It’s just been brought to my attention that I forgot to x4 my food, the total I put is for a week, not for a month! So a month for food is actually 5.3million IDR, which brings to month total to around 16.5million IDR or aroind $1050! Even more than what I’ve stated in the video 😅
1050$ per month is the weekly budget in Amsterdam so it is stil very cheap. But I wonder why western people would like to live there. It is amazing for holiday but at some point isn’t it boring?
Yes - I’ve been living here for about 3 months and plan on being here for a long time. I’ve lived in Kuta, Legian and now Seminyak. The Accomodation, Food and Alcohol prices have gone up so much!!! After Covid.
Hey guys thanks for commenting! I think inflation had an effect on everywhere in the world after the pandemic but not to the extent that Bali has gone up, it’s now 2-3x more expensive than pre-covid prices, inflation will count for some of that but not all! 100% I agree that western countries are still more expensive to live in. But social media has portrayed Bali as a place to move to when you’re trying to create a freelance career because of the low cost of living making it cheaper to live, however this is totally not the case anymore! Yes! Adding extra costs such as nights out (which are incredibly expensive in Bali, about the same price as London sometimes imo), trips and fun outings and treats you are looking at about 25-30mil a month, going out partying once every weekend will ad an extra $100+ each weekend to your budget. I think everyone that’s been living in Bali long term has seen an incredible price rise! As a budding freelancer myself the rent, bike rent and visa costs alone have all now become unrealistic to my monthly budget! I wish I could tag you each in my answers that relate to you, but again, thanks for commented and opening conversation here 🙌🙏
One of the best cost of living videos I've seen. I think you keep it realistic. Especially the comparison with cost of living in a similar set up in the UK.... which is mildly depressing..... but the bits that trump it are the vibrancy of life and the temperature during the winter.
Thanks I tried to keep it as realistic as possible! I know right, you’re correct the standard of living is higher in Bali but I’m still living a fairly modest life here, not extravagant at all, and it’s still the same price as the UK 😂
I’m paying $1100 USD/month rent for a luxury 1 bedroom in a Bangkok high rise in one of the most expensive parts of town. For that price in Canngu I’d get a cardboard box.
I ve been a regular visitor to Bali for 12 years, been everywhere around the Island. Since it re opened in 2022, I have visited 5 times noe 2023.. I am VERY disappointed IN the huge price rises of accommodation, restaurants, even supermarket prices which are the same as Australia.. I can see that they are pricing themselves out of the Budget Tourist Markets. 🙏
Yeah unfortunately the government are now aiming to attracts more richer visitors than just the average person in terms of visa prices and weird import taxes. And then landlords and accommodation owners, and bike rental places can raise prices because people keep paying them, eventually the bubble will pop!
I was living in Indonesia (mainly Bali) from 2013 till 2021, moved to Thailand after and came back to Bali 2 months ago. So many things are changed now, especially the mentality of the people. Prices went up a lot while the service and maintenance went down to almost zero at many places. So you pay way more now for a lot less. The problem is that they get away with it, so nothing will change in the future. I'm already struggling for the last two months to find a decent place that has rooms on monthly basis. Most places aren't happy having long-term renters, they can earn a lot more of short term rentals. Even the public infrastructures such as roads got well below a basic standard in the last few years (except the famous Canggu shortcut). I will probably leave Indonesia soon and I don't see myself coming back any time soon. Like mentioned before, Thailand offers better prices for a much higher level of accommodations.
In 2018 I went to east Java, visiting a national park, my girlfriend at the time had to 7.500 idr entrance fee, while I had to pay 225.000 idr for the same ticket, just because I'm a foreigner. (on a Sunday, tickets are more expensive than). It's for me already longer clear that they see us as walking money bags, that need to be emptied in their pockets as fast as possible. In the last few years it became more obvious now.
I agree mate! Im in Thailand now and one thing that stands out to me is how I don’t have to pay for parking anywhere! I know in Indonesia it’s not much money but it adds up when you have to pay for parking for waterfalls/temples/malls/beaches/McDonald’s, it’s a small thing but in my mind it goes a long way in making me feel welcome as a tourist!
I like to visit Bali this winter, but seeing your video should be scaring me. So, possibly Europe or specifically Munich and Amsterdam are getting my attention now. Bali is a very nice place to visit for a few days, but not for retirees, because the rental, food prices, and beach clubs are getting expensive. Thank you for the video.
@@Irongenetics Thanks for the information, well, I like Holland very much, but not staying in Amsterdam. I would like to stay either in Wassenar (The Hague area) or Delft the Technical College. GBU.
