Moving to Indonesia with your family

Hello Bhavna and thank you for introducing a very interesting topic.

My wife is actually an Indonesian designer and we met overseas. Moving to Indonesia was very easy because I have been there so many times throughout my life, and my wife had only ever lived there. For our children, it was very easy because they adore their Indonesian grandparents and cousins and aunts and they love the school they attend.

Our life is pretty busy as we travel overseas almost every month sometimes with and sometimes without the kids, but choosing a place like Bandung to live really helps as it is a very relaxed city.

For expatriate couples where both entities are foreign, there are far greater challenges than those faced by mixed Indonesian/other couples. 

This is especially true when only one of the spouses has landed a job, or is behind a business start up.  The loneliness and disconnection of the non “working” spouse can be, and often is, very extreme.  This is minimized if the couple is living in high expat population zones like Jakarta, Surabaya, and southern Bali.  In those areas there are plenty of opportunities to meet other “non working” foreign spouses, and to get engaged in volunteer, or purely hedonistic endeavors. 

The children of pure “tamu” couples…here for a set time on a temporary work assignment, are always to be found in the best international schools.  And why not?  The tuition for those schools is most often part of the compensation package anyway.  So those kids go off to school with other foreign kids, with a curriculum they are used to, and when it's time for dad or mom to get their next transfer…they move on.

From my own experience, having known many expats in exactly this situation, the commonality with most of them is the empty glass.  Two or three years in this opportunity…and it is indeed an opportunity…they leave much the same as when they arrived.  There must be exceptions of course…but I've yet to meet one of them.

The first challange is the language, better learn bahasa indonesia first, since if you cant express yourself to others the challanges will be far more difficult. Depending on where you staymost people do not have knowledge of english.

For vegetarian people, it can be tough time here, since finding 100% veg food in Indonesia is tough. Besides that finding Indian grocery is one more issue if you are living where limited indians reside.

For childrens, I do not think that it may be an issue, again it depends on their age group, younger ones can be easily get adapted.

For successful family expatriation to Indonesia the recipe is be social (people are very friendly here) make friendship with neighbours and people at work place, most of your teething problems will be sorted out.

Good luck.

Perhaps Indian vegetarian food and maybe Indian grocery is tough to find but Indonesia is flooded with wonderful vegetables, tofu, tempe and the like. Eat places have lots of delicious vegetable dishes with wonderful sauces so you can eat well and avoid meat.

Hi

I am wanna just put a very short statement: living in Indonesian among indonesian people is lovely but challengin. To really enjoy it you need to prepare: Language, Money, Job, etc...Indonesia is NOT cheap to live, except you plan to live an local indonesian lifestyle, which so far i havent met many expats able to do.
Indonesian law for expariats is also pretty difficult to understand and every official legal matter takes a long time, money and effort.
If you guys are ready for the challenge and if you can except that life is a challenge anywhere (it will not be easier here than where you come from), than Indonesia can be really a paradise to live in.
Semoga sukses
Lea

Well then Lea...don't stop now with that first great post!

Carry on please!   

Tania Hera wrote:

Indonesia is NOT cheap to live, except you plan to live an local indonesian lifestyle, which so far i havent met many expats able to do.

Way wrong, and welcome to the forum.

There is absolutely nothing stopping you living a middle class Indonesian style life, regardless of where you're from. I do pretty much that at the moment and have zero intention of moving to some bule bubble. I suspect Luke might very well have a comment or two on that subject as well.
You can do that easily on 5 to 10 million per month, and still go out for a pizza without considering the cost.
As for a bule living a full Indonesian lifestyle, you've met one now. I lived in a Wonosobo village for several years, mostly eating tempe or chicken with rice, and generally living a village life.
Extremely cheap, very very relaxing and life is a stress free pleasure.

I don't have BIG advices.
In fact, I would like to say a caveat - a warning.

In many circumstances, the likelihood of success of adaption or integration is more if the partner/significant other is also a local Indonesian. And has children over time.

I have personally known many now. If both are originally foreigners or non-Indonesian.
I have seen the failure rates too high regarding family expatriation here. In the end, all family units move on to another country or back to the original home country.
This happened even after 5 years or 10 years. And even after children grew up here.
Think again what are your Objectives as a decision maker/breadwinner of the family. If it is worth it and over time manage your risks or goals. Do not waste your time otherwise.

Tania Hera wrote:

Hi

Indonesia is NOT cheap to live, except you plan to live an local indonesian lifestyle, which so far i havent met many expats able to do.

I wasn't aware that a local Indonesian lifestyle was a low cost one. I must be mingling with the wrong local crowd...!

But gotta agree with Enduringword, being a foreigner married to an Indonesian really makes you adapt and fit into society here. So it's pretty much living a normal life as I would anywhere else. Probably like many of you, I don't think about being a foreigner in another country. I just get on with life and enjoy my family. I feel more of a local than a foreigner, and that is helped by not hanging out with foreigners.

And yes, for the foreign couples that come to live here, I am sure it must be more challenging. Even a foreign man with a wife say from Thailand or Philippines, if that's what you like, might have trust problems living here.

I wasn't aware that a local Indonesian lifestyle was a low cost one. I must be mingling with the wrong local crowd...!

No, just a better off crowd.
I do find it a little odd that a foreigner such as myself seems to know more about Indonesian life than an Indonesian.
I suppose my introduction to local life was a little unusual, and living with people on salaries of less than Rp500,000/month is less than ordinary for most expats.

if you like nice wine or cheese not to mention pork or bacon indonesia is bloody expensive ! if you can find especially in java

tel522 wrote:

if you like nice wine or cheese not to mention pork or bacon indonesia is bloody expensive ! if you can find especially in java

The cost of wine is commonly whined about, but pork is half the price of chicken, unless you're being ripped off royally.
Are you using the expensive specialist shops aimed at foreigners?

Im interested where you find pork or bacon in java , on my recent travels around east and central java it was not easily available , like some illegal narcotic ! and I remember the bad looks I received from carrfor staff   when I asked

Try any market where Chinese Indonesians hang around.
Most areas around Jakarta are no problem, but it won't be as easy in some parts of Java because there are far fewer non Muslims.

I know the old modern market in Wonosobo had it before it burnt down, but I'm sure it's still around. It was very cheap the last time I saw it, the same applying to the modern market in BSD.
If you can buy it in a 98.98% Muslim area, you can get it anywhere.
The supermarkets in the cities always have it, but I have no clue as to their pricing.

8 years ago I had no problem getting pork or bacon in carrfor when it was french owned ,now its off the shelves since trans bought the group , I tried on my travels in jember , malang and all the big stores in the major towns , nothing .

Unfortunately .

Try the markets.

hmmm

In Jakarta, Pasar Senen.
You need it to get it in the mornings though, and not afternoon.

I am Indian. I want to set permanently my business in Indonesia with my family. I am married. I have 2 children. what is the process and what I should prepare for my business and family . is it easy to set permanently.