Can I get everyones take on the level of inflation in Bali since Feb 2022?

PERtoDPS

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Dec 31, 2018
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Hi all

So after nearly 2 years there in the covid period I packed my bag and moved to Sydney, mainly because I had to get some income again and it was just getting too hard in Bali at that point, many major players were still shut, it wasn't the time yet to start any type of business due to the remanance of the lockdowns.

Clearly I understand that things are not "covid special price anymore" but seeing plenty of pretty high rents and hearing about living costs close to western price? Is this true or exadurated? I remember the western food costs western price loose rule. A girl I work with spent a month in India recently and claimed things were 2x-3x the price, not as bad as Sydney but still really expensive in comparison to the year prior.

Since I moved to Sydney prices have definitely gone up a few times already and "cost of living crisis" is a major theme here in Australia. All kinds of food and energy shortages are driving prices pretty high and the dollar really doesn't have that much buying power anymore. A tiny box apartment in Sydney will run you upwards of a million AUD$ now putting that option out of the reach of many also.

After having worked a few jobs and starting a role in a more advertising/PR industry work from home in Bali is looking possible after some months training (this was a goal I was unable to reach the last time, there wasn't really a whole lot around due to pandemic and the training part still had to be done in the office here in Sydney which at that time I wasn't).

So how much have your bills, rent and food gone up? Is living in Bali on an Aussie wages going to be super benefial? I'm not one of those stingy people who wants the lowest price on everything, I'd like to see the people there prosper, but just wondering if perhaps my pre and during pandemic memeories are of a financially easier time?
 
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Balifrog

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Dec 30, 2017
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Depends mainly how you want to live.

I live and eat as a French, buying a lot of French products so sure it cost some money.
Lodging is also up to you.
Have prices gone up ? Yes, sure but they have everywhere.
Having lived here, you should easily be able to make a budget for your monthly expenses (fix and variable).
One advice : your monthly budget should be limited to 75% of your income in order to have some margin for unexpected expenses. And there will always be.
PS : don't forget to budget for your "live in" or "regular g/f" ! Cost for that part also depends on the "standard" you want.....

All the best in any case !
 
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harryopal

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May 5, 2016
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Living here on just a Aus pension it is still comfortable. Unless you own your own house or unit living in Australia is now a choice to be living in poverty.
Yes, prices are going up here and it is noticable that rentals in Bali have risen steeply perhaps driven by Russians coming here to avoid call up to fight in the Ukraine. When it comes to having odd jobs done we recently, for examples, had a fellow come to sort out a problem with a toilet flush. I think it cost about $10. It would have cost $100 in Melbourne. I go with any computer problems to a local fellow and it has never cost more than about $10. Most computer service places in Aus charge $90 to just walk in the door. As Balifrog noted it depends on how you want to live. If you like Western imported food stuffs then they are going up in price but my wife and I can go to a local warung for a good meal for about $7 or a bit more if my wife has fish.
 
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britoo

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Sep 11, 2018
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Hi all

So after nearly 2 years there in the covid period I packed my bag and moved to Sydney, mainly because I had to get some income again and it was just getting too hard in Bali at that point, many major players were still shut, it wasn't the time yet to start any type of business due to the remanance of the lockdowns.

Clearly I understand that things are not "covid special price anymore" but seeing plenty of pretty high rents and hearing about living costs close to western price? Is this true or exadurated? I remember the western food costs western price loose rule. A girl I work with spent a month in India recently and claimed things were 2x-3x the price, not as bad as Sydney but still really expensive in comparison to the year prior.

Since I moved to Sydney prices have definitely gone up a few times already and "cost of living crisis" is a major theme here in Australia. All kinds of food and energy shortages are driving prices pretty high and the dollar really doesn't have that much buying power anymore. A tiny box apartment in Sydney will run you upwards of a million AUD$ now putting that option out of the reach of many also.

After having worked a few jobs and starting a role in a more advertising/PR industry work from home in Bali is looking possible after some months training (this was a goal I was unable to reach the last time, there wasn't really a whole lot around due to pandemic and the training part still had to be done in the office here in Sydney which at that time I wasn't).

