The Truth About Living in Bali as a Digital Nomad - Does it Live Up to The Hype?

About this video

Sean gives his personal review of living in Canggu, Bali as a digital nomad, based on living there since January 2022 for about 10-11 months at the time of recording. He rates it against criteria he uses for long-term living: convenience, cost of living, ease of visa, Wi-Fi, things to do, healthcare, transportation, weather, people, and quality of life. He gives convenience 5 out of 5, citing apps Gojek and Grab for food delivery, outsourced laundry and cleaning, and doctors who will come to a villa via WhatsApp. He gives visa ease 5 out of 5, describing visa on arrival extended in 30-day increments and the B211A visa he uses, which he says can be extended monthly up to six months, with an extension costing like $80. Cost of living he rates 4 stars overall, but lower for rentals after borders reopened around April/May: he says he paid $700 a month for a one-bedroom studio with private pool overlooking rice fields before being moved on when owners switched to daily rentals, then $1,700 a month for a one-bedroom, two-bath loft with a shared pool and no private pool. He says groceries at Pepito’s felt expensive, while a local meal pictured cost about $5. He rates things to do and people 5 stars, weather and quality of life 4 stars, healthcare 3 stars after developing gastritis and using Safety Wing insurance, and says Wi-Fi can be around 100 megabytes per second but varies by villa. His main cons are Canggu traffic, aggressive driving and frequent motorbike accidents, construction noise that made filming hard, and rising costs. His final rating is 4 stars, sometimes 3.5 in Canggu traffic, and he says he is next trying Thailand, starting with Chiang Mai.

Key takeaways

• Canggu scores highest for convenience and visa ease in his rating, with Gojek/Grab delivery, outsourced chores, and the B211A visa extendable monthly up to six months
• Rentals rose sharply after borders reopened: he went from $700/month for a studio with private pool to $1,700/month for a loft with a shared pool
• Food delivery can be cheap, with a pictured local meal at about $5, but he says groceries at Pepito’s were expensive and his Bali food bill was higher than in the US
• Traffic is his biggest downside: aggressive driving, frequent accidents, and a warning that insurance does not cover motorbike accidents without an international driver’s permit for motorbikes
• Overall he rates Bali 4 out of 5 stars, noting a tradeoff between main areas with good Wi-Fi and convenience versus quieter areas like Ubud or Uluwatu with more travel time

Episode details: published December 12, 2022 · 19:56 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Sean Dollwet’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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