Sentiments in Social Media
Proximity to work/school is the top reason that people gave for choosing to live in either BGC or Makati, according to a research conducted by RTL, a local digital research and consulting company. They also found that the main reasons that people like to be in BGC are: presence of art / murals and good restaurants. Transportation and open space are the other reasons. For Makati, the reasons are its active nightlife, easy access and investment value. Sample size is 346 respondents.
Photo: reasons why people choose BGC or Makati, according to a social media research by RTL.
We, the team at TheFortCity.com, like living and working in Fort Bonifacio, but on our social media, sometimes we are told that Makati is better. So are we deluding ourselves?
Makati City and Bonifacio Global City (part of Fort Bonifacio) are the two leading business centers in Metro Manila. These places have the highest concentration of top grade offices in the Philippines. They are also the top choices for executives and expat who like city-living to set up homes. 
While Makati City is a proper city delineated by the government, BGC is actually part of an administrative neighborhood (barangay Fort Bonifacio) within a city called Taguig City. Makati City covers a much larger area.
As an older and bigger place, Makati City has a wide range of living quarters for all income groups, while all residential units BGC are built after 1996 and there are only condominiums and no houses. High end accommodation in Makati City is concentrated in several areas: Forbes Park, Dasmarinas, San Lorenzo, Urdaneta and Bel-Air villages for houses, and Legazpi, Salcedo villages and Rockwell for condominiums. 
Photo: 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City (photo credit: thefortcity.com). Inset: Salamanca Street in Makati (photo credit: JudgeFloro).
Housing options
Makati City offers a much wider range of housing options than BGC, if we include the whole of Makati City. However, if we look at accommodation choices that are comparable to the quality of BGC’s, then only a few places in Makati City can be considered: condo buildings in Salcedo Village, Legazpi Village and Rockwell Center.
Environment
In terms of street aesthetics, BGC does not have hideous overhead power and telephone cables, and the sidewalks are wide. Makati City only has a few streets like Ayala Avenue that can match BGC on this one. 
As regards cleanliness, it is true that cigarette butts used to plague many places in BGC. Now that smoking is banned in all public places in Taguig City, and more trash cans are provided, fewer cigarette butts are seen in BGC. We wonder how Makati’s street cleanliness compares with BGC now.
Parks
Both places have limited park space. BGC has several pocket parks, and a 1.1 km greenway. Makati has Ayala Triangle Gardens and Jaime C. Velasquez Park (Salcedo Park). We do not think we can pick any winner in this category.
Night life
Makati City has a more complex night scene than BGC’s. It has old districts that have traditional bars that cater to expat men, hip cafe/bar in gentrified districts, as well as the high end clubs in 5-star hotels. On the other hand, BGC has two clusters of buildings that are purpose built for clubbing (the Palace at north Bonifacio) and dining (Fort Entertainment complex). Parking is more organized in BGC.
Security
In BGC, you see marshalls every where. True, their main job is to manage traffic, but their presence helps to deter crime, we are sure. Streets are well-lit within BGC. We feel safe walking around BGC even in the middle of the night. We do not think we can say that about Makati City. 
Makati City or BGC? it is clich├® to say this, but it depends on what is important to you.
Expat community in BGC
In the same study done by RTL, a local digital research and consulting company, it found that, of the 157 respondents who reside in BGC, 88 of them are foreigners. Maybe this helps us understand the sentiments that were collected in the study, or the variety of food in the supermarkets in BGC? 
Photo credit for the right circled picture in the featured photo, Ayala Triangle: Chilledsunshine, wikipedia.