So how much have your bills, rent and food gone up? Is living in Bali on an Aussie wages going to be super benefial? I'm not one of those stingy people who wants the lowest price on everything, I'd like to see the people there prosper, but just wondering if perhaps my pre and during pandemic memeories are of a financially easier time?
Petrol is the most obvius ome, up about 35 - 40% so a litre of pertalite is about 10 up from 7. Seems better this month, but in prior 2 or so quite often all pertalite was gone, leaving only pertamax.

Basic, utilities, gas (bottled), water (PDAM), aqua, electric (PLN) and internet (Indihome) feel about the same to me as a monthly spend. I am not paying that much atention but no system schock.

Market prices feel to be flat to up about 10% or so but this might just be seasonal

Warung - mid quality restos likewise seem to be flat in non touristy areas.

A beer on the beach seems to have rocketed from 35/40 -> 50 at many beach warungs for a *-besar.


No idea about rentals though its widely reported they have shot up. especially in ceratin areas. That said, covid prices were absurdly low at times, so maybe its just bounced back to reality.


Thats about it.
 

Markit

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Sep 3, 2007
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Down south and in Ubud things are beginning to get silly, price wise. The same can't YET be said for East and North Bali and who knows what's happening in Tabanan? I'm hearing lots of chat from peeps that have been living in the east and then moved to the South and Ubud shortly after the opening after the pandemic regretting their move and lots are headed back again towards the quieter parts of the island and that seems mainly due to overcrowding, astronomical price increases and gridlock traffic. All this means that prices are rising everywhere and that seems to be up to western levels BECAUSE western prices have also gone mad (my daughter lives in the Richmond part of London and you cannot imagine what shit costs there!)

Added to the above and my gut feeling is that there is a lot going on in Indonesia and Bali in particular what with medical tourism, 2nd house visas, cruise ships (anyone notice how Benoa is slowly turning into that harbor that was never gonna happen 4/5 years ago and the then governor also promised was a dead duck? ). Here in the East there are now 2 new Resorts being built in Candi and there's a promise of a "new" beach stretching the length from Candi to Senkidu.

Shit's happening most everywhere on the island with the exception of North Bali around Lovina - that seems to have not started it's recovery from Covid and the "planned" 2nd airport.

So if you still want to get in with reasonable prices you better hurry up.
P.S. Local produce is about the same as it ever was.
 
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PERtoDPS

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Dec 31, 2018
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Some good points everyone, thank you, going to try and addresss them in a point format rather than quoting individual posts:

Doing western stuff/western food: Definitely still enjoy it a few times a week, so would make either a shoppinng trip to the city for stock or like to live in an accessable area to one of the southern tourist haunts. As I'm getting older and I'll be mainly working from home have backed off the booze quite a bit (I was going silly with it covid due to boredom before). There is lots of Indonesian food I'd love to re-discover after being away so long.

Aus pension to my wage comparison: I think this is a good measure as it's a casual job (they pretty much all are these days) that "looks after me" so budgeting off the aus pension amount would be sensibale, with some room for saving up or having a bit for a rainy day.

Prices in Ubud and other traditional hotspots: my original comments about raising prices came from seeing expat posts complaining on fb and other forums about rising rent costs, though noticably in Canngu, Sanur those type of places. It's a strange juxtaposition yet I see videos of Kuta and it looks dead, but the rents are high. Maybe Kuta is just yesterdays area? I lived in Sanur last time, really liked it but also open to change. I'm fairly dependent on shops though to be totally honest.

The medical system: the reality is it's gotten worse and worse here in Australia, the tech and skill is much higher but things like bulk billing Drs are starting to fade in to the past. The medical system is overwhelmed since covid and it's hard to get appointments (takes a long time). A few GPs have advised me the system isn't that far away from collapse and was never designed to handle something like covid, obviously take it with a grain of salt. More focus on keeping myself healthy. Due to the abundence of fresh produce in Bali I feel my diet is far better there than in Aus so it kind of all balances itself out. I would still fly here for any major surgery, but if you're just going to the GP to get scripts or whatever, they charge, just like the rest of the world now.

Petrol: ouch, but still far cheaper than here. I will miss Sydney's excellent public transportation. You really don't need a car or scooter here at all.

