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Hey Scott, nice to “meet” you and always happy to say hi to a fellow American coming over to live in Bali. 

There is a great American expatriate presence here on Bali, of all ages and backgrounds and a good percentage of them are from California.  Moreover we have an excellent US Consular Agency here in Denpasar which makes it easy to maintain our contacts with various needed governmental agencies (passports, tax filing, social security) back in the states. 

As for me, IÂ’m married to a local Balinese and we live in her ancestral village just outside Ubud raising our three sons age 9 to 13.  After 15 years of 24/7 living on Bali my only regret is that I didnÂ’t make the move sooner.  Bali is a great place to raise your son and there are a number of excellent schools for you to consider for him.

One of my closest American friends here on Bali is Dr. Bruce Pohlmann in Singarajah.  HeÂ’s a UC Berkeley alumnus, and he has two excellent web sites you should have a look at:



At the second linked site you can connect to his excellent e-book, The Practicalities of Moving to Bali.

Another “great American expat” living on Bali is the very well known Jack Daniels of Bali Discovery in Sanur.  Jack puts out a highly informative weekly newsletter that is free and that you might want to subscribe to: 



Feel free to write if you wish, and the best of luck to you and your son with your move to Bali.

Thank you, Sounds like you really love it there. I am going to have to wait to move till after he graduates. He is an amazing kid and so strong. I admire him for all he has gone through with losing his mom. After her passing he had the best year in school and got offensive linemen of the year in football. They moved him up to varsity for playoffs and he got to play for the championship.

March 9th he has a recruiting combine in L.A. for Nike. His goal is to get to a good college and get a good education.

As for myself, I have worked for the same company for 20 years. I am 42 and have learned more about my self the last 5 years then I think the 37 prior. I try to paddle board as much as I can and find things that are positive in my life. I found that good people and good friends are hard to find. Right now there seems to be a lot of drama here at work. Corporate life is all about a number and not the people. Although people here feel that they are owed something just because they work here. Entitlement I think is the best word for it.For my self it makes for a difficult place to work and wasted energy. I am going hiking today and after that getting my taxes done.

How are things there today? what is it you do for work? I would really like to hear all I can about a regular day to day life.

I am happy to meet you and look forward to more conversations.

It sounds like you have a few years before youÂ’d be making the move to Bali.  In the meantime, have you planned for some long vacations here during his school breaks, or, have you been to Bali before?

It really helps to spend as much time on Bali before making the big move and committing on a place to live.  There is a great deal of diversity from one area of Bali to another which is surprising given how small an island Bali is.  And, as diverse as Bali is from one area to another, so too would be the “typical day in the life” of an expat here. 

Congratulations to your son and best wishes for good luck finding the right college for him.

Hope you'll enjoy your stay :-)

Hey Annie, do you miss Jakarta much, or at all?

Ubudian wrote:

Hey Annie, do you miss Jakarta much, or at all?

Very much! I miss being around familiar faces, and even though I can adjust in the food department its still a bit hard sometimes when I crave for some certain food that I enjoy eating when I'm back there
I dont miss the traffic though, lol. But who does.

I guess its the same with you? Or you've been in Bali for too long you already feel like home?

The only thing I miss about New York City and New England are Maine lobsters and steamers (a special type of succulent clam).  ThatÂ’s a small price to pay to live in what I consider the most dynamic and diverse country on earth, Indonesia.  Sorry if that makes you home sick Annie!

The truth is, I havenÂ’t been back to the US for even a short visit since I moved here to Bali 15 years ago.  When our three boys are a bit older (and better able to appreciate and understand) my wife Eri and I will take our boys to visit the US, just so they see where half of their ancestry comes fromÂ…and of course, better understand their “sedikit gila” daddy!   That trip will be mahal big time, but it will be very well worth it.

When I married my Balinese wife, she made it very clear to me, “I am not moving away from Bali” but that was no problem for me as I had no interest in living anywhere else, and I was already in love with her island, her village and the people.  In life, some things work out better than we hoped for, or, as the famed lyrics go, “you canÂ’t always get what you wantÂ…but sometimes you get what you need.”

Ah, yes. I would like to go visit the state aswell, especially to try all of those seafood goodness. Atleast you have Bubba Gump there! haha

Whoa, 15 years without one single visit sounds like forever, for me atleast. I can relate to your wife's request though. I would want to settle in Indonesia someday when I'm married, travelling to different countries is always exciting, but to live in someone else's country and not having family and friends around me is frustrating sometimes (maybe its from women's perspective)

I'm glad you're not having any problems living in Bali, well besides the food craving. hehe. And it would be nice when you, your wife and kids can visit your hometown. The best of luck!

Btw, I travelled Bali many times already. I even went for a road trip for a whole week, I slept in different hotels and homestays, went from one beach to another, climbing mountains, checking out art galleries and gardens in Ubud (though I havent tried the Ibu Oka specialty ) and I think of Bali as my second home.
Eveyrthing is so laid back, and the food is the best part!
OK, now I really have to find Indonesian restaurant here

Ubudian wrote:

The only thing I miss about New York City and New England are Maine lobsters and steamers (a special type of succulent clam).  ThatÂ’s a small price to pay to live in what I consider the most dynamic and diverse country on earth, Indonesia.  Sorry if that makes you home sick Annie!

The truth is, I havenÂ’t been back to the US for even a short visit since I moved here to Bali 15 years ago.  When our three boys are a bit older (and better able to appreciate and understand) my wife Eri and I will take our boys to visit the US, just so they see where half of their ancestry comes fromÂ…and of course, better understand their “sedikit gila” daddy!   That trip will be mahal big time, but it will be very well worth it.

When I married my Balinese wife, she made it very clear to me, “I am not moving away from Bali” but that was no problem for me as I had no interest in living anywhere else, and I was already in love with her island, her village and the people.  In life, some things work out better than we hoped for, or, as the famed lyrics go, “you canÂ’t always get what you wantÂ…but sometimes you get what you need.”

Private message on the way Annie.

Ubudian wrote:

Private message on the way Annie.

Thanks for the PM, I will have to reply a little later since I'm getting ready to head out to a market to try some grilled eel
I took a look at the link you sent md though! Very interesting to read. I will definitely go back and read some more. You have a beautiful family too! I love the pictures :-)

Anyways, laters!

Annie

Hey there,
I have just moved to Sanur and thanks for the info on your friend.  Will sign up for Jack's Bali Discovery newsletter.
Marianna