I feel blessed to call Bali my home especially during 2020 which in my eyes is the year of awakening. I have awakened to a lot within myself, especially around personal and spiritual growth across all areas of my life and for that, I’m so thankful.
I’m much calmer, more centred and aligned with the universe which allows me to create the life I want without restrictions. So that’s exactly what I did, I created a home here in Bali after my flight to London got cancelled. I thought to myself why not make the best out of the situation the universe presented me with. So, I did and I feel so grateful for not allowing fear to take over and distract me from my purpose.
Where to look for a home on the Island of Gods
In this post, I wanted to share the best way to find your own home in Bali and its little different to the UK way since there aren’t any specific website dedicated to room share. Instead, we use Facebook groups and the best ones to keep an eye out on are Canggu community housing.
If Ubud is your preferred choice or beautiful Uluwatu you can check out Ubud Housing and Rentals and Uluwatu Community.
You can, of course, use booking.com or Airbnb but these websites will charge you more. The housing market in Bali follows demand and with the pandemic on the loose, the prices of villas have dropped drastically. This actually led me to believe that the margins for villa rentals are somewhat insane especially if villas are Instagram friendly so be aware of this.
You can get ripped off without realising especially if you compare your Bali rent to rents in London. Its advisable to bear in mind that Indonesia is a third world country and you won’t have the same access to civil and social services like you do back home. Instead, you will become somewhat of a walking cash.
I did, however, find that Balinese people won’t treat you as such, but being a Bule ( a white person) as they call us here does come with “special” pricing where “special” means higher than usual.
I have luckily built a good relationship with my local farmer markets and neighbours but should I decide to shop at stores predominantly catering for Westerners I can expect to pay more than London price for my groceries.
So how should you approach your Bali home search?
Go to a Facebook group of your choice and search for the area you would like to live at. I moved between Canggu and Seminyak and so far my favourite areas has been Padang Linjong and Batu Mejan which is basically a road that connects Perneran and Echo Beach.
It offers a great array of cute cafes, warungs and overpriced health stores. Most of my neighbours are Balinese and I just loved getting greeted in the mornings with the biggest smiles and most beautiful energy.
If you find the place you like, just drop a message to the landlord and ask them any questions you may have, including the budget. Feel free to negotiate especially if you are looking to stay longer period as I’ve noticed that most landlords will accept lower rents for longer stays as such tenants are better quality.
You should always request to view the property as most appear bigger in photos due to photographers using a wide-angle lens. I love viewing and getting the feel for the place.
Another big lesson I have learned is to always move into a house with a temple. if the house is build following a Balinese tradition it will come with a temple.
The temple is used to balance the energy of the property. This is the place where Balinese offer flowers to spirits to ensure that the good energy is kept through the property and guests are not disturbed.
If you are highly sensitive to the energy, I highly recommend you to always speak to the owner about this and ask if the offerings are served every day at the property. I had to move from 3 houses because i was disturbed by ghosts at night not allowing me to sleep. The whole experience was mind-blowing but I’m grateful as I have learned a lot about myself and the energy.
Most people are drawn to Bali for one reason or the other but most of the time, the person is required to heal. This could be old traumas and blocks from the childhood that are stoping the person from connecting to their purpose.
Sadly a lot of people ignore this and their intuition and sometimes are faced with experiences that can be traumatising. I have had situations of similar nature where I had no choice but to heal and evolve. I couldn’t be more grateful for it because it brought me places I never even thought possible.
Bali is the island of Gods but sometimes you have to face a lot of demons to get closer to the God.
Bali lifestyle is what I want for me and I highly recommend you try and live here for a few months at some point in your life. It will change you for the better if you let it.
If you have any questions regarding moving to Bali feel free to drop a comment below and I will get back to you with an answer.
Tania xxx