Partner: 5+ years with the same chick so I know what I'm in for there, she's working again doing tour guiding both around Bali and some other islands (I just opened myself up for a MarkIT roasting here right? ). Last time she stayed in her village and stayed with me a few nights here and there, that sort of thing would work again most likely after a year of living apart it's kind of a challenge. Maybe we'll try living together again still early days on that one.

Conclusion: Some great responses here, thank you everyone. It sounds as though certain things have been hit hard in Bali, namely rent and fuel but the completely insane inflation that has hit Sydney this here is on another level in comparison. I've always felt Bali is a bit less commercial lifestyle than the west, though I guess this may be shifting. I'm going to think earing a western currency in Indonesia still puts you at a fair advantage as always and it seems visas are now slightly more accomadating.
 
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Markit

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Sep 3, 2007
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Partner: 5+ years with the same chick so I know what I'm in for there, she's working again doing tour guiding both around Bali and some other islands (I just opened myself up for a MarkIT roasting here right? ). Last time she stayed in her village and stayed with me a few nights here and there, that sort of thing would work again most likely after a year of living apart it's kind of a challenge. Maybe we'll try living together again still early days on that one.
Que? Sorry I struggle to live up (down?) to my apparent "bad name" when I have no clue (happening more and more often) what yur on about? Maybe if you'd post pix I'd know the girl?
 

Jimbo

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Jan 11, 2005
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Manchester and Makassar
Although not in Bali I can live on about 20 million Rp per month. This does not include rent as I have my own house. Food is going up daily as we approach Xmas and new year. A kilo of tomatoes at the local market for example as gone from Rp5000 to Rp15000 in three weeks. Eggs also are going up. Government shows inflation at 5.6% but I think its nearer 10.
 
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tel522

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Oct 30, 2015
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Down south and in Ubud things are beginning to get silly, price wise. The same can't YET be said for East and North Bali and who knows what's happening in Tabanan? I'm hearing lots of chat from peeps that have been living in the east and then moved to the South and Ubud shortly after the opening after the pandemic regretting their move and lots are headed back again towards the quieter parts of the island and that seems mainly due to overcrowding, astronomical price increases and gridlock traffic. All this means that prices are rising everywhere and that seems to be up to western levels BECAUSE western prices have also gone mad (my daughter lives in the Richmond part of London and you cannot imagine what shit costs there!)

Added to the above and my gut feeling is that there is a lot going on in Indonesia and Bali in particular what with medical tourism, 2nd house visas, cruise ships (anyone notice how Benoa is slowly turning into that harbor that was never gonna happen 4/5 years ago and the then governor also promised was a dead duck? ). Here in the East there are now 2 new Resorts being built in Candi and there's a promise of a "new" beach stretching the length from Candi to Senkidu.

Shit's happening most everywhere on the island with the exception of North Bali around Lovina - that seems to have not started it's recovery from Covid and the "planned" 2nd airport.

So if you still want to get in with reasonable prices you better hurry up.
P.S. Local produce is about the same as it ever was.
Mr markit from the "lost village" of Candidassa ,

Medical tourism ,are you "kiddin bro", have you had the pleasure of sanglah , the klass 1 for all serious cases for bali and ntt , , iv seen worse in somalia and eritrea etc ,this island is not the place to get sick unless you have a "bloody good" immune system and a lot of luck .

The beaches here leave a lot to be desired especially when it rains , you find yourself wading through rubbish plastic etc to get to open water ,hardly paradise .
 

Markit

Well-Known Member
Sep 3, 2007
9,317
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Karangasem, Bali
Although not in Bali I can live on about 20 million Rp per month. This does not include rent as I have my own house. Food is going up daily as we approach Xmas and new year. A kilo of tomatoes at the local market for example as gone from Rp5000 to Rp15000 in three weeks. Eggs also are going up. Government shows inflation at 5.6% but I think its nearer 10.
As someone that's lived and shopped here for going on 15 years now Jimbo I have to tell you that tomatoes are a bad example as they rise and fall pretty much at the whim of nature or better said rainfall. When we've had too much in the mountains (Bedugul, Kintamani) where they grow, the quality goes down and price up. Next week when the rains are more intermittent and it's better for toms the reverse will be true.
 

