Job Discussion Forums

Fishy · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 138

Hello everybody,

I am a newly qualified teacher and about to move to Indonesia to take up my first job. After speaking to a lot of schools and doing a lot of research I have narrowed down where I want to go to either central Jakarta or Bogor.

I'm hoping that some people (who have lived in either or both locations) on here might be able to give me advice on pros and cons of each option.

Cashwise, if I go to Bogor I will have around 3,000,000 less per month if I go to Bogor. I will want to live somewhere nice and secure.

Any advice at all will be greatly appreciated!

happy_me · Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 9:38 am Post subject:

My advice don't come! And if you really fell the need to�.. never mind. You will under stand when you get here just don't sing anything.

Fishy · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 138

adrian de la touche · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 19 Location: far beyond

just my opinion, but...
jakarta is the armpit of the world.
bogor is a little better.... that extra 3 mil will be spent on taxis, air conditioning and blok m.
however bogor has few spots of nightime interest.... 3 bars for acheap beer. a handful of trashy poolhall live music joints with overpriced glasses of beer.... but we do have the bootiful kebun raya[ been once in three years] and we are a little closer to the mountains and beach.
depends what youre into...
good luck

gugelhupf · Joined: 24 Jan 2004 Posts: 575 Location: Jabotabek

Ahem! Didn't Bogor take the honour jointly with Bekasi and Tangerang as "Kota Terkotor di Indonesia" (dirtiest city in Indonesia) in a government contest earlier this year?

I do like the Kebun Raya, though. Strange that the most enduring buildings and structures in Indonesia were built by the British or Potuguese rather than the Hollanders.

guruengerish · Joined: 28 Mar 2004 Posts: 424 Location: Australia

Thats a rather surprising statement.

I've seen hundreds of old Dutch buildings, and maybe one or two British built, and in fact lived in a Dutch-built house for a while in Yogya - but Portuguese??

Could you be a bit more specific?

BTW The Dutch-built Bank of Indonesia in Yogya stood up to the earthquake last month with only a couple of cracks.

gugelhupf · Joined: 24 Jan 2004 Posts: 575 Location: Jabotabek

I guess I was thinking aloud and didn't phrase the statement correctly. What I mean is that the most interesting bits of colonial architecture - for me - tend not to be the Dutch legacy. The Dutch interest in SE Asia was almost entirely commercial while the Brits and Portuguese were into empire building per se. Contrast Fort Marlborough in Bengkulu with the ugly utilitarian hulk of Fort de Kock in Bukittinggi. Compare Raffles' place in Bogor with the functional administrative headquarters of the Dutch governors. Similarly, what remains of Portuguese church building in east Indonesia has a special charm.

adrian de la touche · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 19 Location: far beyond

how do they decide which city is the dirtiest?
every indonesian city i have visited is filthy. some have more trees.
what constitutes a clean city by indonesian govt.standards? i would love to know.
worst place ever.....cicurug by a short firmly clamped nose.

TEAM_PAPUA · Joined: 24 May 2004 Posts: 1679 Location: HOLE

They could use the following test:

Leave the house in the morning wearing a white shirt, go by motorcyle to work, return wearing the same white shirt. If your shirt is now grey and stinks of petrol, and you have black streaks of sweat on your face IT'S A DIRTY CITY.

I emphasise STINKS OF PETROL, not only of dirt/pollution but you can smell the petrol.

Now I know why grey is such a fashionable color here in JKT, grey is the new white Very Happy

Omen · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 24 Location: Bogor, Indonesia

I have lived in Bogor for over 3 years and really like it here. I definitely do not find it dirty in comparison to other cities in Indonesia.

Good community of teachers although the EF school has lost a lot of it's staff recently due to a take-over.

gugelhupf · Joined: 24 Jan 2004 Posts: 575 Location: Jabotabek

Fishy · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 138

Hello all, thought I should let you know what I decided. I chose Jakarta in the end. I've been living in Kelapa Gading, working at TBI, for just over two months now and I love it! Kelapa Gading is a great area of Jakarta to live in. It has an endless amount of cracking restaurants, is well spread out and planned, and most importantly the polution isn't as bad as anywhere else I've been in the city. Its quite close to the coast so there is usually a nice breeze blowing and the air is quite good; amazing in comparrison to central Jakarta.
TBI is a great school to work for too. We have a nice variety of classes, great friendly staff, and the owners are really nice people. The pay isn't wonderful but its a lot better than some of the other language schools are offering and they give us very comprehensive medical insurance. I am very happy that I chose to come here and not Bogor. The cost of living really isn't that different; the price of a weekend away still costs the same wherever you are.
I know lots of people will say I haven't been here long enough etc etc but I really do think Jakarta is a brilliant place to live.

papillon · Joined: 02 Feb 2006 Posts: 91

You haven't been there long enough.

wannaBguru · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 110

hey fishy, nice of u to take the time to give us an update. dont worry about the nay sayers. i have been here off and on since 97 and for the most part i still love living in indonesia, even jkt. it is a lot cleaner now than it was back then. and no riots, so whats not to like. i think it is funny that people whine about jakarta and indonesia in general, but continue to live here year after year. dont know why, its not like they were condemned by a judge to live here for the rest of their lives. dont worry, there isnt any law that says that if u are bule u must hate living in jkt .............. at least not yet. maybe next week. and if u do end hating your job or this city or this country, feel free to move on

gugelhupf · Joined: 24 Jan 2004 Posts: 575 Location: Jabotabek

Good advice from wannabe.

There will be good times and bad times. If the bad times start to outnumber the good times then you might have to take responsibility and look elsewhere. A great many bules come to Indonesia/Jakarta and wish that they hadn't. Some live here very happily for many years and put down roots.

Most people - including myself - who mention day to day problems like pollution and the maintenance standards of certain airlines are otherwise basically secure and happy living here. For some people this forum is their only regular contact with other foreign English teachers so lots of daily isssues get discussed here.

The guys to watch out for are those who really SHOULD move on but who are too lazy to do something about it. I hope that if ever I am in that situation my friends will not be too polite to tell me.