Moving to work and play in Bali - Help

[Roy]

Actually Jimbo, I printed out some copies of Froggy’s new avatar and circulated it around our village with the question, “do you remember this?”

Not so amazingly, they ALL DO! And I'm not in :shock:

They all ran off though, and right now, not a sound of a human to be heard...just the birds.

Come on Froggy! Can’t you and Markit do any better, or are you, Froggy, thinking of a new move to England? :lol:

 

[fordprefect]

I'll take disrespect anytime I can get a bellylaugh like that.

Thanks frog.

 

[froggy]

For those not in the know, during a heated discussion over proper pesticide application, Roy in his(pest free) upper bat cave yelling like a madman, me on my front porch yelling back,Roy was given the double bird of paradise by yours truelly, unfortunately only the locals observing the festivities partook in this lovely scene, as Roy only had his bat radar working (it was before his eye surgery),, he couldnt see a thing...... :lol:

 

[froggy]

Roy, ----Zoe just walked by and saw your avatar, she asked if your head is ok,she thought you cracked your head open, Ha.... She says Hi to everyone,, I will show her pics of your place..

 

[Roy]

That’s pretty funny Froggy coming from a guy with a paper bag over his head. Anyway, if you can get a copy of The Bali Times, you might want to have a read of the February 29 issue, specifically my column on expats. Here is an excerpt from that article. See if you can recognize yourself in it:

And finally there are the you’ve got to be kidding expats. These are the expats you occasionally run into who leave you thinking just that...“you’ve got to be kidding.” These are the expats who inadvertently spawn betting pools by other expats based on the number of months they will last living in Bali. These expats ignore everything around them, and are capable of truly mind blowing business ideas like sleuse mining for gold in the Ayung River, or selling golf carts to Balinese villagers to make it easier for them to get around. No fooling here, as all of us in Ubud got to meet one such expat last year. One needn’t worry about spotting such an expat, as they will find you.

Froggy, do you really want to get me started on “The Life and Times of Froggy in Bunutan?” :lol:

 

[froggy]

Thats pretty funny from a guy with a Rag on his head! Better to have tried and failed than to never try(and in my book it wasnt a fauilure), regardless of what country I reside in, I always think of strange or awkward things( you sell freaking skulls for a living!), who would of ever thought you would have been there as long as you have, I'm sure you have been almost ran out of the village on a few occasions. The fact that I'm a Bule doesnt give extra lunacy to my ideas, surely the balinese have a few stupid ideas all to thier own, the list could go on. So am I expected to be smarter,wiser or ? than a local? plz, I had fun there while it lasted and will come back before I get too old, lets not turn a good, fun memory thread into a dividing wall,, Frog

 

[Roy]

Froggy, what I’m wearing in that photo is called an Udeng (Destar in high Balinese). Please don’t tell me that you didn’t know that. What do you call your head gear? :shock:

Don’t worry Froggy, I’ll keep your confidences, and the stories still told to young children here about the kodok bule will remain here in the village. :lol: As the old saying goes, what goes on in Bunutan stays in Bunutan.

 

[kauaibobby]

hi jake and hannah
congadulations on your decision to move to bali.
I have looked in to a lot of places to move to, at least online.
Cayman islands, do you scuba dive or are you a banker, because grand cayman in one of the bank capitals of the world and great scuba diving.
I have looked in to a lot different place to move to and Bali is my top choice so far.It was costa rica, panama, puert rico, fiji, thailand and now Bali.
I have never been to any of these places i researched online, so i never know until i get there, but that not a problem.
I can always go some where else, i have the freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedom to move.
I am a retired fireman and need to be somewhere tropical with clean clear warm ocean for diving and surfing.
I got my pilots license a little while ago and looking forward to getting
an amphibian airplane (can land on water of land) to fly all around that part of the world.

 

[SG]

Hi Jake and Hannah,
With regard to medical insurance you may be advised to look a little closer to home..or at least check it out. I'm from NZ and we have a medical care system not unlike the UKs...free health care of sorts for all passport holders, with reciprocal arrangements with many other counties (ie I'm entitled to free healthcare in Australia, the Uk and elsewhere no matter how long I'm away..which is actaully more than Australians are entitled to!). I was able to take advantage of that and insure myself in Bali with an NZ company who will evacuate me from here to somewhere close if its an emergency, or to Sydney or Auckland if its less desperate, for a premium of much less than I was paying here before, with a $100 excess. And it includes free travel insurance. I sat down with the company in NZ and went through it at length and they were able to cover me and my family for some 30% less than I was paying, with a relationship with SOS. You may find it's worth talking to a UK health insurer in the UK rather than one of the ones aiming at expats.

Simon

 

[Markit]

SG could you give us the name of the company you finally ended up with?

As these days most of them are multinationals they may be able to offer something, either through an affiliate or their own national branch, if we were able to refer to a particular policy or policy type.

 

[Roy]

The leading insurer, (medical) of expats in Bali (regardless of what country they come from) is William Russell Ltd, in the UK.

One of the leading agents for William Russell in Bali...if not the top agent, is Sue Speak of Bali Medical Insurance. http://www.balimedicalinsurance.com/

It’s pretty simple, really, to listen to good advice that has been formed over many years of living on Bali...and I’m NOT speaking of myself. Just ask any expat that has been around well beyond the novice years, and you will hear the same thing, over, and over.

 

[Markit]

Talked to William-Russell about a year ago and they seemed a little expensive, but not too bad - but I always like to hear of other people's experiences.

When I talked to them they offered 3 types of plan (Bronze, Gold and Platinum) for Area 1 (basically the whole world excepting America, wonder why? :shock: )

For their "Silver Plan" it worked out at about £120/month for myself (aged 52, no pre-existing conditions, sound mind (many here will disagree), yada, yada with an excess between £250 and 500).

Not to go too into the details but it covered about everything except pregnancy and lunacy (which are about the same, at my age) and they offered to cover me until age 79 when there would be a "review".

I guess it all comes down to your "angst" level and what you are used to paying. Having lived in the US and paid a lot for good health insurance and now living in the UK and paying nothing for shitty coverage it is difficult to decide, never having been sick - touch wood :roll:

 

[Roy]

When I talked to them they offered 3 types of plan (Bronze, Gold and Platinum) for Area 1 (basically the whole world excepting America, wonder why?

That is NOT correct. Even the basic plan, (with which you can structure your deductible to keep the premiums very low) includes a minimum of two weeks of coverage in the US per year, which assumes an annual visit.

Structuring your deductible is key to keeping your premiums manageable and affordable. What you can afford "out of pocket" should never be insured.

 

[Markit]

Goddamn it you are hard work Roy.

Please Note: From the application form - no mention is made of 2 weeks in God's Own Land.

The coverage I (and anyone else blessed not to hale from the Land Of The Free, Home of the Brave i.e. the rest of the world) would want is Area 1.

 

[Roy]

You failed to read the fine print Markit. It reads, “US coverage is denied (to you) by Homeland Security and MI-6.”

Yes, I am up late doing a ton of uploads, but in between I’m having a look at what errant Brit school boys might be up to here.

 

[SG]

SG could you give us the name of the company you finally ended up with?

As these days most of them are multinationals they may be able to offer something, either through an affiliate or their own national branch, if we were able to refer to a particular policy or policy type.

Hi we are with Southern Cross but you need to be a New Zealander to make to make it work. I know two other NZers who have successfully used them for a few years living in Bali including one who had an evacuation.

There may well be a British equivalent.

 

[Markit]

Thanks SG - I did check up on them and as you said they do appear to be a solely NZ company.

Pity, but if they were international they probably wouldn't be so good.