YachtRock

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Nov 2, 2022
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Tabanan, Bali
Mr markit from the "lost village" of Candidassa ,

Medical tourism ,are you "kiddin bro", have you had the pleasure of sanglah , the klass 1 for all serious cases for bali and ntt , , iv seen worse in somalia and eritrea etc ,this island is not the place to get sick unless you have a "bloody good" immune system and a lot of luck .

The beaches here leave a lot to be desired especially when it rains , you find yourself wading through rubbish plastic etc to get to open water ,hardly paradise .
I agree with you "medical tourism' in Bali is non-existent outside of lip fillers and butt lifts. Also, the dentists in Bali are quite amazing if I do say so myself. But yeah, for anything serious, we are all screwed here. I do have a microscopic amount of faith for the new Mayo Clinic going up in Sanur right now funded by the Japanese.

Of course, this could be the greatest facility in the world but it won't mean squat if they can't fill it with great doctors. So we will see where that goes. I try to always remain optimistic because if you don't this country will eat me alive haha

It's a shame about the Bali beaches though. Save for Nusa Dua, the beaches of the south leave a lot to be desired. Things start to get better up the northeast coast and up the northwest coast and of course the north side of the island but everything in the south is a trash-filled mess.

Dry season is the only time of the year to come I tell tourists.
 
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Mark

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Apr 19, 2004
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Petrol is much more expensive. For example, the price of Pertamax has increased by over 60% this year. Other types of fuels have also increased in price, and this of course has a knock on effect for most other goods in Bali, since they are imported from elsewhere. Having said this, global inflation has been due to Covid impacted supply chains and government cash subsidies plus soaring stock and real estate markets, making people feel richer so they buy more crap. Both are subsiding, as will inflation.
 

ronb

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Aug 14, 2007
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Ubud, Bali
"Down south and in Ubud things are beginning to get silly, price wise."
Dismiss the above quote as just Markit BS.

As others have said prices have increased - maybe it's around 15% compared to a year ago and increases for fuel and electricity are clearly drivers for these increases.
Here's an anecdotal example. I have a favorite warung at the Tegenungan Waterfall, and during the quiet times I would get a nasi goreng plus small Bintang for 45,000 (thats 20,000 + 25,000). Recently, she said apologetically that the prices had increased and the total was 77,000 which was 30,000 + 40,000 + 10%. Wow! That's a 70% increase. But still the price of 77 is OK really.
 
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PERtoDPS

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Dec 31, 2018
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One difference I noticed with Bali and Australia over the years with price increases was for example grocery might creep up 5% a few times a year and by the end of the year it's high. We've had some freak weather this year especially in winter was a lot of crops destroyed from all the floods that also drove prices up in NSW and the supply chains to Greater Sydney. However in Bali it doesn't go up in the 5% incremiments but then when it does go up it's a big "slam" price increase like 20% or 30%. I have seen this a few times.
 

Jbarnettvt

New Member
Sep 20, 2022
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Rents are w
Petrol is the most obvius ome, up about 35 - 40% so a litre of pertalite is about 10 up from 7. Seems better this month, but in prior 2 or so quite often all pertalite was gone, leaving only pertamax.

Basic, utilities, gas (bottled), water (PDAM), aqua, electric (PLN) and internet (Indihome) feel about the same to me as a monthly spend. I am not paying that much atention but no system schock.

Market prices feel to be flat to up about 10% or so but this might just be seasonal

Warung - mid quality restos likewise seem to be flat in non touristy areas.

A beer on the beach seems to have rocketed from 35/40 -> 50 at many beach warungs for a *-besar.


No idea about rentals though its widely reported they have shot up. especially in ceratin areas. That said, covid prices were absurdly low at times, so maybe its just bounced back to reality.


Thats about it.
 

Markit

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Sep 3, 2007
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Karangasem, Bali
"Down south and in Ubud things are beginning to get silly, price wise."
Dismiss the above quote as just Markit BS.

Wow! That's a 70% increase. But still the price of 77 is OK really.
Ronny if you don't think a price increase of 70% is "silly" then you've been on a pension waaaay too long.

Some people actually have to earn the money they spend and I suspect earnings haven't gone up by70% = Markit BS?
 
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