Compounds w Expats?

Yasmien

Hi everyone My family and I are thinking of moving from Canada to Bali (Ubud) and I have a question re housing. Are there compounds where expats live? We have only one daughter and I want her to be in an area with other English-speaking children-preferably within walk/biking distance. Is that a thing? We lived in the Middle East before and they had these gated communities for expats...I'm just wondering if there is a similar thing in Bali- and if so, could you pleae share names of the compounds? Thank you!

Juggler

Hotel K, the goverment home stay has just had a new intake of english speaking expats. It is a "gated community".

Yasmien

Juggler wrote Hotel K, the goverment home stay has just had a new intake of english speaking expats. It is a "gated community".

I’m not sure why you felt the need to leave such a rude reply. I hope you are able to deal w whatever issues are plaguing you. Take care.

harryopal

Yasmien, I think that was intended as a slightly ironic joke rather than rude. ( A couple of Australians have just been arrested for being in possession of cocaine. ) You will find some characters here will really rub you the wrong way if you are overly sensitive.

Juggler

LOL an attempt at humour, but it seems taken the wrong way...come live next door to me we'll get on like a house on fire :eek:

SamD

I don't think I have come across a gated community of expats in bali although maybe they do exist. And I think you would find they would be retired people, not young families. There are international schools in bali where English is the main language. That would be your best bet if you want your daughter to mix with expat types.

Yasmien

Thank you, Sam. It’s not that I necessarily want her to mix w expats, it’s that I want her to be able to walk to a friend’s house (and she only speaks English) but yes, I am looking into International schools now. And sorry, Juggler! I misjudged your post! :oops:

Balifrog

IMHO , and experience, when living overseas with kids the proximity of the school is your priority. If not they will spend a lot of time in the school shuttle (if any), or you will spend a lot of times bringing them to/from school. Select the school first, and find a lodging accordingly to that location. Just my 2 cents.

PERtoDPS

What’s the big appeal with Ubud? I’m really curious as I have an Indonesian girlfriend and due to visa hassles it’s not practical for her to come to my county. As I’m only here a week or two every two to three months we rent an apartment in downtown Denpasar on Jl imam Bonjol, mainly due to price but if I had to choose one of the more “nice” sort of areas it would be Sanur I noticed a lot of people on this forum gravitate to Ubud.

Balifrog

PERtoDPS wrote What’s the big appeal with Ubud? I’m really curious as I have an Indonesian girlfriend and due to visa hassles it’s not practical for her to come to my county. As I’m only here a week or two every two to three months we rent an apartment in downtown Denpasar on Jl imam Bonjol, mainly due to price but if I had to choose one of the more “nice” sort of areas it would be Sunar. I noticed a lot of people on this forum gravitate to Ubud.

Agreed. When I first "investigated" for a possible place to settle down I saw Kuta, Seminyak first. No way, too touristic and I dont speak the local version of English. Next I checked Sanur which immediately conquired my heart. Ticked all boxes. As I had read a lot expats writing Ubud is a paradise, I went to have a look as well. Shock and horror...I compared it with Mt St Michel or Lourdes in peak tourist season. Stopped the car, had 1 beer in the main street, back in the car and scrapped the name on my list. My g/f (Indonesian) didn't even want to get out of the car to start with.... It may appeal to yoga pratitioners, peace and love new hippies, digital nomad poets, artists, etc....but personally I cant see the attraction. So Sanur it was.

Markit

It depends entirely on which "boxes" you have to "tick". I thought about living in Ubud and nearly bought something on a rice paddy but then realized that the wonderful view would be gone with the next villa building wave. Ubud has some grand restos and good music venues too but if you aren't a night owl then there's really not much since only in Eat, Pray and Leave is the beach 5 minutes outside of town. Upside is the 4 corners of the island are all available without too much of a drive. Friends said that for the first 2 days of a 4 day stay there they hated it but after learning "the ropes" they found it great for days 3 and 4.

Foamcrest

We have a villa in Penrstanan which just outside of Ubud which is quiet, yet has a wide range of warungs. Your daughter could happily visit friends etc with no fear whatsoever.

Markit

How many times have we heard the dream "sit by the pool and drink Pina Coladas all day"? May work for the first month or 2 but then what? Too many fall into the bottle with nothing else to do and all day to do it....

Yasmien

Balifrog wrote Agreed. When I first "investigated" for a possible place to settle down I saw Kuta, Seminyak first. No way, too touristic and I dont speak the local version of English. Next I checked Sanur which immediately conquired my heart. Ticked all boxes. As I had read a lot expats writing Ubud is a paradise, I went to have a look as well. Shock and horror...I compared it with Mt St Michel or Lourdes in peak tourist season. Stopped the car, had 1 beer in the main street, back in the car and scrapped the name on my list. My g/f (Indonesian) didn't even want to get out of the car to start with.... It may appeal to yoga pratitioners, peace and love new hippies, digital nomad poets, artists, etc....but personally I cant see the attraction. So Sanur it was.

I like the hippie vibe :) but I’m also considering it because I’m thinking of The Green School for my daughter

mugwump

Preferences are in no way always the same, and that is the crux of this situation. Having lived in Ubud for 3 years am very glad to have moved to West Bali where I have found greater freedom among my neighbors. By that I mean that my current locals aren't as demanding and clannish when it comes to my welfare. The climate is far better than in much of the the South because of my proximity to the sea, and although shopping is distant it serves as a break from the norm. A problem for many of us is the free time and ease of getting into the booze too readily. Without a quantity of local pubs and common pals it is easier for me to control my habits. Lets face it. This is a subject that is so seemingly taboo for discussion that it is rarely mentioned, yet hardly unknown for many as a problem of self discipline.