Outlook Drive, Baguio City: You’re Beautiful, Dangerous, and I Still Want You.

By Richard Valdez – A Future Baguio City Retiree | www.richardvaldezre.com

You’re not like the others, Outlook Drive.

You’re quiet. Unassuming. You don’t beg for attention like Session Road, or put on airs like Camp John Hay. No, you hide. Tucked away just far enough from Baguio’s chaos. Pine-scented. Wrapped in morning fog like a secret. And somehow... you found me.

I wasn’t looking for you—not really. Just a man with a husband, four dogs, and a dream. A dream of escape. Of safety. Of a life not tethered to noise or the weight of too many strangers. I wanted a place to grow older, slower, softer.

But you, Outlook Drive... you are not soft. You are beautiful. Which is what makes you dangerous.

The Allure: You Know What You’re Doing

You tempt me with your quiet elegance. Winding roads like veins through pine-covered hills. Homes that whisper “classic Baguio” with their steep roofs, wide verandas, and old soul charm. You wear the fog like a veil. A siren song. A spell.

Even your newer neighbors—like Outlook Ridge Residences—know how to play the game. Concrete, steel, and glass, but still humble. Still pretending they’re not watching me watching them from behind my screen at 2 a.m.

Yes, I’ve seen you—every listing, every aerial shot. I’ve mapped your corners. I've tracked your angles. I know where the best views are. I know what time the sun sets behind Cordillera’s ridge. I know where the wind hits hardest.

And I’ve imagined it. The mornings. Coffee. Silence. My husband beside me. Four dogs curled at our feet. A life less fast. Less digital. More real.

But you? You're complicated.

Lifestyle. Retail. Distraction.

You’ve changed, haven’t you?

You used to be a side street. A whisper. Now you’ve got cafés. Lemon and Olives. Artisanal bread. Cold brew. You have taste. Culture. Locals. Tourists. A pulse.

You offer comfort—hot meals, cozy beds, curated spaces—but you never feel corporate. You’ve stayed... human. And I admire that about you.

But I know that charm is part of your defense. You dress yourself up so people forget to look deeper. Past the boutiques. Past the balconies. Past the dirt beneath your beauty.

But Beauty Has a Body Count

You’re not just dreamy, Outlook Drive. You’re dangerous.

You live in a geo-hazard zone. You sleep on a fault line. I know about July 2025. The landslide. The homes that trembled. The trees that fell. The silence afterward.

You hide the warning signs beneath your flowers. You wear your cracks like scars only the careful can see.

And yet, I still want you.

I want to believe I can fix you. That if I study you long enough—read every DENR-MGB report, consult every slope stability map, interview every local geologist—I’ll find the version of you that doesn’t crumble.

Because dreams are made of more than granite and concrete. They’re made of choice. And I choose you. Cautiously. Reluctantly. Completely.

Due Diligence—or Devotion?

I’ve already begun. The due diligence. The late-night research. The cold calls to local engineers. I’ve stared at topographical maps like they're tarot cards. I’ve highlighted areas in red. I’ve drawn lines you’ll never see, but I know them. I’ve built your bones in my mind.

Because I won’t let you kill me.

I won’t let you take my dream and bury it in the mudslide of poor planning.

I want your view. But I want peace more.

And if I can’t have both? Then maybe I was wrong about you.

Maybe.

A Disclaimer—Or a Confession

I’m not a geologist. I’m not a real estate broker. I’m not pretending to be anything more than what I am: a man in love with a place that might break his heart.

This blog, this... letter? It's not advice. It's a record. My way of saying, I see you, Outlook Drive. All of you.

And if anyone else out there is watching you the way I am—planning to build a life with you—just know: loving you means seeing all of you.

The views. The fog. The risk.

Because living near the clouds shouldn't mean living on the edge.

But sometimes, it does.

And sometimes, we choose it anyway.

— Richard

Sources I’ve Watched You Through

• DENR-MGB (http://www.mgb.gov.ph)

• July 2025 Landslide Reports (local Baguio news)

• Outlook Ridge Residences by DMCI Homes

• Baguio City Land Use Plans & Risk Assessments

• Conversations. Walkthroughs. Eyes wide open.