Choosing where to live and grow a family is probably one of the biggest life decisions one will have to do. For most of her life, Clariza Lisama was content to be working in an educational environment as the Vice President of an integrated school in Noveleta, Cavite. Her everyday job involved making sure that the children enrolled in the school received the best formation from her well-trained faculty staff.
While she enjoyed the responsibility entrusted to her by the school, the mother of four felt that she needed to focus more on her own children and to put the welfare of her whole family first. After a decade of service, Clariza knew that she had to be on top of her kids’ schedules and be in charge of her own time. At that very moment, she decided it was time to quit her nine-to-five job.
“It was a big decision for me and I had to talk to my husband on what I wanted to do – run my own business and be my own boss. It wasn’t possible to do all of these because there weren’t many opportunities in the area where we lived before. I wanted to be able to find a location where I can manage the household, earn from a business and still have time for myself and my family,” Clariza said.
After scouring through most of Cavite, Clariza and her husband found Lancaster New City’s unique township concept most attractive.
Here are the reasons why:
1. LNC promotes holistic formation.
In the two years that Clariza and her family have been living in their deluxe Lancaster New City home, she admits that she has never felt so secure and comfortable financially, emotionally and even spiritually. The hands-on mom is proud to have invested in an affordable quality home that puts premium on providing families with the most important aspects of their lives – to be able to live, learn, work, play and worship within the same grounds.
A constantly evolving neighborhood in Cavite, Lancaster New City works to provide countless Filipino families with a complete community. This idea was brought to life by trusted developer Property Company of Friends (PRO-FRIENDS) to allow families to have more opportunities to bond and enjoy their time together.
“Before moving to LNC, we had to go from one place to another for every activity that each one of us wanted to do. But now, it’s just a matter of minutes to go from the restaurant and school that I manage, to do grocery shopping, to fetch my youngest from school, to hear Sunday mass and any other activity or business that I have to accomplish,” Clariza shared.
2. LNC is a residential hub that encourages the entrepreneurial spirit.
The 40-year-old manages Chef Roberto’s, a restaurant specializing in authentic Spanish-Filipino cuisine strategically situated at the back row of Lancaster Square. A cozy space that can comfortably seat up to 25 people, Chef Roberto’s is Clariza’s pride and joy.
“I’m not professionally trained in the food industry, but my accounting background gave me the leverage to do business feasibility studies for Chef Roberto’s. This paved the way for us to do trial and error before we officially opened Chef Roberto’s to the public. Now, we are able to accommodate guests on a daily basis and we are told that we are known around here for quality comfort food,” said Clariza.
At the same time, Clariza runs a playschool for kids ages 1 ½ to 4 years old. A stone’s throw away from Chef Roberto’s, the Gabriel Archangel Toddler Playschool currently has 97 enrolled students. The progressive tutorial school also has two other branches in other parts of Cavite.
Remaining true to her background as an educator, Clariza personally trains and assigns designations to the teachers of Gabriel Archangel Toddler Playschool. She admits that the processes can be extremely extensive, but says she enjoys being on top of the business and learning along the way.
3. LNC promotes strong family ties.
Despite her undeniably busy schedule, Clariza believes in spending quality time with her husband and four kids whose ages range from 12 to 20 years old. The mom-entrepreneur shared, “I will not be able to achieve what I have now without the love and support of my husband and kids. I draw all my strength and inspiration from them and I work hard every single day because of them. The best way I can give back is to give them my undivided attention and care as much as I am able to.”
Roberto is the name of her eldest child, thus Chef Roberto’s came about. In the same manner, her second child Gabriel is the inspiration for her playschool’s name. Clariza smiled and joked that she’s still in the process of mapping out her third and fourth business ventures – to be named Mac and Kaila, her third and fourth children respectively.
“Since they’re all still in school and I’m busy overlooking the businesses Mondays to Fridays, weekends are reserved for the family,” said Clariza. “The best thing for me is that we don’t have to go very far to be able to enjoy a day at the park, or meet with neighbors, or dine out. Basically, we spend time together without spending much on other things like gas and parking. LNC provides us not only with the necessities but also with the luxury of having it all in one space.”
4. LNC is a secured community.
“One of the best things about living in this community is that we feel safe and secure, most especially for the kids. I appreciate the fact that LNC has committed to providing its residents with the best security measures possible,” beamed Clariza.
True to its goal, LNC is equipped with the best roving security guards to watch over the activities within the residences and its other properties. Clariza says that it also helps that the guards are familiar with who the homeowners are and make sure that they can go through their daily routine without fearing that anything might go wrong.
5. LNC provides the family with a better lifestyle.
As with any mother who aspires for nothing but the best, Clariza’s fearlessness continues to drive her thirst for more successes in life. She said, “I’m so happy that we made the first step towards making this big change in our family’s lives. Since we transferred to LNC, everything else just followed, and it’s getting better by the day.”
It’s the little things that add up to big joys after all. Clariza gave her thumbs up and reaffirmed how contented and happy her family is in Lancaster New City. “The community has a huge potential for more growth,” she reflected. “I am excited for what the future holds for us here in LNC in terms of managing our businesses and household and of course—the very thing that led us here—spending more quality time with my family.”
