Financial Freedom in Bali: by the Numbers ($)
The Island of the Gods is still a Good Deal
Like any discussion of money and priorities, it’s all relative to what you value. If you love the changing weather of four distinct seasons, then living near the equator doesn’t make sense.
When we focus on affordability, there’s aspects of the discussion we tend to leave out. For example, a place may be cheap but if the locals aren’t friendly, is that a worthwhile sacrifice?
In the case of Bali, if we exclude the infrastructure problems (which can be a showstopper for some), we get the dual benefit of low prices and a friendly, spiritual local population.
For your consideration:
Bali Retirement Visa
A retirement visa requires you to:
Be 55 years old, or older
Have health and life insurance
Rent a property that costs over US$380 a month with a lease agreement for a minimum of one year. If you are married to a local and live in a home registered in your spouse’s name, you can circumvent this criterion.
In terms of money, you must have a pension fund of at least US$1,520 a month or must produce evidence of a lump sum of US$18,000 income per year to meet living expenditures alone (this data may change with inflation).
In addition, you can’t work and must hire an Indonesian domestic helper or household worker.
As of 2022, retirement visas are not granted to any of these countries: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Guinea, Israel, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, or Somalia.
Cost of Living in Bali vs Valência (Spain) and Tampa, FL (the USA)
In the big scheme of things, Indonesia, while growing as a developing country, is still very small in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) compared to its population (4th most populated country in the world). That will change over time.
But for now (and for many years to come) life in Indonesia is not only affordable, additionally, inflation is held to a minimum in order to sustain the population.
Can you find Indonesia? It’s IDN ($1.4T), located above IND (India) and to the left of CHN (China). Again, pretty tiny for the 4th largest population on the planet.
Remarkably, while young Indonesia will become a powerhouse in 50 years, this year 29 economies are projected to shrink from their 2022 sizes, leading to nearly $500 billion in lost output.
It's not all roses and rainbows.
But it is safe to say that for a very long time to come Indonesia will remain a fascinating island nation to watch, and a very affordable place to live.
Later,
Neill
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