People have regularly asked me why did I move to Bali?
My answer was easy - it's my happy place.
It's now ten years since I moved here. I was unhappy and confused; my father had just died, as had my marriage. We had sold the real estate business, and I didn't know who I was anymore. I just wanted to be happy, so why not move to the little island of Bali, which had always been my happy place of healing, nurturing and fun?
I'd been coming to Bali since I was a lost eighteen-year-old, then when married to my first husband, we'd come on a cheap and cheerful family holiday. Then with my second husband, we enjoyed indulgent 5-star hotels over the twenty years of our marriage. He seduced me on our first holiday together at the Four Seasons in Jimbaran. Not a bad start to a long and prosperous marriage.
So when my life came crashing down, Bali lured me with the dream of being happy and finding myself again.
Everyone thought it would be a temporary move, that my attachment to Sydney was too strong. It wasn't. But I did have the best of both worlds, being able to return 'home' every few months, only a five and a half hour's flight - very doable. Having my feet in both countries did cause some confusion, the conundrum of where I belonged. When the grandchildren came along, it became harder and harder to leave them. My seven-year-old granddaughter recently said over the phone, "Granny, why do you always leave me? Is there something wrong with me?" That broke my heart. But I had my life in Bali, the fur- babies and a life I equally loved. My heart was in Sydney, but my soul was in Bali.
So what's it like to live on a tropical island?
AMAZING.
We will always be visitors, no matter how long you live here, but what a great place to be a visitor. The culture and Balinese people have a depth of tradition and an enduring sense of community and religion. The healing energy of prayer and rituals colours the island with a visceral energy that breeds happiness and contentment.
Tourists come to Bali to be happy. To leave their troubles and responsibilities behind. People are high on dopamine. That's contagious. Rather than the big city weight most of us carry living a life with the burden of mortgages and demanding jobs, the pressure of families, and the fear of driving through a red light, or a few kilometres over the speed limit, they arrive in Bali, free and open to having fun and feeling free, if only for a week. After running the villas for almost seven years, I've never had a guest not loving Bali and sad to leave unless they were struck with Bali Belli! So here are some of the advantages of living in Bali -
The cost of living is at least half of Australia
You can afford a beautiful home, build or buy
Nature is all around you all the time
The air is clean and filled with the sweet smell of incense and frangipanis.
It's so easy to make friends, and we all support each other
People are interesting and from all walks of life
Being different is accepted
We have fun, dinners, parties, beach clubs, festivals
We meet our friends over long sunset walks
You can take your dogs most everywhere
You zip around on a scooter and feel like a teenager
There are few rules; self-awareness and practising kindness and decency are the rules
It's safe
Petrol is so much cheaper
You can create a business pretty easily and be successful
There's endless sunshine and perennial warmth
You have staff that do everything for you
Massages and beauty treatments are so affordable
Dressmakers and jewellers can copy/make anything
The food here is impressive, and every genre is available
Amazing healers, creatives, natural medicines
The local artisans are excellent, and the local materials diverse
So many charities and organisations you can join in supporting local communities
It's so much closer to Europe and to take trips around Asia
Of course, there are disadvantages too.
There's no government support ( Covid was cruel to locals and ex-pats)
It's a corrupt country
There's little to no support for the poor, the disadvantaged, the disabled
The medical system is improving, but if I'm sick, I go straight back to Australia
Although you can set up a business, you can't work in it. You have to employ all Indonesians
There is no infer structure - roads, traffic and improvements
Traffic is insane
There's no planning unless it benefits the government
There are constant power blackouts, and electricity is expensive
There's a lack of Western logic that's frustrating
Local schools are not available for ex-pats, and International Schools are expensive
Your clothes get ruined from the high calcium levels, leather goes mouldy, and shoes fall apart
When it rains, it rains and can rain for weeks in the rainy season
Everything leaks and goes mouldy
Maintaining a house is a challenge, everything breaks and needs replacing regularly.
There are no real shopping malls, Woollies and coles, no Meridith Valley goats cheese and cheap good wine.
You die for an air-conditioned room. It gets so humid
You miss the everyday moments with family and friends
So, my dear readers, this is just a little teaser about life in Bali. You can see from my passion that it's well worth living here. I can't see myself leaving this little island paradise anytime soon. Please feel free to shoot me questions; I will happily answer them as best I can. Lots of love from Bali
