Alain, French and New

[alain]

RE: Is Moving to Bali Realistic??

Hi , my name is alain I am new on this forum
first I must apologise , but english is not my mother tongue , and maybe my writing won't be that good as well .
But I don't desperate , in a few months I will emprove
all this when practicing daily , and will probabliy learn bahasa indonesia as well .
I am french ! North east france , 1 mile or so from the german border . Hope this is not an handicap here on this forum ! But otherwise I'm not that bad for a french .
I am a long time traveller , visited a few times the usa , nepal , india , marocco ,thailand ,and europ of course .This was when
I was young ! now I am nearly 52 ,have the time and can
afford it to stop working after 36 years of hard working , and do what I always planed to do . Traveling .
At the end of this year I will be free of my business ( sold everything , have no family charge )
I plan to fly to bali at the end of this year , and according to what I have read on your lively forum , I'm agreably affraid Bali will become my new home .
I plan to stay 8 months in Bali for the year 2007 , going home every 2 month for one month , probably same same for 2008 and if ok 2009 etc . . .
I realy learned many interesting things on your forum , I know almost everything what I needed to know .Almost everything , this means not everything , but can probably fill the gap on this forum and why not make friends !
What I worry the most , after 4 or 5 months doing nothing except travelling around and discover Bali and its poeple , I would get borred . So I probably need to look for some activity , a benevole one , I mean a non lucrative one . It should not be a
problem to find but advice would not be a bad idea
I olso would like to know about the costs , I plan 9 000 000 rps a month , is this ok as I don't look for luxury and great restauration .All I need is a nice little house to rent , a 100cc motorbike monthly rent some rice with whatever available , and my laptop .Oh , and a few bintangs as well .
I will arrive decembre 31 , this could probably be a problem finding some accommodation .
So would be nice if I could get some more informations about all this .

thanks to all of you .
Regards / alain

 

[JAMIE]

Welcome to the forum , and your english is great ,much better then my french ...

 

[Roy]

Alain, I second Jamie’s motion not only with a welcome, but with a compliment on your English.

Your monthly budget of Rp 9 million is reasonable.

As for occupying your time with charity work here, I’d wait until you are settled in and used to your new home. There are plenty of ways you can spend your time in a meaningful and satisfying manner. Eventually you will find yourself drawn to a particular endeavor. That’s just the way it is on Bali. Good luck with your move!

 

[alain]

Hi Jamie
thanks for your greetings , internet is realy a wonderfull invention . I think
you are a bali lover as I am , the only differnce is I have never been there !
can't wait until december 31

Thanks and regards / alain

 

[matsaleh]

Welcome to the forum Alain.

I'm amazed that you've decided to make Bali your new "home" when you haven't visited the island... not even briefly!

Do you mean you've made this decision based solely on reading about it? If that's the case, all I can say is "wow"! :shock:

 

[tintin]

Boujour Alain…

…et bienvenue sur le Forum des Expats a Bali. Sorry, we have to speak in English, because the intellectual level of the participants on this Forum may be too low to speek-a ze French (I’m going to get some (well deserved) flak for that one, especially from Roy). :wink: :wink:

Let me give you some of my thoughts about your situation.

1) First and foremost, I second Matsaleh’s

I'm amazed that you've decided to make Bali your new "home" when you haven't visited the island... not even briefly!

I would strongly suggest that you first come here with no preconceive ideas, not as a tourist on a one month visa, but at least for three or four months (that’s a minimum), and see how you like the place AND how the place likes you.

2) Rp9,000,000/mo. is plenty for staying any place in Bali, unless you choose the Kerobokan area and have some need in glamorous, partying life (which you say you don’t).

3) If you make up your mind and decide to stay, then you would lease a house on a yearly basis. It’s a little more difficult to find a long term (year) rental than for a few months at the time, but much cheaper. By the way, no problem finding a room in a homestay or modest hotel even at Xmax, given the present situation.

4) Motorcycle. Do you drive one in France? If yes, a Tiger, 250cc, is perfect. If not, start with a bebek, 90cc. You can get a real good deal on a several-month rental. Should you decide to stay, you’d be better off buying your own motorcycle. The cost for parts and labor in Bali are ridiculously cheap. Whenever you leave Bali, you can sell it back: the motorcycle have a very good re-sale values.

5) I do not where you plan to settle, but I believe everybody will agree that, until you are very familiar with the island, you should consider the Ubud area. It all depends what kind a person you are. I met a French lady couple of years ago, who has retired in Bali (under the special retirement visa). She has a house near Tumamben, which is VERY isolated. Personally, I would not like to be there permanently, but she loves it, so to each his/her own.

6) Roy’s remark on your future envolvement in the Balinese daily live is well taken: get settled first, then you’ll see. There are many opportunities for people with imagination.

7) Finally, regarding learning Bahasa Indonesia, no problem. There are several good private teachers in the Ubud area, plus you daily life, you’ll be set. Don’t do like me, where in the office, everybody insists in talking to me in English: that is NOT the way to learn Indonesian.

