Now that our departure is confirmed, I start to reflect on what we like over the last two years. To be honest, I wasn’t prepared to live here for 4-5 years as I was in Manila. I always thought this to be a parking place for me, career wise. Over the course of the 2 years, I’ve adjusted my expectations many times to enjoy it more and be content with living here longer.
Foreigners rarely come to Jakarta for tourism. They go to Bali which is very different than Jakarta. The religion is different. Jakarta is 80% muslim, while Bali is mostly hinduism. Jakarta is a cosmopolitan city with high rises, traffic, and pollution at last half of the year. Yet, Jakarta is easy to live in as expat.
What I like:
- Our building and proximity to office. I love the gym, the cinema, the staff who’s always greeting us and helping as best as they can. I love that I can go to office or come back any time of the day without having to worry about the traffic. Door to door walking: 12 min.
- GBK, sport complex, 0.3 miles from my place, where I do most of my runs.
- Our helper. She’s the best helper we’ve had since we left the US. So efficient, proactive, making our place neat and clean.
- Girls’ school. I love their teachers, the community, the extracurricular activities they offer, and the campus.
- My colleagues. It took me a while to warm up to them. Now that I am leaving, I finally found the ease around the office, and enjoying our daily chats. The camaraderie we have is wonderful and I think that’s my biggest treasure of this assignment. Well… it’s always about the people that make a place special.
- The abundance of fruits and vegetables. After living in Manila for 5 years, I was glad to find fresh vegetables and fruits at reasonable price. We are 5 min walking distance away from the most popular supermarket for expats.
- Easy access to paradise: Bali (took me a while to see its appear), Raja Ampat (what a gem), Komodo island (what an unique experience), Rinjani hike (best activity to do with friends).
Our New Journey 
It’s great you can appreciate all the unique “perks” of where you’re currently living. That proximity to your office is incredible! I’m sure Brazil will offer you a different selection of great adventures.
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I love reading about your life, Coco! You have led such an interesting, travel-filled life and I can’t wait to read all about Brazil!
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Jakarta sounds like a great place to live, aside from the pollution. You have written many times about not being able to run outside because of it. I hope that won’t be a problem in Brazil.
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