Hello all, I hope to meet some of you when I arrive in Jan with my Jakarta Chinese/Indo wife. I am 66, Canadian, have been living 16 years in Phuket, running my large charter sail cats. The boats have all been sold pre-covid, so life is very easy here in Phuket. Covid has hardly affected expats here except for the departure of all foreign tourists and month of hard lockdown in 2020. Unless your business has been destroyed the residents do not mourn the Chinese / Korean / Russian exodus, not because they are not good people but because there is just too many of them. Despite what some of you claim in some threads, except for hardy travelers, tourists have not returned despite the easier covid admission barriers. Tourism is basically 90% local and is not enough to save the industry. Then again, the whole tourism thing had gone off the rails, making the traffic horrendous, destroyed the coral so in the end, despite the pain, it is good that it has slowed down.
Why leave? We are leaving Phuket because I need a change of scenery and whenever things get too easy I must change haha. Adventure keeps the blood flowing in the old veins. I love Bali and since my wife is Indonesian I can actually own land in our name and it also make the whole transition much smoother. Visas are so much easier. There is also a lot more to explore on the island itself never mind the other 17 K islands.
So I have some questions for the old Bali hands. I am looking at buying some property. I hear prices have dropped as much as 50% so good time to buy. A view, is a priority as well as 1,000 m2 of land, decent house, 2-3 beds, pool, min 12 X 4. Quality of house need not be to EU standard but solid and bright and with a proper driveway. The ideal view would be terraced rice field overlooking the sea, but then again, I dream. I would settle for either rice or sea view. Location should not be much father than 15 mins car ride from civilization, for example, Ubud, Sanur, Uluwatu. So if anybody knows some good agents, or, heaven forfend, wants to sell their own property, drop me a line.
I would appreciate a few comments regarding the thatch roof (alang alang). Very good for keeping the house cool and looks good from inside but, and negatives? Any favorite areas that you would recommend. Need quiet, country atmosphere.
This became longer than intended so thanks to those who made it to the end.
Bob
Why leave? We are leaving Phuket because I need a change of scenery and whenever things get too easy I must change haha. Adventure keeps the blood flowing in the old veins. I love Bali and since my wife is Indonesian I can actually own land in our name and it also make the whole transition much smoother. Visas are so much easier. There is also a lot more to explore on the island itself never mind the other 17 K islands.
So I have some questions for the old Bali hands. I am looking at buying some property. I hear prices have dropped as much as 50% so good time to buy. A view, is a priority as well as 1,000 m2 of land, decent house, 2-3 beds, pool, min 12 X 4. Quality of house need not be to EU standard but solid and bright and with a proper driveway. The ideal view would be terraced rice field overlooking the sea, but then again, I dream. I would settle for either rice or sea view. Location should not be much father than 15 mins car ride from civilization, for example, Ubud, Sanur, Uluwatu. So if anybody knows some good agents, or, heaven forfend, wants to sell their own property, drop me a line.
I would appreciate a few comments regarding the thatch roof (alang alang). Very good for keeping the house cool and looks good from inside but, and negatives? Any favorite areas that you would recommend. Need quiet, country atmosphere.
This became longer than intended so thanks to those who made it to the end.
Bob