Great video Ryan! I felt that Canggu was way more expensive than I’ve heard. Me and my girlfriend found it much easier to live an affordable life in Ubud. 😅
I went to Bali on February 2020 for one month and i have checked the price for this year of the same hotel and villa that I have stayed and the prices doubled and tripled that's crazy.
Please keep in mind that the hotel price for you who stay ONLY for vacation (a few days) is NOT that go up too much in price.. Currently booked a hotel for 18-20'th may (a national holiday) and got 5 star hotel at price of Rp 450,000 (around $30) per night include breakfast and airport transport..
That’s pretty good! However this was more focussed an audience who are planning to live/already live in Bali. Also, I’ve had quite a lot of comments on this video from holiday goers saying that prices are way higher than what they were pre-covid
That’s crazy! Rent IDR 7 million per month in Bali is so expensive, I’m living in Shanghai and shared with 2 person and it cost me IDR 8.5 million per month
he lives in canggu bali the most expensive area in bali because there are many digital nomads..if in kuta there is 100 usd per month..try to get out of canggu there are still many cheap places in bali
Pretty much near Spot on today. Prepare for the next wave of increases in the pipeline as they move to a more exclusive tourism of quality over quantity.
Yup for sure! It’s only going to get higher from here! I’d say backpackers are already going to struggle in some areas but soon people moving here for a cheaper way of life will stop coming too! 🙃
It’s insane how prices in Bali rised in the past year! I understand that the pandemic created a huge problem and it’s normal that now this happens. But some prices, especially for Guest Houses and general place to sleep, are not even worth it. I love Bali but I’ll taste the waters also somewhere else in SEA.
Couldn’t agree with you more! I’m looking forward to checking out Vietnam and Thailand and seeing what they have to offer! In Bali you’re paying for the reputation now 🙃
Interesting insight. I think it’s inevitable since Bali is getting even more touristy. Most tourists I met just can’t believe how cheap it is to rent a nice hotel for 2M a night compare to what they get in western countries
Yeah but returning visitors know, and when people start comparing prices against other places like Thailand/Vietnam/Malaysia, tourists will start going elsewhere. Yes it’s still cheaper than western countries, but it’s not the cheap option anymore and I predict that eventually in a few year people will stop visiting, the bubble will burst and prices will go back down, but let’s see!
Last week, I visited Bali on a potential "digital nomad hub" exploration trip. For what you get, the prices were ridiculous. For $500 USD (7.8 Million IDR), I was living in a fully furnished luxury one bedroom apartment in the heart of Bangkok. The apartment had a washing machine, balcony, kitchen, marble everything, and floor-to-ceiling windows. The building also had a gym, a pool, and excellent internet. It was near all the great malls, public transportation, and had plenty of Thai and Western food options just downstairs. But in Bali, they want me to stay in a run down guesthouse where I have to share a communal kitchen, with no washing machine, tiny roads, and tons of mosquitos - for the same $500 USD? LMAO! No! All I could think was "Nomads, you're being had!" WAY OVERPRICED. I planned to stay at least a month, but I was back in Bangkok in a week.
Oh that’s really interesting to here! My girlfriend and I are going to be exploring Thailand in the new year to try out some other places, our very own “digital nomad hub” exploration of you will, and we’ll be checking out Bangkok for a couple of weeks so you get me a bit excited to see what Bangkok has to offer 😁
Hi, great video. Been in Bali for a year now to understand if it's a place to live long term. At the beginning was great as was mesmerized by the beauty of nature but when you start drilling down costs, you might end up paying same prices as you would pay in Europe. In double six beach a coffee can cost 3.5 euros with an average meal around 10 euro...It's not as cheap as people might have the impression of Asia to be. All those nice villas people see in videos as pretty expensive and bali has a massive problem with long term rentals. At a nicer place you're looking 1000 euro + easily. I feel like Bali slowly will become a spot for the upper class as you will slowly be prices out. Probably better places to explore.
I fully agree with you! But maybe eventually the bubble has to pop, the prices can’t keep going up or stay high because then people will stop coming, and when that happens the prices will go down again. Right now, financially speaking, it’s not the best time to move to Bali, especially if you’re a small or start-up business or freelancer, even the visas are extortionate now! But yes you’re correct, the expat scene here will just become the richer people which will drive prices even higher which isn’t good for the locals either
Bali government want less tourists and want to entice a better quality tourist. What they don’t understand is, they will need to improve their roads and traffic conditions just for starters. 🤷♀️🤦♀️🐨🐨🦘
Bali is one of the most popular and therefore expensive locations in SE Asia. A fairer comparison would be with somewhere like Monaco rather than a random suburb in Europe. Choose a random village in SE Asia and your CoL will be much lower than in Bali.
