Posted by
Tyrex
19 yrs ago
Appreciate feedback on living in Jakata for a family with 2 pre-school age children . How is the pollution compare to HK? Security wise (in no way I am making comparison to how safe it is in HK, but would like to know to which degree of risk to take)? What kind of housing would a USD$2K/month fetch?
Thanks in advance guys!
Please support our advertisers:
TC
19 yrs ago
Pollution in general is MUCH worse - in every area. Here in HK it's generally only the air, but in JKT it's also the water, government and just about everything else also. If you want to check on housing you could do worse than visit the housing forum on the following site:
http://www.expat.or.id
Good luck!
Please support our advertisers:
Was abt to put up a similar post. Thanks TC. Jakarta doesn't sounds like a good idea at all. Pollution is the idea killer for us.
Please support our advertisers:
TC
19 yrs ago
But you can make it as good as you want to. We are moving there shortly after 5 years in HK. Used to live there in the early 90s, and nothing much has changed (apart from some new buidlings). And despite the pollution we are looking forward to it - not necessarily looking forward to leaving HK (because we'll miss it), but life goes on and Jakarta is the next stop.
Please support our advertisers:
Tyrex
19 yrs ago
TC, glad that I am getting a response on this thread. Other than the pollution, do you find security a concern at all? I do not want to spice up this genuine question with racial or discrimination but fact is I am white and my other half is Chinese and Indonesia will be a total new world to us (if we are going to go ahead with the move).
Please support our advertisers:
ranti
19 yrs ago
I lived there for almost 2 yrs a few yrs back. Air pollution is a concern. Traffic is horrendous especially in the rainy season. Corruption in govt/business is always around too.
People are generally nice and friendly. Being a gweilo, you would have no issues. Chinese also ok too...I'm chinese and had no problems. But like any place in the world, if you look for trouble you can find it.
Jakarta/Indonesia has ALOT to offer. Cheap accommodations....US$2k will get nice apartment or half-decent house. Housekeeper/maid/drivers are 1/4 the HK rate btw. Bali and many other resort areas are low-cost flite away. Food is cheap, except for imported goods.
If you are making same amount of money there as you make here in HK, then it would be ok as cost-of-living is lower there. Ideal time to save a few $$ for a few yrs and then move on I guess.
Good luck
Downside is things already mentioned.
Please support our advertisers:
Tyrex
19 yrs ago
ranti, thanks for the insight. Would you have any recommendation for residential areas that relatively safer?
Please support our advertisers:
TC
19 yrs ago
For descriptions of the various residential areas you could find a reasonably good document at that website link above. South Jakarta is probably the most common area for ex pats working in/around the CBD, but South Jakarta is a big area and includes many varied locations (suburbs). We used to live at Pondok Indah and it would take me around an hour (more on a really wet day, as suggested above) to drive to the office, but you don't have to live that far out (by Australian standards, say, it's not that 'far out' at all - it's just the traffic impact). On the other hand you could live further out if you really wanted to. Most of the ex pat areas are reasonably safe. You either live in a complex which has its own security, a residential estate where you would hire your own security staff, or an individual compound where you would also employ your own security. Of course, it has been known for security staff to assist others with less-than-honourable intentions while your back is turned. Last time we lived in a semi-local (i.e. not high density ex pat area) residential estate and never had a problem. This time we will stay in an apartment complex with good security.
Please support our advertisers:
Goloh
19 yrs ago
I worked in Jakarta from 2002-2005 and still go there twice a year. The climate itself is great. The air pollution is often terrible from, among other things, all the open burning of rubbish. Traffic is astonishingly bad at times, on par with Manila or Bangkok, but the 3-in-1 lanes and periods help a bit. I am less optimistic about the safety issue. While it is now openly "easier" to be of Chinese ethnicity, I have been told countless times by friends and colleagues to do my best to avoid even the slightest hint of trying to trade in on being Caucasian--not that I would anyway--and frankly I tired of wondering when I would be blown up, having worked near both the Marriott and the Australian Embassy when they were bombed, and having taken my staff to the hospital. Any city has its pros and cons. The food in Jakarta is too tasty to be healthful (that's a compliment) and it need not be expensive to live there. But I value the safety factor in Hong Kong far more highly than the availability of good cheap food in Jakarta. I can cook that myself here. Read between the lines in TC's remarks just above and you will get a good sense of it. Good luck with your decision.
Please support our advertisers:
ranti
19 yrs ago
Safety.......hmm
I also travel to Jakarta frequently still and safety is a concern, but I don't let it affect my decisions because if it did, then life would be quite stressful.
Was supposed to check-in to the Marriott Jakarta that day/time it got bombed a few years back. Fate intervened....my boss called me as I arrived at was about to checkin at HK airport and told me to go to Bangkok instead. Checked into Marriott there.
In general, you may get ripped off by someone that is poor and earns very little compared to many of us more fortunate ones. But is it dangerous to live there?? I think it's OK.
Of course, you need to evaluate your own pros/cons. Good luck again.
Please support our advertisers:
Tyrex
19 yrs ago
I was thinking to open up a new thread "Jakarta or Bangkok?". But since Goloh had mentioned Bangkok here, which would you choose between the two?
Please support our advertisers:
Goloh
19 yrs ago
You know, it's not an automatic answer. Despite what I said, both places have pros and cons. I think you need to decide (if you have the luxury of that) based on your personal priorities. It's arguably easier to learn a bit of Bahasa Indonesia than to struggle with Thai. I personally love Bangkok, warts and all. But if children's education is a factor, you would need to check schools, costs, etc. Disclaimer: I also have permanent resident status in Thailand, as a kind of insurance policy against something going off the rails in Hong Kong. But the direct answer to your question is: I would choose Bangkok. More exciting, and less of an anti-western climate (now). Spectacular food. My comment about Bangkok in the previous post was only about the traffic.
Please support our advertisers:
Tyrex
19 yrs ago
"anti-western climate" just what I want to hear. Down to package, I will be getting what I am getting right now. The rest of the benefits ie. educations, housing, club, etc are fully covered by my company. Just looking for a place that I am not worry about getting out and about. I been to bangkok very frequently on biz trip. I guess living there will not be the same as those short 1 -2 days trips.
I am trying to weight the cons and pros between the 2 options I have rightnow.
Please support our advertisers:
You must be logged in to be able to reply.
Login now
Copy Link
Facebook
Gmail
Mail