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I think you are one of the very few American expats that have lived here that long that I don't personally know.  I've been here 24/7 for 22 years and own a compound with home, etc. in Bunutan-Kedewatan, close to the Royal Pita Maha.  Of course the land is in the name of my Balinese wife.  We built the place from scratch, and as far as I know, the main house is the only one around with a working fireplace. 

Yes, life here is like a dream, isn't it?  My only regret is that I didn't move to Ubud, Bali from the US sooner.  I can also say that I've never been back to the US, (even for a short visit) in all this time. 

Cheers!

Interesting to meet another longterm expat in Bali. Check out my YouTube channel BULE IN BALI and I am also on Instagram #balibules

fo you guys that have been living so long there. What do you think about the future of Bali? I have done a little research and learned there are some big problems coming. lack of water, I heard the water table has been nearly depleted and the big hotels are sucking it up away too fast.Farmers are having no water for their crops so soon there will be arid landscapes. I also found that the tourism is a big problem especially the Chinese, because they jam up everything but do not bring any wealth to the area because they only deal with Chinese operated businesses and they send their profits back to their homeland.
It seems government corruption is getting worse on things like owning land and building new construction.
Any thoughts?
Michael

Michael the future of Bali is very good considering it's one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world for the past 15 years. All of the issues you describe will have to be addressed as is the case with any booming tourist island. Millions continue to visit the island every year with no end in sight. The Australians will never stop loving Bali and now  we have China, Russia and India added to the mix which makes the island of the gods even more popular. Indonesia now allows expats to own property for up to 80 Years and the laws continue to improve for foreign investment here. Bali's Future is bright and things will get better as time goes by. Don't forget to watch me on YouTube my channel is BULE IN BALI.

My biggest issue with tourism on Bali is one that I have been pushing for many years…a needed emphasis on quality, not quantity.  The ease of making VOA’s available to most anyone has opened up a new Pandora’s box and that has resulted in a number of problems with tourists who can only be described as undesirable.  This in fact resulted in the only two tragedies of Bali law enforcement officers being killed in the line of duty, as well as an increase in other criminal activity. 

Personally, I think it’s a huge mistake to judge success in Bali’s tourism by arrivals.  Other negative impacts on Bali with the emphasis on arrivals obviously includes excessive demands on our infrastructure and ecology as well as the reputation of Bali itself.   

In a strange way, this whole Covid mess has a bit of a silver lining in that this year of the endless Nyepi has casused many Balinese I know to re-think their priorities and to engage more in long term planning and re-alignment of priorities. 

All in all I remain confident with Bali’s future and its status as one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

Hey Dave,

I did check out your Youtube channel which is lots of fun.  Your camera work is especially good, IMHO. 

It is amazing just how quiet things are here, isn't it.  I tend to avoid Kuta like the plague, so it was interesting to see how very uncharacteristically dead it is. 

Keep up the good work.  Cheers!

Hello Dave

I subscribed to your you tube channel
Its good
Simple and easy to understand
Great information

Regards Robert

Glad you enjoyed my vlogging tell your friends and help support my efforts it's a tremendous amount of time and energy to make these videos. Thanks for your insight about Bali too.

Thanks for the kind words about my channel! It's lots of work to make these videos I appreciate you spreading the word about BULE IN BALI. Thanks again.

Jack glad to hear you might watch my videos someday, lol. Construction in Indonesia is very different than construction in USA, Europe, Canada and Australia. Too many expats come here with the notion that they are an expert and attempt to build a villa on their own. I have seen way too many poorly constructed villas by expats that hired a bunch of locals to build their dream home, only to find out neither the locals nor the expat knew what they were doing. There is the language barrier, different construction techniques, earthquake considerations, material selections, payment schedules, warranties, contractor selection, and so many other things to consider before embarking on building your own villa in a foreign land like Indonesia. After 22 years on the island I myself have learned the hard way when I first arrived in Bali. My opinion for what it's worth is to buy something already built as long as you verify all permits are in place, you have a Hak Milik certificate, and hire both an attorney and notary to check all documents before you shell out any money.

Well, it's one thing to love Bali and one thing to preserve it. I believe the average person, especially the average Aussie isn't terribly concerned about the current water crisis. That needs to be addressed now and let's hope those who have been there for a very long time can come on board and assist with ideas, hands-on support and financial support. Time to give back to Bali when things become this urgent.... nothing more urgent than securing water. Would be a travesty to see Bali dry up because of  leeching water tables caused by tourism demands.

Re supporting foreign businesses: whether Chinese, Russian or any other nationalities; the laws need to change... especially at this time.

Covid is another massive issue. Balinese people are doing their best to contain this however they are becoming desperate and need to open to tourism again. Such a gamble as many young travellers are very nonchalant in regard to the pandemic... exacerbating the spread where ever they go.

And as a result of Covid and its fall-out, many people are going hungry... even though Bali is doing a wonderful job of organising food for so many hungry, jobless people... with the help of some expats, it is resulting in heightened crime rates with many tourists being the main target. There have been so many reports of thefts, assaults, stabbings, burglaries etc. So there are many changes happening in Bali right now... many, not for the good.

Hi guys.
I'm thinking of coming to Bali and placing my son in the green school. Potentially long term living in Bali.
How do you apply for residency

Hi Martin, basicly to get a limited (ITAS) or permanet ITAP) Visa u must have a job for an Indonesian Company registered by foreigner (PMA), have ur own PMA, be married with an Indonesian or be ritired.
Otherwise, other options Is applying for a visit or social Visa, valid for up to 6 months, after which you must leave the country, re-enter and restart the process for a new visa.
Of course, these are option available in normal times, with the Covid pandemy its all more difficult.
The Green School Is a good chioose, pretty expensive but with eccellent program and teacher.

Just a quick question if someone knows, the retirement visa, is it mandatory 55 and up, or can someone younger apply?

Bobby Cummings68 wrote:

Just a quick question if someone knows, the retirement visa, is it mandatory 55 and up, or can someone younger apply?

Its mandatory 55 yo and up and must be at least 1500 US dollars mounthly.

Hi everyone,

Please note that a few posts have been removed from this thread.

Thanks,

Priscilla
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Great decision, now you have one less member / poster...