800 USD sounds very affordable for me. I spend twice of that in both Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines. I don't party. I don't drink much and I would say I have a normal lifestyle
Many foreign countres in bali , even though indonesian is west east, Jakarta surabaya sumba they also Like bali , so the prices are very expensive guys
@@RyanLeeBanks Yes, that's right Also, Next time you Have time to visit sumba, enjoy the waterfalls and buatiful beaches, the Natural culture of sumba, the Nihuwatu hotel ? Terimah kasih Tank you guys 👍👍
Ridiculous prices. For the same food I eat in Bali, I can have 2 or 3 plates in Penang Malaysia, which tastes better. Penang is far more developed, cleaner and modern than Bali.
Good to know! I lived in Bali for 5 months in 2019 and paid 4.5million for a nice apartment in Ubud. Average meal would only be 30-50k in local restaurants excluding drinks and Bintangs were only around 30k in most bars. Hoping to head back in 2023 for a month, will have to rethink my budget. Thanks for the video :)
Hey glad you found it useful! Sure you can pick up SIM’s at the airport or if not there are plenty of little SIM card shops everywhere on the island you can get them 😁
in jakarta there are around 3-5 million a month, it call residence near kuningan distric, karet, or kebon kacang jakarta, and we have too 1-2 million a month with ac or wifi and compare in bali are expensive just FYI :)
@@RyanLeeBanks in jakarta many kind type of living from cheaper to the expensive one, food are same price in bali but a little bit expensive, you need around here in java sometimes, but u right i depends on your lifestyle, i live alone in jakarta i spent million on grocery for my own cooking sometimes on coffee shop for working or me time on cafe in a month,my coffee here like $1 to $3
See that makes sense! And again yeah it depends on lifestyle, a lot of westerner’s, myself included, wouldn’t be comfortable living that lifestyle for an extended period of time, it’s just not what we’re used to!
Isn't this the problem everywhere though? Here in Australia inflation is running at over 7% just this year alone. Everything is so expensive, if I could live here for $803 us a month I'd be one happy lady. Stayed in bali in October and it was amazing. I could live there. A great video but quite negative as i would have thought the UK would not even be comparable in living costs or overall quality of the life you can have access to com0ared to bali. Wouldn't UK be 3 or 4 times as expensive for same standard of accommodation, food and transport?
Nope it’s definitely comparable now, everything i said in my video is completely true, like I said the standard of life is different yes, but this is aimed towards those coming to Bali thinking is a cheap place to live to start their businesses and whatnot, which totally isn’t the case anymore. Yes inflation is terrible right now after covid but that doesn’t account for a 200-300% increase in prices. It’s still great to live there, the standard of life is awesome but it’s not cheap anymore, that’s the overall takeaway! Also I messed up the prices a tad, the food prices are what I spend in a week I forgot to x4 it, so the total is actually around 4mil IDR higher than what I said, or about an extra $200
To add to this. I live in the UK with my son (17), our mortgage is £625 (3 bed terrace, Hampshire), and everything else including food, bills, car etc etc is £580 a month and we eat really well, no eating out except occasional takeaway. My point is the UK is cheapish to live.... my interest is to escape the winter for 5-6 months a year working elsewhere in the world. Interestingly a colleague is trying to employ me in Wellington NZ. I lived there years ago and I miss the cultural vibrancy of SE Asia and Latin America.
Especially their fuel bills. They have sky rocketed in the U.K. Mind you us Aussies have been going to Bali forever. U.K. & European’s have only just found it recently. I can’t remember bumping into any British tourists over there more than 4 years ago. I would have noticed them. As I’m a ten pound Pom 😂😂 Will be interesting when we go there next week. 🤔🐨🐨🦘
So what do you think? Are the prices in Bali getting a bit out of control compared to other places in SE Asian? Let me know 😁 And subscribe to help me get to 2k by the end of the year! Much thanks ♥️
move to east java.especially in banyuwangi, south malang, surabaya, jember, mojokerto.... there are so many beautifull places. many beaches, many waterfall,volcanoes,beautifull landscape & rice fields and of course its so cheaper than bali
@@RyanLeeBanks before you go there, you should first find out on google about the beaches in East Java, especially in the cities of Banyuwangi, Situbondo, Jember, and in the southern Malang area(dampit city, sumbermanjing, bale kambang,ngliyep ) There are lots of beaches, waterfalls and volcanoes that you can find to visit. And if you go to Surabaya, maybe you won't find the beach, but lots of delicious and cheap food, and the weather is very hot. And in Mojokerto, precisely in the Pacet area, you will find many temples, rice fields, hot weather, waterfalls and delicious and cheap food
If I sent a rural family in indonesia 200 us dollars (paid in IDR) a month, how long would it last? I mean, how long does 200 USD paid in IDR, last per month, generally-speaking?
