Ninya Regalado, Ceslou and NegrosSniper via Wikimedia Commons, www.nicp.org.ph, https://dnx.news, www.bacolodcity.gov.ph

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