Job Discussion Forums

sidjameson · Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Posts: 629 Location: osaka

For those who live there. Why do you like Jakarta more than other places? Many seem to hate it, so what are it's advantages?
If it is just one big shopping mall as others have said, well it must have something else going for it otherwise you would all be in Bogor, Bandung Surabaya et el.

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

In a word: money. There. I've admitted it.

The truth is that all large Indonesian cities share the problems of Jakarta so you might as well live in Jakarta on a half decent salary as live somewhere equally dirty and congested for half the reward. Jakarta also has a reasonably efficient airport which is useful for escaping at weekends.

I would prefer to live somewhere cleaner and more scenic. I love West Sumatra, for instance, or perhaps Manado. If someone opened a NatPlus school there and paid a modest stipend I'd be very tempted indeed. For now, like many millions of Indonesians, I'm stuck with Jakarta because that's where the jobs are.

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

I have to agree 'money' as I earn more in Jakarta than I could earn working in other cities BUT the price of things is generally the same throughout Indonesia (I'm talking about consumer items NOT fried tofu). You can earn 7.000.000rp less living in a small city just to save 500rp on street food - that's a good deal. So, in relative terms, the standard of living here is good (on condition your not getting screwed EF style).

Being able to get away AND having the money to do so makes JKT acceptable. Also, if you like the darkside of nightlife then JKT has it all - but it also has everything to offer by way of hobbies and pastimes, though it is easy to see why the OP called it a big shopping mall; because for many, the malls are the only places they are willing to go once they manage to get out of their air conditioned Kijangs.

Jakarta is a hole BUT Surabaya isn't much better - just a smaller version.

Super Mario · Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 6:24 am Post subject:

Team Papua wrote:

Quote:

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You got that one right.
But it's going to be fixed one year.

Tiger Beer · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Posts: 778 Location: Hong Kong

Chester · Joined: 15 May 2004 Posts: 383 Location: Australia

Thats sad really.
Indonesia is such an awesome place (I wouldn't call it a country, 'cause it isnt really).
Of course most make "teachers" head for Jakarta for the work and the girls.
Come on, be honest.

wailing_imam · Joined: 31 Mar 2006 Posts: 580 Location: Malaya

Quite simply it is the easiest place for a foreigner in Indonesia to live. Supermarkets, pubs, gyms, excellent dining, bookshops all the usual blah blah stuff that Western cities have, in a screwy Eastern city. You go out to places like Lampung, Semarang, Malang and what are you going to do? Time to write that novel you have always dreamed of!

Westerners can get away with a lot more in Jakarta than in smaller cities where the stigma of being foreign is much higher. You can roger the girl next door in Jakarta, but good luck in Pekanbaru.

I lived in Jakarta for a couple of years. Enough was enough for me. I felt I couldn't lead a normal life there. I couldn't spend much time outside, the traffic and air started to really get on my nerves and being percieved as a walking wallet started to rub. The illusion of living a fine lifestyle of bars and girls and fine meals wore off with the lack of being able to walk down the street without worrying about falling into a sewer.

The Indonesians do smile an awful lot, but behind those smiles is a very real and dark sense of desperation and in Jakarta, a city of bright lights and promises of wealth, one feels that more than any other place in the archepeligo.

Chester · Joined: 15 May 2004 Posts: 383 Location: Australia

good post mate.
i agree 100%

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

Got to agree with the last post. Jakarta can be interesting and in 3 hrs you can be at a beach or forest if you try hard.

But I too found the pollution of every kind wearing. The white tiled floors had to be washed every second day, as the diesel fumes from the Toll road not far away put a greasy layer on everything. The hawkers at 5am, the dogs through the night, and as I lived near a "Y" junction, every car had to blast their horn, rather than slow down.

I think the joke of the year was to ban smoking in public to cut down pollution. They could possibly start with the large power station, which pumps out black smoke 24/7 over the west of the city.

I once read that a Swiss charity spends millions each year, on treating Jakarta kids for high lead levels.

What a place!

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley