Job Discussion Forums

[travelNteach]

Ord2, good one with the lyrics.

phis: what is the cost of living in Medan compared to Jkt? or maybe sby to help the OP? maid, utilities, cable. transport, beer, food, daily necessities, and special treat each month for only 4/5 million per month? that is awesome. wish i could live that cheap.

[ord2world]

Thank you! This is the kind of information I needed. Hopefully the job situation will improve when I comeback.

I�m not the type to get �liquored up (I love this expression)� every night, and I�m not really into shopping, so I couldn�t foresee spending more than 5 million a month. My biggest vice would a weekend trip each month to Bali or somewhere close.

Phis- You mentioned that you bought a laptop. Should I just not bother bringing mine since I will need a converter?

[jhemmila]

[phis]

[quote]phis: what is the cost of living in Medan compared to Jkt? or maybe sby to help the OP? maid, utilities, cable. transport, beer, food, daily necessities, and special treat each month for only 4/5 million per month? that is awesome. wish i could live that cheap.[/quote]

House rent has zoomed up here in Medan. I think you can probably get something reasonable for between Rp10-20 million/year. I like to have plenty of room, so I paid Rp20 million for my place, which is quite big. Lots of house owners are now asking for more than that, especially in the centre. The cheaper places are on the housing complexes on the outskirts of town.

The biggest difference between Jakarta and Medan would probably be with transport costs, I imagine. I have never lived in Jakarta, but would imagine that the cost of getting around is quite high.

Apart from that, I think the cost of other items would be very similar. Utilities and cable tv cost the same wherever you live (don't they?).

Laptops: These are NOT cheaper here in Indonesia. I was disgusted to find that I had to pay quite a bit more than I would have in England for the same product. This seems to be true for a lot of 'electrical' goods here. I'm not sure why. Maybe because they are classified as luxury items? Anyway, adapter plugs are readily available, so you won't have any problems with your existing laptop.

[phis]

Arggh!!! Why can I never get the quote function to work properly?

[malu]

The finest authority on how to live here cheaply used to be a member called Willy who hasn't posted here for a long time now. I'm not sure what happened to poor old W - could have been the forum mods or the cirrhosis that got him in the end - anyone have any news on him?

[eclectic]

[ord2world]

Oh just ignore them Eclectic. lol They're just trying to get people riled up.

I think these lyrics pretty much summarize their point

Common People by Pulp:

She came from Greece she had a thirst for knowledge,
she studied sculpture at Saint Martin's College,
that's where I,
caught her eye.
She told me that her Dad was loaded,
I said "In that case I'll have a rum and coca-cola."
She said "Fine."
and in thirty seconds time she said,

"I want to live like common people,
I want to do whatever common people do,
I want to sleep with common people,
I want to sleep with common people,
like you."

Well what else could I do -
I said "I'll see what I can do."
I took her to a supermarket,
I don't know why but I had to start it somewhere,
so it started there.
I said pretend you've got no money,
she just laughed and said,
"Oh you're so funny."
I said "yeah?
Well I can't see anyone else smiling in here.
Are you sure you want to live like common people,
you want to see whatever common people see,
you want to sleep with common people,
you want to sleep with common people,
like me."
But she didn't understand,
she just smiled and held my hand.
Rent a flat above a shop,
cut your hair and get a job.
Smoke some fags and play some pool,
pretend you never went to school.
But still you'll never get it right,
cos when you're laid in bed at night,
watching roaches climb the wall,
if you call your Dad he could stop it all.

You'll never live like common people,
you'll never do what common people do,
you'll never fail like common people,
you'll never watch your life slide out of view,
and dance and drink and screw,
because there's nothing else to do.

Sing along with the common people,
sing along and it might just get you through,
laugh along with the common people,
laugh along even though they're laughing at you,
and the stupid things that you do.
Because you think that poor is cool.

I want to live with common people,
I want to live with common people etc...

[aku_tonpa]

Is the EF wage living like common people?

[ord2world]

I've been researching costs and corresponding with various people. The wages differ depending on the school. The wages should be more than enough unless you plan to drink 10 beers a day and only eat Western food.

Thoughts anyone????

[Luxe]

[extradross]

No, I'm not 'out of my mind' and you clearly can't understand the point that I was making. I'm well aware of the depth of poverty that exists within this vast country-taking a drive around some of the slums of North Jakarta by Tanjung Priok will give anyone a pretty good indication of the misery and hardship suffered by many economic migrants that flock to this city each year in search of work. Even more shocking when you realize that this is preferable to what they had before. Of course the riding in Angkots/eating at food stalls aren't indications of real poverty-I know that! But to many that come here and talk about 'living like the locals' this is the extent of the hardships that they will ever face....

[godmachine12]

You can easily save money in Indonesia, but you've got to live like an Indonesian. Let's face it, we are teachers. We aren't arriving with an expat package. If you don't have that, you can't eat Western food, fancy and expensive restaurants, hit the clubs, drink excessively and blah, blah, blah. I've been in Palembang for a year on 7 million per month and my average expenditures (minus travelling) is about 2 million. It's never more than that. I bit the bullet and got a bike early on, I eat and buy local food only, buy Indonesian products, etc. and it's been dead easy to save a lot of money. I don't live like a papuer, spend a lot of time out and about with friends and I'm quite happy. Palembang is quite cheap in many respects, but you can easily blow all your money as most of the other teachers have done and do. It's all in how you are willing to live. Personally, I quite like the Indonesian lifestyle, but to each his own.

[extradross]

Please don't allign yourself so closely with other teachers since many of these people 'do' obtain expat packages before they arrive or in some cases while they are here. A example of what might be said to you by the 'professionals' as it were...."What, you call yourself a teacher and accept a salary of 7 million per month?" Why does the possible existence of expats in Indonesia have to be seen in terms of such complete opposites with regards to lifestyle? And why would anybody come here to live 'frugally' in order to save a few quid? If saving is your objective-I recommend the Middle East.

[godmachine12]

Oh, I know that some teachers make much, much more. I've got friends in Bandung that make nearly twice what we're making and in Jakarta, I'm sure it's the same. It is quite strange that their is such a gap in pay though. Most of the expats here are in education, but we make far less than say the expats dealing in palm oil and rubber plantations, oil and the like. I wish I could rake in the money they make, but I can still live quite well with not much to complain about and that makes me happy.