Hey Ryan, such a helpful video 🙏🏻 I am headed to Bali next week with my gf for a long term stay. I am trying to understand more about the SIM/IMEI situation. In the video you mentioned you got around the 3 month tourist exemption by using XL. Does that mean you DIDN’T register your IMEI upon arrival, bought an XL SIM, registered locally and it continued to work? Basically did using XL mean you have been able to avoid the 50% tax if staying longer term? Cheers man!
Yeah that’s essentially it bro! Just means you gotta change SIM every 3 months which is fine unless you’re planning to use your Indonesian number a lot, then it becomes a ball ache
There are indeed, I’ve tried lots of different indo food options in my year here 😁 but after a while you just want a burger or a pizza or some pasta or maybe a ramen or sushi
Damn you’re right, that’s my weekly total, I forgot to times it by 4, damn so actually it’s a lot more expensive than I said 😅 unfortunately I can’t change it now!
Travelling SEAsia currently in Indonesia. I don't understand the hype of Indonesia comparing it to Thailand. Thailand is alot cheaper, better food and infrastructure like (roads and building quality) nomads go on about chiang mai but it's actually expensive there too. Probably the cheapest place I've been to in Thailand is hua hin and koh chang if anyone looking for recommendations.
Love the recommendations man, I’m currently in Thailand now and I actually full agree! I think Bali, despite having a beautiful culture, has just been massively hyped by social media
Hua Hin, yes, Koh Chang, not really. Try finding a decent room on a monthly basis in December. You won't find any, especially in the south. (Lonely Beach or Kai Bae).
this is in canggu because many digital nomads are promoting canggu so many are asking to live in canggu the demand is high and the prices are increasing..try to get out of canggu in kuta there are still places for 100 usd per month...bali is not just canggu
This is mainly about Canggu because that’s where I live but also Uluwatu and Ubud I’ve been told are the same. And I was also told Kuta and Seminyak too but maybe you found a good deal or maybe it’s not quite as bad I don’t know I don’t live there!
@@RyanLeeBanks Take a look at Chris Travel's videos on RU-vid as well... he rents in Kuta per month for 100 USD per month and shares the swimming pool too. If you want to see cheap prices, you should check prices on Olx, not on Airbnb.
Yeah they’ve been doing a lot to try and reduce the number of travellers and backpackers, even before covid. But the government can only change the prices of visas (the prices of which have also gone up a lot) the price of food and accommodation just comes down to the discretion of the accommodation and restaurant owners, and bike rental companies choose their own prices too!
They include it in your bill everywhere as an additional 15% service and gov tax. Also the majority of places if you pay with a card add 3.5% - 4% because they do not want to pay the transacting fee which is normal bank acquiring changes - business have to pay, but in Bali they put it on the customer shoulder. even though it's illegal... some time they also include 1% of busines tax into transaction tax Crazy "white buffalo" has to pay everything even their business tax
Oh 100%, but then you’re living without western community and western food options which is fine for a little while but no sustainable for most people. Living in a Balinese village isn’t usually the goal for expats
A common argument, however unless you’ve been in Bali long term you don’t know. The price of food, fuel and general services has gone up slightly, but it’s nothing compared to the price of tourism based services. If utilities, fuel and supermarket prices have inflated by 150%, hotels/guesthouses/scooter rental prices have inflated 300%, it doesn’t match up. Especially as the rise in prices hasn’t led to better services or nicer hotels. The same mouldy guesthouse that was 4mil a month pre-covid is still the same mouldy guesthouse at 12mil a month now. It’s a supply and demand thing. A lot of displaced Russians and Ukrainians fleeing the war have boosted prices to crazy heights, in addition to just general greed in using tourists as money bags. And I mean if you can then why not hey? People gotta make a living and I don’t blame them for that. Do it before the bubble pops, because it will when people stop coming visiting here and then there’ll be a ton of empty villas and hotels and loads of rental scooters not being used! But in the meantime smart people will stop coming because they know what they’re getting isn’t worth the price, so people like me won’t stick around! Maybe I’ll go back when the prices drop again, who knows! That’s just my 2 cents 😁🙏
@@RyanLeeBanks as a local, I have been to Bali many times since 15 years ago. Maybe we have different pov and experiences 🤷♀️ We, Indonesians, are sometimes treated badly because people who work in tourism there think that we don't have much money compared to foreigners. Although I never experienced it.