Bonne chance dans vos projets.

 

[Roy]

Sorry, we have to speak in English, because the intellectual level of the participants on this Forum may be too low to speek-a ze French

(I’m going to get some (well deserved) flak for that one, especially from Roy).

Not now Daniel, as I am a patient man. I’m happy to wait until I catch you at Nuri’s one day soon, and we spank your French butt, to a glowing pink color, much to the delight and amusement of Nuri’s girls! This initiation is required of all French who would like the privilege of a drink or a meal at Nuri’s Warung. The irony though is in just how much the French enjoy their initiation!

 

[alain]

Hi Jamie , Roy , Matsaleh and Tintin , thanks for giving interest to my mail .
Yes Matsaleh , I took my decision 5 months ago to choose Bali as my new spot ,
it's now about one year I work on it , downloaded thousands of files about bali
collected informations on different forums , and your forum is the best I could find
and the most lively as well , especially when I read Roy's posts fighting with the
others Balibounder1 or what so ever his name is , arguing with some others ,well this just seems to me OK
these are signs of democracy as long as everybody takes it politly !
I spent many times in thailand (the Samui islands) ,2 or 3 months each time, so have quite a good experience
on Beach life , motorcycling as well .
Matsaleh , Iet me amaze you again , I can love Bali without having been there, yet , I have read so may on this
forum and some others , there is not 2% of negative , except the Bali nine or Corbby cases , It's hard
to find somebody who didn't like Bali !
This means to me that 98% is positif . I'm far from that percentage in my country !
Sure Daniel and Roy I first come , see and learn , then choose , but it's already clear to me , Ubud or
Karanggasem regency is where I would be , soon .But I consider each of your comments as a value ,
is't not fallen in a deaf's ear


Nice talking to you , what a wonderfull media Internet is !
regards/alain

Very Happy

 

[Guest]

Alain,
Unfortunately french is not a universal language so it is really only spoken in France or other places like French Polynesia etc. Moving to Bali will be an amazing cultural change for you and will be completely different from living in France. You wont nearly have as many conveniences as France and dare i say the food may not be up to your standards, although i have no idea what food you like but Indonesian food deffinitely doesn't compare with French or Italian cuisine. You will love Bali and if you are a water sports, fishing, outdoorsy type of person like myself you will love it even more.

I know that if i was living in Bali i would deffinitely not be on this forum as much as i am because I would either be surfing or gardening and not working as much as i am now. But maybe that is a good thing? Anyways, enjoy your trip and safe travels to the "Island of the Gods."

 

[Roy]

I know that if i was living in Bali i would deffinitely not be on this forum as much as i am because I would either be surfing or gardening and not working as much as i am now.

That’s an interesting point, and it is quite accurate. The fact is, there are few full time expats who post here regularly.

For me, I try to be here at least once a day. I do that in recognition of my late “brother” Matt who I found on another forum years ago. Prior to my “big move” to Bali, he was incredibly helpful and once here, he was the first person I linked up with. His guidance and knowledge of nitty gritty details saved me a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of heartbreak. For me, Matt encompassed the best attributes of expats on Bali. Over the years we became as close as brothers, and it was through a forum that we met in the first place.

Rafeal, if you ever make the “big move” to Bali, you should stop by Naughty Nuri’s in Ubud. There you will meet many expats of like mind to “brother” Matt and through networking, likely find yourself the beneficiary of a treasure trove of useful and important information.

 

[alain]

Hi Rafael ,
and thanks for your post , i appreciate much . It looks as you are someone who knows a bit
about french standards , but you need to refresh your geography , french is spoken not only in France and
polynesia , but also in belgium , Luxembourg , switzerland ,monaco , andora , the caraibes , canada ,
south america ,indian ocean , africa and as you say in polynesia
of course english is universal and is ok for me .Just imagine : one world , different people , and one language
This could be heaven on earth
And should it be english , if the majority would be so , then i'd say yes , yes again as long as it benefits to
everybody and help us to communicate and understand eachother .Forget nationalism and all the ''isms''
But well , i'm probably just a dreamer , one more !
Rafael i hope i didn't bore you nor offense you , nice talking to you ,maybe we should learn chinese mandarin
sorry i just had a ''coup de blues ''


To roy :
I perhaps should not go to that Nuri's warung one day if i don't want my french butt spanked !
thanks to you for your wise and useful infos always welcome .

TINTIN DANIEL , can i pm you ?

regards / alain

 

[Guest]

I will be in Bangkok on October 2nd... If you will be there email me or send me a PM and I will show you ALL that Bangkok has to offer.. Bangkok is the real Sin City, Vegas is second

 

[tintin]

Alain,

Sorry not to have responded sooner. I have just arrived in Paris, where I will be until October 2.

Of course, you can pm me. I'll be busy during the coming week, but I am sure I can make time.