²ÝÁñÉçÇø

In general, yes.

People tend to be friendly and welcoming, however thiis  is not universal.

Extremist religious nutters are few and  far between, but there's always one. I  have had the misfortune to meet the odd one, but that's  a tiny minority that is hardly worth a  thought most of the  time.

Work permits are hard work  unless you have  skills unavailable from the local  workforce.

Most foreigners can't buy land.

Local microbusiness will commonly try  to  rip you off. A Rp3k bottle of water will  shoot up to  10k, but that's about it.

Nigerians are commonly unwelcome

Other than the above, Indonesia is  asafe, friendly, country that welcomes visitors.

What was your first impression when you arrived?

Great. Everyone was lovely

Did you face any challenges while integrating? Any advice on how to overcome them?

The language and a few cultural bits and bobs. Nothing too hard to come  to terms  with.

Are there any support programs, groups or events to help newcomers settle in?

Probaby, but I  have  no real  idea as I  don't care.

Do you find it easy to make friends or connections with locals and fellow expats?

²ÝÁñÉçÇøs, yes, but I  don't really care either way. I joined  one group but all  they wanted  to do was  booze and talk  about where  to find  the best prostitutes so I stopped going. I threw out of the WA group when they sent porn. My daughter used that phone to  order Go-food, so the group have to be  deleted.

Locals - I find local are commonly very friendly. New friends  are easy to make.

What makes Indonesia a welcoming destination for expats?

It's safe,and people tend to be very helpful.

I first came to Indonesian in 1980, where I worked in oil and gas exploration both in the Borneo jungle and also offshore in several different places. I also have been visiting it since then, usually several times a year, either with my family in the late 90's or as a surfer in the 80's. I've seen a lot here, so nothing really surprises me here.

While living here I have had very few expat friends, basically because so many of them are twats with big egos. The last one who was British kept sending me pictures via WhatsApp and email of Indonesian and Filipino women in bikinis from dating sites and telling me he was going to leave his wife. Of course he was joking but I don't like receiving those kinds of pictures. So nowadays I only keep in touch with foreigners who are not living here. That and my family members in the UK and France and my wife's family.

I also don't have any real local friends, because my life is family oriented and I can't be arsed to make the effort. I do have a lot of acquaintances though.

Not support groups needed because I know the country pretty well, have spoken some basic Indonesian and Malay for decades and I'm married to an intelligent and smart Indonesian wife who handles all the official stuff.

Indonesia is welcoming because people are mostly very friendly here and I don't get the sense of people being after my money which is something I felt when I lived in Malaysia.

While living here I have had very few expat friends, basically because so many of them are twats with big egos. The last one who was British kept sending me pictures via WhatsApp and email of Indonesian and Filipino women in bikinis from dating sites and telling me he was going to leave his wife. - @wyngrove60

Same here.

I'm just a dude, albeit an amazingly handsome one, and I really dislike  the 'superior to thou' attitude a lot oof expats display. More money and a better  lifestyle does n't  mean you're a better person.

I  was a member of an expat group for a while but I stopped going to the meetings because their fvourite subject was where to find the best prostitutes, and the WA group was not much more than a porn-fest.

I can live without that rubbish.

My favourite hangout is a local spit and sawdust coffee shop.  The chairs don't match,  and the tables vary, but the coffee is amazing and the guys are about the same.

'Welcoming' isn't  even close - We're like a bunch of brothers.

That's about the same all  over Indonesia when you get to know  the local people.