How did your adventure in Asia start, and what were you doing before moving to Bali?
Before Bali, I was working in Paris as a marketing manager for start-ups, and I decided to leave everything behind and embark on a backpacking trip with my husband. This is how we traveled through about 20 countries before deciding to lay our hats in Bali.
What made you want to settle in Bali, and what did you do when you first arrived on the island?
We decided to settle in Bali mainly to train, to become freediving instructors. We also hold a diploma in scuba diving. Our basic goal when we landed there was to become more involved in this sector and to live a bit of expat life in Bali, which, by the way, is a great island for remote working. We also wanted to develop our skills and grow within the diving industry there. Then, I got pregnant, and our plans changed.
You ultimately started a refuge for stray dogs in Bali. Can you tell us more about the project and what motivated you to set it up?
In fact, I decided to open “Miko”, a shelter dedicated to abandoned puppies. In Bali, there is a real problem of dogs' overpopulation. This is mostly due to the crisis the Balinese people are currently going through. They no more have enough money to sterilize their dogs and even less to care for their litters. Consequently, the streets got full of stray dogs, to which I fell victim during my pregnancy in 2021.
I found many abandoned puppies and took them under my wing with the idea of finding families who would adopt them. I thought it was a great idea and felt very useful. Moreover, as I have always loved dogs ever since I was a little girl, I felt it was a vocation, and I thought, why not create a shelter. I, therefore, started a crowdfunding campaign through my Instagram account, "Marion's Journey", and it worked out successfully. Within three weeks, I managed to raise the necessary funds to build the shelter, and since January 2022, “Miko” is open, and everything is going pretty well.
Was the project welcomed by the locals?
Yes, it was well accepted by the locals as there was a real need for such an initiative. After that, I did everything on my own. However, I don't communicate much about the shelter so that locals don't come and just throw dogs over the wall, something that has already happened. I try to keep it a little bit secret. When someone finds a stray puppy, he/ she can call me, and I check first if I can take it. I also have other criteria for taking puppies and a limit of ten puppies for now.
What is your daily integration and that of your family like?
It's going great! Our integration is going smoothly. We are close to many French expatriates since we live in a famous diving spot, where a lot of French people have their homes and work as diving instructors. So yes, we are going through a really good integration process.
The Balinese people are very nice even to us expatriates. It is not difficult to integrate here. We are a small community, so we are very happy in Bali.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
No, not necessarily! And even about integration, I would still say no, because, in the end, we managed to be part of a ring of friends. Moreover, I got pregnant, and everything just turned upside down for me. So, no, I wouldn't do things differently because that would mean that I wouldn't have had my child. On the contrary, life's little unforeseen events did lead us to do completely new things and in much better ways than whatever I had originally planned. I am very happy with what I have already accomplished here and with the future that is opening to us in Bali.
Do you have any advice for expatriates considering moving to Bali, especially those thinking of starting a business there?
My advice is to be well informed about the laws because, in Bali and Indonesia, it is very complicated to open a business and to work there. You can't take the work of a local. So, you must be very careful to get a lawyer and an agency that gets all your papers right. Setting up a business is expensive, and you really need to be well informed about the highly complex legislation. As a foreigner, it is possible of course, to set up your business, but you must be ready to spend a lot of money on all the paperwork. And you need to be aware that when you set up a business in Bali, you have to employ Balinese people.
Actually, you can't really work in your own business because if you open a restaurant, for example, the cooks or waiters will have to be Balinese.
On the other hand, working online as a digital nomad is different. It's much easier because by working online, you don't take anyone's job. It's really two different things, so you have to be aware of both points when regarding visas, legislation, etc. There are many complicated things in Bali, but you will have to be surrounded by the right people and contact agencies that will do the paperwork for you.
Do you see yourself staying in Bali for a long time, and how do you see the future?
Yes, I see myself living in Bali for a long time because I have built my shelter, and we now have dogs. But above all, it's because we are starting a family. We already have a child and possibly a second one soon. So yes, I see myself living in Bali for quite a long time because we love this island. If life allows us, we will stay here longer.
And how do we see the rest of our adventure? Well, I must admit that we don't project ourselves much. We are not the kind of people to anticipate far ahead of time to create projects in the long term. We like our life here, we work a bit online, and I work a lot with the shelter. Maybe in the future, I'll expand the shelter and try to associate myself with other associations here. I will do something a little more structured, especially on the shelter project, because this is really the beginning.
We will see what the future holds for us, but Bali is a great place to live. There are good things and others not so good. As everywhere, when you go abroad, it is impossible to find the perfect country. There will always be disadvantages, inconveniences, and things that you won't like in a country. So, you have to weigh the pros and cons, juggling what you like in your home country and what you don't like, what you like about Bali, and what you don't like, and draw your conclusions.
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