Seven months in, here are my top 10 reasons you should consider making the move:
1. The cost of living is absurdly low. $1,500/month buys a genuinely luxurious life. A beautiful villa, daily restaurant meals, massages, activities — all of it.
2. The weather is perfect. Warm year round. The "rainy season" still involves mostly sunny days with rain in the evenings. It's not a real rainy season by any normal definition.
3. The food is incredible. And cheap. Indonesian food is one of the world's great cuisines and you'll eat like royalty for $5 a day if you eat local.
4. The expat community is extraordinary. Bali attracts an unusually interesting, creative, entrepreneurial group of people. Your network will expand in ways you can't predict.
5. The nature is stunning. Volcanoes, rice paddies, tropical forest, coral reefs, sea turtles. All within 30 minutes of wherever you're staying.
6. The Balinese people are genuinely kind. This isn't tourist-industry friendliness. The Balinese culture values community, ceremony, and hospitality in a way that seeps into everything.
7. It's safe. Very safe. Petty theft exists (lock your motorbike) but violent crime is almost unheard of.
8. The internet is good enough. At co-working spaces, it's great. Everywhere else it's adequate. You can run a business here.
9. It will change your perspective permanently. On money, on time, on what's necessary, on what's luxurious.
10. You can always go back. Your old life will still be there. This one won't wait for you.