Have a couple sips of beer with a fellow freelancer and I bet you they’ll mention they’re looking to move abroad and work remotely. More often than not, to Bali. How do I know this? I am one such cliche.
To be fair, I have actually been there on a holiday about 5 years ago, and instantly fell in love with the place. I’ve always dreamed about going back, but the time difference, expensive flights and ummm, Covid always put me off.
It’s got a reputation for being ‘the dream’ place to remote work from. If you follow anyone that lives there on the gram, you’ll be able to see why. From glistening bowls of dragon-fruit smoothie, to tropical beaches, all-year-round tans and chilled out boho co-working cafes, it looks like the dream. Not to mention once you are there, prices are astonishingly cheap for food, drinks and some accommodation.
We spoke to three entrepreneurs who’ve made the move to Bali, to find out if the promised land of sea, sun and downward dogs is all it’s cracked up to
Sophie Biggerstaff, 30, Founder BYRCOLLECTIVE, www.byrcollective.com
I first came to Bali back in 2017. I started to notice lots of people working from laptops in cafes and this was when I first become aware of the “digital nomad” culture, at the time I was still working in my corporate job as a Buyer for luxury fashion brands, so never thought it would be possible to travel and work, but I made it my mission to try and work out how I could do that. Fast forward a few years later, I quit the corporate world and started my own retail consultancy business supporting start ups, I made sure the business was set up to be non-location dependent so that as soon as we were out of lockdown and travel restrictions were removed I could move around and work & Bali was my obvious choice for a first destination to live and work on my business from. I finally made the move in November 2021, Bali still wasn’t open to tourists yet, so I had to come over on a B211A visa, which allows me to be in the country for 6 months at a time. I had to quarantine for 7 days as travel was still more or less shut down in Indonesia, but when I finally made it to Bali it was a pinch me dream come true moment, and the 7 days of hotel quarantine were totally worth it for a more balanced, outdoor lifestyle.
Logistically the move was made harder due to COVID travel restrictions, visas aren’t cheap, neither was the quarantine & all the PCR tests I had to do to get in, so there were some hurdles I had to overcome, but other than that it was pretty straightforward. To apply for the B211A visa I used an agent called Bali Visas – there are a lot of scam agents out there, so my tip would be to make sure you are booking your visa with a credible agent, with this visa you are sponsored by a company to come in to the country for business purposes, you can stay for up to 6 months, renewing your visa monthly.
To begin my trip I booked a co-living & working space called Dojo in the “digital nomad hub” of Canggu for my first month. They sorted me out with a local sim card, scooter and I automatically met some new friends who had done the exact same thing as me when I arrived. My advice would be if you are travelling solo and want to make friends quickly book into a coliving or guesthouse to start your trip as these are the places you are most likely to meet people. After that you could start to look for villas or apartments to settle in for longer, but beware of what you are booking – accomodation here almost NEVER looks like how it does in the pictures so make sure you check the place out in person before booking in something long term. Accommodation pricing ranges quite widely here, but to stay somewhere basic you could expect to spend approx £300 per month, if you want something super fancy expect to spend around £700 per month.
Gyms here will be a shock to your system in terms of cost, it’s more expensive even than London, with the average membership starting at around £120 month. Eating out however is super cheap, and you are likely going to be eating out every day, local food will cost around £2.50 per meal, western food ranges from around £4-£10 per meal. In terms of actual working there are lots of coworking spaces or cafes to choose from – my favourites are Dojo & Tribal.
To get around I would strongly suggest learning how to ride a scooter, it is very difficult to get around in Bali without one, there is a ride app called Gojek and Grab from which you can order bike taxis, but for freedom it is 100x easier to jump on your own scooter and be able to go wherever you want.
One last tip – make sure you are careful with your laptops going from heat to aircon, the humidity can cause some serious damage and the last thing you want whilst you are here working is for your laptop to break.
