"It was his first time to see this house," Myrna said. She and her husband, Michael moved to their new house at the Ayala Greenfield Estates in Calamba, Laguna last March.

Since then, they have had several house guests stay over the weekend. Ginger, a Japanese friend from Evansville, Indiana, where the Robbs used to reside, stayed for one whole week.

"Ginger liked the place so much, she promised to come back," Myrna said.

From the roof deck of the house perched on a hill, one gets a 360 degree view — of Laguna Lake in the north, Mt. Makiling in the east, the green countryside in the south, and Tagaytay Ridge in the west.

In fact, there are two kitchens in the three level house that follows the slope of the hill. Myrna prepares most of the simple meals in the small kitchen on the ground floor. The more hearty Filipino meals are prepared in the bigger kitchen in the basement. It becomes a busy place especially when Myrna has her relatives and friends over.

Originally from Sta. Cruz, Laguna, Myrna and her family came to Manila during the war. After high school, Myrna left for the US where she pursued a bachelor’s degree with a major in Music History at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. This was also where she met her husband, Michael Robb, a businessman engaged in the family-owned industrial die casting company. They married 41 years ago. They have two children — Michael Andrew, and Audrey, a nurse who now lives with her husband and four children just outside Washington, DC.

It was in March 2000, during one of their visits to the country, when a newspaper ad of the Ayala Land residential development in Calamba, Laguna, caught Michael’s attention.

"When we went to take a look at the place, there were no roads yet," Myrna said. "There was just the view deck standing on top of the hill, and inside was a scale model. I remember the breeze blowing at the roof deck. We immediately fell in love with the view."

They were leaving for the US the following day, but not before they paid the reservation fee. They completed the transaction from the US. The plan for the house was finalized and construction started in 2005.

The decision to retire in the Philippines was not a difficult one.

"The US is a good place for the young," Myrna said," but not for the old people. Often, they are taken to nursing homes, unlike here where they get to stay in their own homes and cared by their family."

Myrna likes entertaining. She also likes to swim for her exercise in the infinity pool. She likes taking leisurely walks around the village where she feels safe under the watchful eyes of the courteous security guards who are on duty 24 hours everyday.

There are now 25 houses standing at Ayala Greenfield Estates, and 17 are under construction. In the end, there will be 2,000 houses in the 350 hectare residential development.

More information is at www.ayalagreenfieldestates.com.