Monday, March 9, 2015

The Cost of Living

What does it cost to live in Bali, Indonesia? Well, that depends...

One of the great things about visiting Bali is that visitors have a lot of options. For instance, accommodation can be had for as little as USD $10 a night (breakfast included) in a hospitable homestay or up to USD $1,000 a night at a five-star hotel.

Here are some informative resources:

The Real Cost of Living in Ubud, Bali for One Month
Blog, Erin and Josh Bender

All in a Day's Work
Money issue, Inspired Bali


Nila (pictured), who cooks and owns Sari Organik (highly recommended) earns about IDR 250,000 a day. Photo: courtesy of Inspired Bali

It's eye-opening to compare what your average visitor or expat born in a wealthy country like the US or Australia spends on lunch (IDR 50,000 or less than USD $4) and the average daily wage of many Balinese. A seamstress (IDR 50,000) or barista (IDR 60,000), for example, earns in a day about what the average visitor might spend on lunch. A retail sales person (IDR 25,000) or midwife (IDR 33,000) likely earns less.

Despite income discrepancies, there doesn't seem to be a lot of socioeconomic envy going around. There's much less, I think, here than in your average community in the US.

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