EXPAT LIFE IN BALI
As remote working becomes something more people are in tune with, I wanted to share my experience of living in Bali and working remotely as a digital nomad. These two-three years changed my perspective on life, and hugely impacted the way I choose to spend my time, and my need for flexible working. I hope you find it helpful!
Travel has always been part of my life since I was young - in-fact my first time on an aeroplane was when I was two months old and I’m lucky to count over 30 countries on my list of places I’ve visited, and it keeps growing. I actually first visited Bali in 2007 on the end of a work placement trip to Beijing for the Olympic Games, and when I visited it again in 2015 it became my home for the next few years. I went with the intention of it just being a few months, but, and as it has for many, the island life completely sucked me in.
Dojo in Canggu, Bali
It’s hard to explain to people who have not been to the island what Bali is like. These days Bali has had huge western influence, mainly from Australia, and the standard of restaurants, hotels, bars, cafes, villas and beach clubs are incredible, and come at a fraction of the price that you’d find in say London or Sydney. My two bedroom villa, for example, came with a pool, garden, gardener, etc and it was half of what I was paying for a tiny flat in England’s capital. You can already start to see why so many people are choosing to live in Bali.
Life as a digital nomad is amazing, and Bali certainly caters for it. Cafes are dotted all over the place, providing the perfect ‘office’ for expats working from laptops. The food is the best I’ve ever had and very cheap - I mean, you can’t go wrong with an avo on sour dough for a few quid can you - so spending days at cafes doesn’t cost a bomb. There is also the option to go to the many co-working spaces, like Dojo. Like most co-working spaces they have all the facilities that an office would have, and some of them even put on weekly courses, seminars and talks. I attended a few Social Media seminars whilst I was there which were truly helpful.
The ability to choose your own hours was also a huge draw for me. I was lucky enough to get a long-term contract with a company based in Singapore, and they let me choose my own hours. I discovered this new way of working which I hadn’t experienced before, and it allowed me to design my life how I wanted. My quality of life improved hugely, as I made time for me around my need to work.
An example of a Bali villa
An average day in Bali for me looked something like an early morning surf or gym workout followed by breakie in one of my fave cafes, where I’d then stay to work for a few hours. I’d then spend a few hours chilling in the sun or at the beach, and then I’ll be back on the laptop working until sunset and an early dinner, then I’d head back to my villa and work some more. The beauty was though that I could change this up daily - it was never mundane, it was just what I fancied doing that day. I was still clocking just as many hours, but the ability to fit it around the things that truly made me happy made the world of difference.
The only negative of expat life is the visa situation. It is a bit of a grey area to be honest, as technically westerners shouldn’t be working unless they have a Kitas [which is a working visa when you are sponsored by an Indonesian company]. There are loop holes though. Through my job I was on a business visa which meant I could conduct business meetings and would need to fly out every few months to renew it. Most expats are on a social visa which requires you to fly out much more frequently. Check out the entry requirements here.
I absolutely loved my time in Bali, and it definitely shaped my views on how I want to live my life now. Since returning to the UK I have tried to find freelance work that allows me the flexibility that makes me happy.
Check out my top tips for a Bali holiday here.