In his book The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich, Timothy Ferriss paints a new generation of entrepreneurs called the “New Rich.” These generations are business owners and freelancers who leverage their location independence to indulge in travel and adventure. Digital Nomad is just another name for a remote worker. For the cost of $600 or less (excluding a plane ticket), anyone can live in Bali for a month. This price is entirely doable, especially when the average Balinese income is $250 a month.
Bali has become a hub for Digital Nomads, with a growing community of remote-working professionals living here. Many opt-in to stay longer to grow their businesses in this island. Tina and Emilio from Australia built a coding school called Institute of Code in Bali’s burgeoning expat hot spot Canggu with daily yoga and meditation. While Pieter Levels, famous for his “12 Startups in 12 Months” mission, launched Nomadlist.com, a crowdsourced database of more than 500 cities to show the best place to live and work for new nomads. While Steve Munroe, Peter Wall, and John Alderson, founded one of the first coworking space, Hubud and was recently named by Lonely Planet one of the top ten coworking spaces on the planet.
For the cost of $600 or less, anyone can live in Bali for a month. This price is entirely doable, especially when the average Balinese income is $250 a month.
The flock of tourists coming to the island is old news to Balinese. Bali has been a destination for those not only chasing the hippie dippy lifestyle but as a honeymoon destination. With tantalizing pictures on almost every social media, Bali is the real deal for Millennials starting a career in photography. On the other hand, young Balinese also take advantage of this nomadic lifestyle. Wahyu Mahendra, Instagram account @iwwm, takes aerial photos of Balinese landscape, which caught the eye of creative agency Beautiful Destinations, who featured the artist’s work on YouTube, gaining more than 53 thousand views.
Preparing to become a Digital Nomad in Bali
Visa
Indonesia offers a 30-day tourist visa. However, long-term expats often opt for the social-cultural (sosial-budaya) visa, which lasts 60 days and can be extended 30 days up to four times.
Accomodation
Most digital nomad is living in Ubud. With the rise of co-working space, startup workshops, great coffee shops, vegan restaurants, and Yoga retreats. The cost of living will vary. It can take from $500 to more than $1000 per person, including rent. Start your search on Bali’s rental Facebook community, Ubud Rentals, SOUTH Bali Housing & Accommodation & Land – Rentals & Sales, Bali Villa Rental & Sale, and Ubud Bali – Housing, Rental & Pricing Awareness
Coworking Space and Community
Coworking space is essential to meet and collaborate with other nomads. Hubud, Dojo, Lineup, and Outpost, are a few co-working space in Bali.
The Culture
Living in Bali and integrating with local people, it is important to mind your manners and stay on good terms with the locals. There is local etiquette to maintain smooth interpersonal relationships such as, don’t touch people’s heads, don’t raise your voice when you’re angry and don’t step on God’s offerings on the street.
The Downside of moving to bali
Traffic and unpredictable internet speed is unavoidable in Bali. The island is famous for its lack of public transportation. As a result, Balinese and tourists avoid traffic by using a motorcycle.
Internet speed is always the low blow to living in Indonesia. It’s unpredictable and sometimes depending on where you live, finding a stable internet connection is a challenge. Many tourists also complain about unwanted solicitation or cat calls on the street.
So is it worth it?
The famous saying is that travel is good for the soul. Taking a Gap year is not only for college students. Travel experience is always good on a CV. Research from the American Gap Association, a nonprofit research organization supporting the Gap Year movement, shows the experience helps develop greater understanding and respect for other cultures. Most importantly, it helps in acquiring skills that will advance career paths, personal growth, and ultimately lead to better jobs.
A Gap Year helps in acquiring skills that will advance career paths, personal growth, and ultimately lead to better jobs.
Tech companies especially encourage the digital nomad lifestyle. Github, WordPress, Basecamp, and Genuitec continue to bring talent from different parts of the world. Moreover, out of office working opportunities have gained popularity with remote job websites such as Remote.OK, Fiverr, and UpWork. The decision to become a digital nomad comes down to you and how you see yourself. In the end the decision is up to you, and you should have a clear vision of what working remotely will bring to both your personal and professional growth.