This is the problem because people like you are moving to bali and raising the prices of everything while the average balinese worker isn’t seeing any of that and now can’t afford to live. Average salary in bali is less than 1000$ a year.
@@devswell6538 I don't live in bali nor do i plan on moving there.... so I don't know why your coming at me. I was just saying how much I spend in oregon and how $800 would be a God send Don't take your frustration out on me direct that energy towards people who are actually taking money from balinese workers.
Hey! I’m not totally clued up on this because I’ve never been through the experience, but if you go to Lost LeBlanc’s channel he made a video about it. I believe it’s called something like “im building a villa in Bali and you can too!”
Hey thank you for watching the video! I’m not sure with Revolut as I use Wise, you’ll have to try some and see! But I know with Wise, Mandiri ATM’s don’t charge a fee!
thats weird i was there in spetember and prices was good guest house in canggu around 4-5 million i dont think it will hike that much and now low season maybe the hike will be at xmas new year and next july aug only
Just wondering are you still in Bali, and is this still the case for the registering of Mobile? I just saw this and am moving there for 6 months and can't believe that you have to pay to register them its crazy. we have 2 new iphones which would be insane
Hey! I left Bali and now I’m actually back for a couple of weeks 😂 but yes I’d you stay longer than 3 months you still need to pay tax on your phone and register your IMEI number or it’ll stop working. You can kinda get around this by getting a new SIM every 3 months if you use a service provider like XL
Totally agree. I've stayed 3weeks in bali till last week. All the prices are changed. Compare to before covid. More many PP tried to scam us. So I'm going to thailand now. That's why PP always saying Thailand is the best.
Too many westerners have bought business and now the price is ridiculous....wouldn't go to cangu too many Russians ...300,000 in the last month...renting everything...
Do you ever stop complaining about Bali mate? Try having a similar lifestyle back in your European home country. I bet you simply cant! The Balinese deserve to make up the financial resources they missed during the pandemic. Honestly, us Westerners are absolutely spoilt in Bali.
@@RyanLeeBanks i kinda know what you mean, personally i really like home cooking, not sure if there are an ibu's that cook and have dinning outside their house in bali, if you can find one, try it.
Great video. I concur. Was going to buy here but wow have they inflated the prices. Things that were 200k USD few months back now they asking 450k USD. Not worth it anymore. Looking elsewhere.
Yeah 100%, at some point the bubble will burst and inflation will go down anyway and people will lose a lot of money, will be a great time to buy if it does though 😂
What’s happened to Bali? Here now and the accommodation has sky rocketed. I heard is due to the Russian and Ukrainians outbidding to help them shelter here.
Nah that’s unlikely, I haven’t heard anything about that at all from anyone. It was just tough after covid so the Balinese tried their like with high prices when tourists came back and people paid it so the prices kept going up
And you are English 😂🤣😂🤣 ask a portuguese or sul americans ir african ir asian, Bali is spensive 💥 to much scambs os cheaper for australians, for English, for north americans
You’ll have to ask the government mate aha, we know as much as you do! 👎 hopefully soon not that G20 is over but if you really want to come my recommendation would be to just get vaccinated
Yep to expensive now. It's anon. Many cafe prices are as expensive at back home (Australia). Coffee can be $5 aussie. Same as time. Petrol $1.50 almost as much. Beers $5 that's good and cocktails $10 -13 is pretty good, home they are $18- 22. But overall this isn't the great wonderful cheap place it was years ago. Shame.
I pay the same rent for a basic double room and bathroom in Bali as I did for a 2 bedroom apartment on my local high street, and they might not ration the supermarket but if you want your western food you’re paying double than would you would pay in Asda, yes I stand by my point 🤣
I’ve lived in Bali 3 months from Feb. 22, and I’ve left 2 weeks after they’ve re-open the border and the price started to get higher already…I’m planning to come back for few months but prices now are just INSANE! I’ve been looking for a place for 4 days now and all the answers I got say "17 mio" MINIMUM which is CRAZY! When you say your monthly expenses was 13 mio you gave me some hope, but all the cheap places seems to be full…🥲
17 mil, that crazy numbers! Yeah it might be time to look elsewhere if you want cheap, all the of the cheap places here get very full very quickly, and people tend not to leave them when they have one 😅