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Sam Beltran

Young professionals in Makati City are humorously redefining OFW as “overworked” or “on-site” Filipino workers, parodying the high costs and urban convenience of Metro Manila’s premier financial district.
In the Philippines, OFW generally refers to overseas Filipino workers who move abroad in search of better opportunities and pay.
But recently, the initialism has been given a new meaning by some Makati residents who post social media reels chronicling their expatriate-style lifestyle, complete with the city’s skyscrapers, manicured parks and coffee shops.
The videos also satirise aspects of OFW life, with tongue-in-cheek lines about homesickness and working hard to provide for the family.
“The idea came from my own experience,” said Nick Tumbagahan, who has documented a day in his life as an “OFW” – leaving his Makati condominium, walking to his morning coffee spot, heading to the office, then unwinding after work at the gym.
The native of Bacolod City in the central Philippines was a seafarer overseas before moving to Makati for work.
“Like many people in Makati, I left home in search of better opportunities. One day, I jokingly referred to myself as an ‘OFW in Makati’ and it resonated,” Tumbagahan said.
The trend offers a snapshot of everyday life for city workers and urban dwellers, from local parks and popular running routes to affordable lunch places in the business district.
One of Tumbagahan’s videos showcased a go-to lunch spot at a shopping centre’s basement selling budget meals for 95 pesos (US$1.52), garnering thousands of views.

The ‘overseas’ costs
The idea of being an “OFW in Makati” has resonated with residents in part because of the stark contrast between living and working in one of the country’s most expensive urban centres.
“It’s funny because it’s true,” said Justine Poblete-Delos Reyes, who has lived on the outskirts of Makati’s central business district for two years. “Makati feels like a different world and the cost of living is crazy.”
She moved to the city after her husband, a lawyer, found a job nearby. They welcomed a baby last year, making the question of settling down in Makati over the long term more pressing.
“We’d like to own our own property, but I don’t think it’s feasible here because it’s so expensive,” she said. “But we are content where we are now. There’s a community here and it’s family-friendly.”
Makati City accounted for 5.5 per cent of the national economy in 2025, generating a gross domestic product of 1.27 trillion pesos, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Land scarcity has driven up property values and rents in hubs such as Makati, with prime land values averaging 1 million pesos per square metre, according to Joey Roi Bondoc, director and head of research at Colliers Philippines.
A one-bedroom condominium unit could cost 248,000 pesos per square metre, Bondoc said.
“The concentration of premium residential developments, malls, schools and healthcare facilities also contributes to higher living expenses in these locations,” he added.
The city had also become a popular choice for expatriates, Bondoc said, as well as “high-level executives, entrepreneurs, young professionals and investors seeking premium locations” close to workplaces and schools.
Wealth gap
Lurking beneath all Makati’s conveniences is a wide income disparity, according to Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation.
“The wealthiest families also reside near those CBDs, thereby explaining the large inequality compared with fringe areas,” he said.
Makati’s property market is evolving as the Philippines has become one of the world’s least affordable places to buy a home, compared to local incomes, with 55 per cent of respondents saying they struggled to afford housing in Gallup’s 2025 World Poll.
Condominium prices in Metro Manila reached 19.8 times the median annual household income in 2024, a study last year by the Urban Land Institute found, far exceeding its affordability threshold of five times annual income.
House prices in towns were even less affordable, at 33.4 times the median annual income, said the institute, which has its regional headquarters in Hong Kong.

While many of Makati’s daytime workforce commute from outside the city, those who choose convenience over hours spent in traffic are often forced to rent.
Eric Gonzales, a data privacy consultant, shares a one-bedroom unit with his partner, who works as a social media manager, paying 26,000 pesos per month in the upscale Salcedo Village neighbourhood, which he said was “quite cheap for this area”.
“Our rent could eat up half of one’s salary, even more if you factor in the electric bill, Wi-fi and association dues. It’s definitely a challenge financially speaking, but it does help having someone with you for that,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales, who used to spend 400 pesos on motorcycle-hailing fees to commute to Makati, said living near his workplace was much easier.
“I’m assuming a lot of these people who can afford to live here probably work in corporate jobs that can afford to pay them enough to live here in the first place … so there’s that convenience factor of probably already being closer to work,” he said.
He said food, groceries and eating out were also “much more expensive”, but “that’s the price you pay for that extra convenience and being at the centre of it all”.

Why they stay
Ricafort said the city still had room for improvement, suggesting that better public transport infrastructure could help narrow the property price gap and improve access to areas outside the central business district.
“Traffic congestion and longer travel times amid a lack of fast mass transport systems tend to put a premium on those CBDs,” he said.
For many Makati residents, however, the city’s work-life balance and lifestyle options still make living there worth the cost.
“I live an active lifestyle and there are a lot of options for people who are also in their fitness journey. There are also a lot of good restaurants and the theatre scene is very much alive here,” said Joe Ramos, a lawyer and fitness instructor in the city.
“I work hard and people who work hard deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labour.”
Ramos said he chose Makati in spite of its hustle culture because everything he enjoyed was in the city, adding that could not afford to lose hours every day to heavy traffic.
“Work is hard, so finding some levity around your work situation can help manage the stress. It doesn’t have to be taken too seriously, and sometimes you can even find helpful tips on things to do or cheap finds,” he said.
While Tumbagahan said Makati could be hectic, “it’s also where I’ve built my career, friendships, routines and opportunities”, he added.
“I joke about it a lot through the OFW in Makati content, but that’s also because I’ve genuinely enjoyed calling it home.”


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Content creator Nick Tumbagahan started the “OFW in Makati” social media trend. Photo: Nick Tumbagahan

Justine Poblete-Delos Reyes (right) and her family live on the outskirts of Makati’s central business district. Photo: Justine Poblete-Delos Reyes

A shopping centre in Makati City, where property prices have skyrocketed. Photo: Handout

Makati City is notorious for traffic congestion. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Young workers, drawn by the financial district’s expatriate-style amenities, satirise the high costs while navigating its hustle culture


Young workers, drawn by the financial district’s expatriate-style amenities, satirise the high costs while navigating its hustle culture.


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Offbeat

Meet the other OFWs offering humorous takes on ‘crazy’ life in Philippines’ Makati

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Young workers, drawn by the financial district’s expatriate-style amenities, satirise the high costs while navigating its hustle culture

Young workers, drawn by the financial district’s expatriate-style amenities, satirise the high costs while navigating its hustle culture