Seriously looking to retire to Bali

stro11er wrote:

Thanks happyhour. I understand that I wont fulfil the requirements for a retirement visa until I'm in receipt of my full pension (2018). What I am hoping to do is use the intervening years to scout out the situation. Is it possible to 'pop in and out' on tourist visas? and if so would I have enough money to live on?

You can get a 30 day visa on arrival, then extend for 30 days at immigration.
I understand the process is a bit messy, taking a couple or three visits to do it, but it can be done.

Several returns may be a problem if they're very close together.
I saw a Japanese chap at the airport yesterday having a devil of a job getting in.
Too many VOA stamps together, immigration assumed he was working, so held him back.
I saw him a little later, so he managed to get in, but he was lucky.

Ubudian wrote:

I totally agree...11.5 million IDR a month is very close to bare bones for an expat.

Are prices in Bali that high?
I've stopped bothering with supermarkets (except for baked beans and a few other things), so my shopping bill has dropped to nothing.
My outlay, without trying to save cash, is running at well less than 8 million/month.
That includes the eldest kid's school fees and a house rent of 28/year.

It does not include my cameras and other toys.

Fred, I'll bet that one of the key aspects to your ability to live within that budget you mention is your lease which I'm guessing is one that you negotiated some years back before the crunch.  Another aspect (and one which I also enjoy) is being able to rely on "Mrs. Fred" to do the negotiating and shopping.

We moved at the end of January, hardly getting much discount on the place, but it's a fair size and easily big enough for us, including Michelle's toys.
Mrs. Fred (The poor woman) likes local food, rejecting most bule stuff except the odd McD once a month or so.
If we go to a shopping centre, I head for bule delights, but she goes for the nearest indonesian stuff, usually at nothing and a bit to buy. I do have a weakness for..



You'll have to forgive me that one, they're lovely.

Most of the stuff Mrs. Me buys comes from the local veggie man who wanders around with his kaki lima.
I have to admit, I'm a big fan of tempe and rice, so I often partake of really cheap food.
We hardly bother with Giant any more, so a few hundred thousand per month is all I spend there.
My favourite meat is chicken, and a full bird only costs Rp30,000, so that works out cheap.
I go to a local place where they slaughter as you order, so we know they're very fresh.

The car is bought and paid for, so that's pretty cheap now, and we don't run it much so it usually costs about Rp100,000/month in fuel.
The bike mostly gets used for short trips, so that costs about Rp30,000/month to keep running.

Helmi Zanni wrote:

Many foreigner ,most of Australians ,owned property at that area.
The price is quite cheaper compares to Bali.
A good place for investment and a great place for a surfer-investor to live like you.

No - It's a terrible investment because it's illegal and the property can be taken by the state without compensation at any time.
Foreigners can rent/lease land in Indonesia but they can't buy.

However, foreigners can buy some apartments as long as no land is included in the deal.

Building on someone else's land is perfectly legal but very foolish as the land's owner can basically do what they want as it's extremely difficult for the foreigner to get their investment back through the courts.

And the fourth most important and useful piece of advice I can offer is to get to know, and know as well as possible, the key players (most importantly the village head) of any village you are considering.  In a nut shell…the Balinese are very, very used to foreigners here, but they will NEVER take a foreigner who disregards, or is ambivalent/disinterested in their culture or way of life as someone deserving of the privilege of living here.

100% pure gold post,

Anyone who doesn't take that advice is doomed to failure.

tanami wrote:

Still pretty easy to find a new lease on a house in Bali for 25 to 30 juta a year.
Just have to drive around on a scooter down the alleys etc and you will find dozens of places in the price range.

The same applies in much of Indonesia, even in Jakarta, but there's always loads of advertising and other pressure on expats to rent a villa with a swimming pool you'll hardly ever use at some crazy price.

Runner1 wrote:

Is driving the alleys the best way to find housing?  .

It works, and you get to know the place as a nice bonus.
It all depends on the type of housing you're after, but cheaper places are commonly found by wandering around and using site with private rentals advertised, OLX being a prime example.
My first week here saw us wandering around and we found some very nice places at prices far lower than the estate agents were advertising similar properties for.
It really doesn't matter what country you're in for from, estate agents are always into inflating prices as much as they can.