Job Discussion Forums

[Skyblue2]

Hello,

What are the best ways to locate an apartment in Jakarta or Bandung a price bracket suitable for most teachers?

MH

[laughing_magpie06]

An apartment with all mod cons will cost you around 5 - 6 million. Alternatively you could get a kost (boarding house) for around 2 million which is pretty similar to a motel room. Bear in mind a good teaching salary is around 12 million so prepare to fork out a fair whack of your pay for an apartment. If the school offers housing it probably won't be to your liking.

[Skyblue2]

That's rather dear for an apartment. I've read about the shared accomodation offered by most schools. To be honest, shared accomodation is for university dorm kids. So it seems kosts are the best option, but no guests after 10 p.m. ... That's rubbish. Does anyone have accomodation you actually like? I need a fairly comfortable retreat to maintain a healthy psychological balance.

[philbags]

hey, I havent been in indo for a couple of years but here's my two -penn'orth (as me ol' dad is fond of saying).
I had a mate who had a shared house provided by ef somewhere in the jakarta suburbs - he was pretty happy with it - i think that when they talk about shared accomodation, they generally mean you get your own room; you certainly don't have to share your bed (unless of course you want to), Kosts are an O.K. option but they dont really provide too much privacy - certainly its a good idea to scout out a few to find out where you can live a 'western lifestlye'.
Bandung is very different from Jakarta, Teachers generally rent houses (some quite nice ones) up in the hills outside of town - obviously you have to commute but it pays dividends if you like countryside.
I lived on Jaksa for five ir six weeks- it gets old fast and isnt an ideal place to hold down a job from.

one of the biggest problems facing prospectve teachers is that, if you turn up with little money, you're going to have difficulty paying the full year's rent in advance , something thats more often than not required. thats why people go for the Kost option or move down to bandung where property prices are (were) significantly lower.
If youre there in a month or so ,I'll maybe see you.
'bags

[Michael_Indonesia]

It really depends on where you wanna stay. If you're living out in the suburbs, monthly rent for a two-bedroom house can be as low as 10 million per year, but be prepared for life to get rather expensive if you don't have a car.
In the city, expect to pay at least 25 million/year for a decent apartment, and much more in the higher end areas of South and Central Jakarta. And, like PB said, you will almost inevitably have to pay a full year's rent before you move in.
Basically, first things first, figure out where you're gonna work. After that, you can narrow down your choices. In the meantime, hang out in your kost and enjoy your job hunt.

[guruengerish]

There are very pleasant places to rent, if you can find somewhere else to teach other than 'the big smoke', and for Jakarta, that's lots of smoke!

Five years ago, I rented a delighful 4 bedroom house a bit south of Yogyakarta. I offered the owner Rp4 million.(for the year). He shook his head and conferred with his wife.

"Nope says" he. "That's too much. It would disturb the neighbours if you were to pay so much. How about Rp3 million?" Done!

That was half the price of the house I rented in the hills out of Bandung, and we didn't have to pay for the paint, etc before we moved in!

I strongly feel that schools should have a senior member of staff do the negotiating; as as soon as we show our little white faces, everything doubles. Of course, the staff member would expect 10% We are talking about Indonesia.

[tanyakenapa]

two good websites are

www.apartmentsjakarta.com

and

www.rumah123.com


I'm currently searching thru these to find an apartment myself. Plan to move from the Kost'an after 3 years and into an apartment in January !!!

[reality]

I recently moved into a two bedroom Apartment in West Jakarta, and the rent is a lot less than an average kost. The secret is to look around, and read the local Newspapers, "Post Kota" not the Jakarta Post.

I rent a 55m2 Apartment on the 7th floor of an Apartment building for 8 million per year plus maintanence fees (250.000 pm). I have security, a cheap maid and laundry service. Ten minutes from Grogol, Pluit, Kota and Slipi.

There are plenty of empty Apartments around Jakarta, particulary above the 10th floor. Serviced Apartments are often in Rupiah, but can cost more as they are new but often smaller than 35m2.

I know Teachers who rent out a more modern Apartment than mine for around 2 Million per month, all over West Jakarta.

Apartments are the only real way to live in Jakarta, you have complete privacy, 24 hour security, and no "moral" rules affecting the way you live in a Kampung area. The most important thing is living higher than the 2nd floor will guarantee floods will not damage your Apartment.

Friends can stay, you can throw parties and basically have privacy.

In the Grogol, Pluit, even the Kuningnan area, I have seen very good Apartments that start from 2 Million pm. Its a matter of whether you like to live on the top floors of a blocjk or not.

[laughing_magpie06]

Can you get apartments on a month to month basis or do you have to sign your life away for a year? This si the only thing stopping me from moving into one.

[TEAM_PAPUA]

[beefer]

[Skyblue2]

[TEAM_PAPUA]

[reality]

We al;l know in Indonesia, that pivacy means that you have no RT nd are not resticted to the rules laid down by the community you live in.

Sure Apartments may have Neighbours, but not the nosy, moralistic, gossipy Neighbours you find in many Kampungs or Houing Estatesin Jakarta.

One reason people live in Apartments, their private life is their own not the subject of gossipy servants, "moralistic" neighbours or the local Ojeks and Warung Owners.

[beefer]