britoo wrote
Better still, come to bali, arrange a longer hotel or guest house stay for say 3-6 months, hire a scooter and really get to know where you want to live, whats going on and what things cost once you are actually here.
Spot on.
We came here, stayed 2 weeks in an hotel in Kuta, looked around. Kuta / Seminyak too crazy, Ubud I simply hated it. We had a beer and got T.F. out of there, found Sanur and loved it.
Next we selected a resort in Sanur for a 1 year contract, the idea being to find a villa during that time.
In fact 5 years later we still live in that resort as we realized the advantages compared to renting a house / villa. Great garden, 25 m swimming pool, on hand staff for any problem, wifi, cable TV, hot / cold water.... all included. No hassle about maintenance or repairs. And opportunity to meet various people all year long.
Note : we are a couple, no kids. With kids it would probably have been diifferent.