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When Matthew Straight and April Pasilang lived in Cebu City, the oldest city in the Philippines, the constant hum of traffic made it hard to slow down.

“We didn’t really ever get to open a window. It was always closed,” Straight, 46, told Business Insider.

Straight, who grew up in New Zealand, met Pasilang, now 44, in the Philippines in 2016 while working in the fitness industry. In July 2024, he moved from his base in Australia to Cebu City to be closer to her.

The bustle of city life got old fast.

Straight had always thought about living off-grid in the countryside, but he didn’t think Pasilang would be interested.

“When he mentioned it, it was like, oh my God, I wanted that too,” Pasilang, a yoga instructor, told BI. She grew up on the outskirts of Cebu City, where space was plentiful and her family grew their own crops, and she longed for that kind of simplicity again.

They didn’t plan to leave Cebu City, but a two-night trip to Bohol, an island about two hours by ferry, changed everything.

They stumbled upon a piece of land they liked in a small town called Corella. Although it was only about a 15-minute drive from a large market and mall, the area was quiet, with few neighbors, and just a short drive to the beach. They bought it on a whim.

“I thought it would happen maybe in five years or something. It never crossed my mind that it would happen so quickly,” Pasilang said.

Building an off-grid home

The couple paid 1.3 million Philippine pesos, or about $23,000, for the plot of land, which measures about 15,500 square feet. In October, they broke ground on the construction of their off-grid home.

Straight drew a simple floor plan, and the couple worked with local architects and builders to design their new place.

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom main residence was designed with an open plan layout to maximize natural light and airflow. Steps away, a separate one-bedroom guest house offers a comfortable stay for visiting family and friends.

Outside, there’s a pool, a vegetable garden, and a pond — plenty of space for the couple to grow their own food and unwind.

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Hoping to be as self-sustainable as possible, the couple outfitted the house with rainwater storage tanks and a solar panel system.

“We don’t want to be at the whim of global supply chain issues,” Straight said.

They spent 4.84 million Philippine pesos on building the property, which included the costs of their appliances, furniture, fencing, drainage, and their solar energy system.

They moved in in April.

“Now we’re getting the veggie gardens going,” Straight said. “We just picked some eggplants, okra, and chilies in the morning.”

The couple also has plans to buy some chickens and raise tilapia fish in their pond for their own consumption.

They’ve grown close to several neighbors, often stopping by with extra produce from their garden or homemade treats, like Pasilang’s banana bread.

Among the familiar faces is a 75-year-old woman who runs a small convenience store where kids from the nearby elementary school stop by to buy snacks.

“Then there’s another neighbor who’s 83 and fit as a fiddle. He walks around carrying big bottles of water, and he’s ripped,” Straight said.

The sense of community is unlike what they experienced in Cebu City, or even in Australia, where Straight lived for more than 10 years.

“Everyone looks out for each other here. They’re just so kind and thoughtful and generous, even if they don’t have much,” he said. “And you reciprocate that.”

Their friends from Cebu drop by regularly, and the couple says they’ve also connected with new people through their homestead-focused YouTube channel — a hobby they picked up when they started building their home.

Living with intention

Moving away from the city has allowed the couple to live at their own pace.

“We wake up, open the sliding doors, put a pot of coffee on, and take a look at the garden. We just decide what to do based on what needs to be done in the garden, like filling up the garden beds,” Pasilang said.

In the afternoons, Straight does online nutrition consulting work, and once he’s finished, the couple brainstorms ideas for their YouTube channel.

They’re no longer rushing from place to place, worrying about their to-do lists.

“Everything was always go, go, go and structured, because you really have to time it due to the traffic,” Straight said.

It’s all in line with their goal to slow down and lead a more purposeful life, especially for Straight.

Back in Australia, Straight juggled multiple jobs: managing a gym, running a taco business, and overseeing a café. He also owned several rental properties.

Losing his mother to pancreatic cancer in 2017 shifted his outlook. Straight traveled back and forth between Australia and New Zealand to spend time with her while she was sick.

“I thought, gosh, I’m having to leave her to go back to a job — where I’m just exchanging time for money, which will come and go — instead of spending time with my mom,” he said.

The experience made him realize that he wanted control over his time. After reassessing his priorities, Straight saw that he could live with less and be happier for it.

When he moved to the Philippines, he only had three boxes and two suitcases.

“It was actually quite therapeutic, getting rid of all my stuff and then coming to the Philippines and buying things intentionally — quality stuff that’s not going to just be thrown away in a year’s time,” Straight said.

They haven’t found any downsides to their new life yet. “We have everything we had in Cebu but with a much easier, slower-paced life,” he added.

Apart from being less attached to material things, the couple says their lifestyle change has improved their mental health.

“When you get a text message or you’re checking social media, you get that dopamine reaction in your brain,” Straight said. “But now, we get the same thing by going out to the garden and seeing that the okra has grown an inch in a day.”

Do you have a story to share about building your dream home in Asia? Contact this reporter at [email protected].