How Living in Bali as a Digital Nomad Has Tremendously Changed My Life

In case you haven’t noticed, more and more people have moved to Bali. Everywhere you see on social media, girls are living life by having breakfast on the pool and guys going for surfing any day. They call it the best paradise. But is it really though?

According to the Databoks, there are already 222.359 people who visited Bali so far in 2020. This shows how high in demand Bali is for people who live outside Indonesia.

Last year I decided to try it myself to see what’s the hype about all that. So after I quit my 9–5 job, one month later I packed all of my stuff and moved to Bali by myself.

It’s only one hour by flight from the city that I lived in before, I already felt the different vibes. Though I’ve been living in Indonesia my whole life, it’s actually my first time travelling to Bali and actually trying to live there.

Dating Life

Lots of people who have visited Bali will agree that dating here is so much easier compare to in the Western countries. Especially if your preference is local.

I think the main reason is because of our culture whose people are very friendly and for the local girls, most of them will prefer to date other men from another country.

While in other cities of Indonesia using the dating app isn’t common yet, it’s very normal in Bali. Tinder has been one of the top favorite app people use, along with Badoo and Tantan.

However, there is a huge con that many people face. With so many choices and the term that people use here, the ‘easy to get’, it’s hard for those who are looking for a serious relationship in Bali.

This happens a lot especially with the local girls who expect the man to stay in Bali and eventually settle down. So if you decided to try the Bali dating life, set your expectation right in order to avoid unnecessary heartache.

Work-Life

As a digital nomad can’t live without the internet, there is numerous co-working space that you can sign up for. Such as Hubud, Dojo, Tropical Nomad and etc. Mostly it’s gonna be easy for you to look for one as each location around Bali will have it.

However, I personally like renting a hidden-gem place with a good internet connection because I still find signing up in a co-working space for the whole month is a bit pricey. Not mentioning those days where I didn’t feel like working outside my bed. There are tons of places like that if you want to dig deeper.

Every once in a while I’d drive to a cafe nearby or sign up for daily co-working space to avoid burnouts. By doing this I surprisingly saved more money.

Social Life

If you are a digital nomad, you probably already know how lonely life gets sometimes. Working away for days or weeks in front of your laptop can get really boring.

If you find yourself needing some real social interaction, Bali has a bunch of great communities that you can join. From Yoga, Salsa dance to some more career-wise communities such as Freelance Writers or Young Entrepreneurs, it’s all available.

I remember the first week moved to Canggu, Bali, it felt so strange even though I still can speak my own language (Bahasa). However, if you haven’t visited other cities in Indonesia, living in Bali is completely different.

My friends and I used to joke around about how it feels like we are living abroad because as far as our eyes go, it’s covered by tourists and all types of different languages they are speaking.

The easiest way to find the community near your location is by searching it on Facebook. Most people are very welcoming to new people so you don’t have to worry about feeling left behind.

Final Thoughts:

While it’s tempting to give it a try and live and Bali, there are also some cons that you might be aware of. Such as; the fact that with so many options for entertainment, it can be super distracting for digital nomads.

So before you go, please make sure of these:

Set your expectations right when it comes to dating. Know what you want exactly before you jump into it.

Calculate the budget for how many months you’d like to stay in Bali and find different alternatives with or without you need to sign up for the co-working space.

Make sure you stick with your deadline and write down your main goals. The last thing you want to happen is you get fewer things done because you can’t resist the party life and other distractions in Bali.

Lastly, I’d be lying if I don’t miss Bali. Some people might say it’s overrated but if you really dig deeper, there are so many things that you still can learn and hidden gem places that you never know they exist. It’s definitely one of a life-changing year.