Gabby Francis, Devotional Healing and Leadership Coach, www.gabriellefrancis.co.uk
Initially I first came to visit Bali in 2016 – I had such an amazing time and it really opened my eyes to how people could make a more nomadic lifestyle work. At the time I was still living and working a 9-5 in London, but I was curious as to how I might be able to create a life with more freedom. When I returned home at the start of 2017 I went through an incredibly traumatic and life-altering year that shifted my perspective and transformed the lens in which I viewed the world. I decided I had nothing to lose after that. I had began my training as a transformational coach half way through 2017 and just decided to take the risk and leave all I had behind to see what kind of life I could create for myself. Originally I said I would move out to Bali to focus on my healing whilst I set up my Coaching business for 6 months – I never looked back, and things evolved in ways I couldn’t have even imagined. The magic of Mama Bali has a funny way of doing that.
It was actually pretty straightforward. I sorted a social visa for myself and my sister decided she wanted to move out here too, so we did it together. It was reassuring to have her by side through it all. I took 1 suitcase with me and we went for it. We initially found a place on air Bnb and then sussed some spaces out to live when we got here as the Facebook community groups are way more helpful to find longer term stays. I didn’t move out with a lot of money to support me – I just had full trust I would find a way to support myself if I was supposed to be here for a longer period of time.
I’ve been here for 4 and a bit years now. Living in Bali is an initiation. This island is incredibly powerful, sacred and spiritual – not something to take for granted, or lightly. There have been many ups and downs throughout the journey. This island holds a lot of lightness and also has capacity for the darkness too. It’s what you make out of it. I have met my soul family here,
so I’ve always felt connected to like-minded community which has been total medicine. I feel that Bali is one of the only places on earth that literally has EVERYTHING on your doorstep. In one moment you can be in a deep shamanic breathwork ceremony, healing all your past trauma, and 5 mins down the road you can be in a bouji restaurant and bar living like a Queen! There have been many times I’ve thought I’ve been complete with my chapter but she (Mama Bali) has kept me here for a reason. It’s been life-changing and has brought me home to myself. The land, the energy and the people are so special – I’ve learnt it’s important to honour the sacredness whilst you are here because you will be supported even more so. Right now I am craving a break from this island and her beautiful intensity. My friend shared an analogy with me the other day – if you eat lobster every day you stop appreciating the quality and get complacent with the gratitude you initially felt. I feel it’s the same with Bali – to appreciate the magic here, for me personally, I’m needing a little break. I’m sure I will return when I am supposed to. Bali has a piece of my heart and will always feel like home.
Stephanie Connelly, 31, founder of Rewrite, a content and strategy agency, https://www.rewritestrategy.com/
I originally moved to Bali in 2018, at the time I was 27, had come out of a long term relationship and was growing a business in Dubai that just didn’t fill me up. Before deciding on Bali I was actually sat in a hotel room in Vietnam, heartbroken, and just said out loud…’I’m going to Bali on June 5th.’
I had no idea why, but that date just felt so right — I stumbled upon an internship for a large travel page in Canggu and applied pitching my heartbreak story and the whole ‘eat, pray, love’ cliche — and bam…I decided on 2.5 months, and ended up staying 2.5 years. I left during the pandemic for 1.5 years and I have now been back here for 1 month, with my business and just bought land.
Logistically I went over solo, I had a couple of suitcases and no expectations, however, now this time round I have come over with my own business and work really well over here.
Depending on your business will depend on the move you are planning to make. If you are planning on working with the local community, you will need to look into setting up your own business here to ensure you stay above board, however if you plan to work online with your clients back in your home country, then all I can say is…embrace the time difference and create a routine and lifestyle that truly lights you up.
I personally believe that everyone should spend at least one month here, do the work, network, grow your community and leave a stronger and better business minded individual.
Bali is everything to me, its grounding, exciting and contains a whole load of growth. I have learnt more about myself here than I have in the past 31 years. I have just bought land and plan to build here in Uluwatu and am now planning on moving my business out of the UK & looking at whether to set up officially here or move it to another country. My clients are predominantly UK based, and they are all supportive of this move due to my ethos around living and breathing a life of creative freedom, but figuratively and literally.
