I get a lot of emails from people thinking or planning on moving to Bali, asking me advice about various things. I always reply to emails (although sometimes it takes me months! But I’m getting better…) so please feel free to contact me in the comments or by email if you need advice. I love hearing from people who’ve found my blog when they’re looking “how to escape” themselves.
Not everyone knows that I’m an accidental expat. That is, I never intended to move to Bali. Oh sure, I was pretty adamant that I would be leaving the UK and probably (hopefully) not coming back but I really had no clue that I’d end up living on a little tropical island. So I didn’t really have chance to think about the issues that come with being an expat here.
This worked for me, obviously, but it’s not necessarily a strategy I recommend. I see posts in public forums all the time from people filled with enthusiasm about a move to Bali because they’ve worked it up to be some amazing paradise in their head (sometimes not even been here on holiday) and then they’re inevitably in for a bit of a shock when it comes to actually living here.
I recently contributed an expat tip to the expat resources page at HiFX and it’s made me think about other tips that I would give people who are thinking about starting a new life in Bali.
1. Set up an income stream in your home country before moving. Lots of people come over here with the vague idea of starting a business but in fact it’s very difficult (and expensive) for expats to set up a business or work in Indonesia. Yes lots of people do it but the government are cracking down on people working here without a visa and it’s definitely not something I’d recommend. Instead it’s better if you can have some kind of income from back home, whether that’s a pension, rental income or a business run from somewhere else.
2. Learn Indonesian. Duh. But you’d be surprised how many expats don’t make an effort to learn the basics. I knew no Indonesian when I got here and it’s taken me a long time to catch up. Indonesian is a really easy language to learn and it will make your life so much easier if you can speak a bit of it before you come out here.
3. Throw out your watch. There’s an expression in Indonesian – “jam karet” or “rubber time”. Basically the idea that time expands to suit you. It’s something that comes from lazy island life where there are no seasons to mark the passage of time. Get used to things not happening when they’re supposed to and taking longer than they should. You’ll also be held up randomly by ceremony processions blocking the traffic – sit back and enjoy the view!
4. Keep your wits about you. I’m amazed at the way people seem to throw away all common sense as soon as they land here. You’d never dream of handing over your life savings to a stranger back home right? And yet I hear so many stories of people who’ve been taken for a ride because they’ve been stupid. A good rule of thumb is not to do anything that you wouldn’t do at home. Yes the Balinese people are lovely, friendly and helpful but Bali has its fair share of bad apples, just like anywhere else in the world. Don’t be a sucker.
5. Don’t arrange long-term accommodation over the internet. This ties in with the above point. If you rent a house here you’ll be expected to pay 6 months or a year’s rent in advance. If you hand the money over without seeing what you’re getting, you could be in for a bit of a shock. It’s fine to make enquiries before you arrive but don’t plan anything long term before you see it. You’ll generally get better deals by searching around in person anyway.
Ok that’s enough for today 🙂 I’ll save the rest for another post but please feel free to add to the list in the comments!
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