Job Discussion Forums

[route67]

Is it just my imagination, or are these earthquakes becoming more and more frequent? Well, hope you're all OK (native and ex-pat alike).
On a completely unrelated topic, what do you know about Palembang? I've searched for it (by topic, etc.), but nobody seems to have much to say.

[wailing_imam]

The fault line along the Sumatran and south Javanese coast has a lot of tension at the moment, and the frequent quakes are the result of that. Expect more.

[Michael_Indonesia]

My wife is from Palembang, so we go there pretty often (at least a dozen times in that past three years). Palembang is a relatively small city, and quite boring. The city itself has (according to statistics, if you can trust them) over a millon residents, but it feels much smaller. There is really only one halfway-decent mall, if that's your thing. Bars and nightclubs are not nearly as plentiful as in Jakarta, and are quite lame.
To get outside the city and take in some nature, you really need to have your own car. There are some nice areas out there, like Lahat, where you can do some hiking around the cooler tea plantations. Kind of like Bandung without the traffic, but also without the easy toll road to get there.
The people are generally nice, but much more religious than in Jakarta. Muslims and Christians (including Catholics, of course) take their religions very serioously there, and it's very easy to offend if you're not careful.
As for job opportunities, I've looked around and haven't found anything worth moving for. It has only one national-plus school that I've seen, but I've heard there are plans for another. The main problem is that they really have no idea when it comes to costs for hiring expatriates. They typically pay local teachers (yes, at private schools) only 1-2 million per month and expect that they can hire expats at just a little more than that.
But, if you hear any different, let me know.