Digital Nomads in Bali

 
 

Vocabulary

far (2)	countless	daily grind
remote	resident	permanent
nomad	dream (2)	rejuvenate
cheap	adventure	around the world
digital	backpack	tools of the trade
hope	in sight	proficiency
afford	lifestyle	spend time
climate	pleasant	more or less
rent	moped	broadband internet
whole	spot (3)	challenge
set	bamboo	in that respect
local	paradise	accommodation
co-	founder	collective
hail (2)	recover	copywriting
consult	couple (2)	working remotely
logo	employer	entrepreneur
repeat	bud (2)	on the road (2)
indoor	outdoor	depend on
upside	available	virtually (2)
entire	amazing	classical (2)
bill (3)	landmine	clearance
jungle	premise	accommodate
push	long-term	short-term
brand	employee	unemployment
flexible	dynamic	surrounded
sited	relocate	convenient
melt	frequent	win/won/won
tropical	term (2)	on your own terms
stifle	concrete	concrete jungle
option	deal (2)	at the end of the day (2)
trip (2)	customer	departure time
fail	visionary	present (4)
idyllic	tempting	the real world
curse	realize (2)	nine-to-five

 
 
 
 

Video: Digital Nomads in Bali

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Bali, a beach paradise, and a welcome escape for people looking to relax, rejuvenate, and recover from the daily grind.

Others, however, become permanent residents. Many of them dream of never again having to work in an office.

Countless digital nomads have come to Bali from around the world. They work more or less out of their backpacks. Their tools of the trade: a computer and a mobile phone.

They’re adventurers, visionaries and one-person companies with not a suit in sight.

David Abraham, Outpost Co-working Space: “I think some people come here with the hopes of trying something completely new.

If you want to try something new in Berlin, you’re going to find out quickly if you can afford to do it. But in Bali, with 25% of the cost, you can spend a long time not succeeding, and still having a great lifestyle.”

Bali has plenty going for it: it has a pleasant climate, not too hot and not too cold.

And it’s cheap: for about a thousand Euros a month, you can get an apartment, food, broadband internet, and a moped.

The town of Ubud is especially popular for the new residents.

Made Ari Sandra, Ubud Tourist Office: “Digital nomads are presenting us with a whole new set of challenges. They aren’t tourists, but they aren’t classic business people either. What kind of visa should they be working on?

We’re very happy that they’re here though. They stay far longer than regular tourists, and often find accommodation with locals. In that respect, everyone wins.”

This is the Hubud Office Collective. It’s billed as the first co-working space in Bali.
You can rent a desk by the hour.

Need a photographer, software developer or copywriter? Well, you might just find one sitting nearby. Or perhaps in the café.

Patricia hails from Canada. Andrew is from Australia. They’ve been working remotely around the world for years now. The couple do consulting for young entrepreneurs and develop brands all the way from website to logo.

And all while on the road.

Patricia: “Most people, we say ‘back in the real world’ don’t understand what we are doing. So when we go visit family and friends, they think we’re on permanent vacation.”

Andrew: “Yeah, the family asks, ‘what are you doing? When are you coming back to work?’ Like, I am working. And even if you say this repeatedly, it doesn’t get remembered.”

Patricia and Andrew have a meeting in their outdoor office, via Skype.

Tracy also calls herself a digital nomad. And does frequent business with Andrew and Patricia.

Patricia Parkinson, Creative and Business Consultant: “The upside to working with people virtually is that it opens up the entire world. So I have meetings throughout the day, whether it’s Bali, Canada, Australia, the whole world’s available.

And that’s pretty amazing.”

The Hubud Building is made completely out of bamboo. Its founder Steve Monroe is a Canadian who previously worked for a UN landmine clearance operation in Cambodia.

He started the company about five years ago. And he’s planning to relocate soon to bigger and better premises, to accommodate the growing numbers coming here.

Steve Munroe, Hubud Co-Founder: “More and more people are being pushed out of long-term relationships with their employers. It gives people the flexibility to be able to do that.

And they’re really surrounded by super dynamic, exciting, sited, community of people who are trying new things.”

Patricia and Andrew are off to another conventional workplace: the jungle.

They’ve just won a new contract. A client wants to sell cooling boxes online. Marketing them successfully will also depend on the right presentation, hence the photographer, who has to hurry before the tropical sun melts the ice-cream.

Patricia Parkinson, Creative and Business Consultant: “You do probably more work here than you would otherwise.

But you’re enjoying it more. You feel like things are on your own terms a lot more than other places. You don’t feel stifled by the concrete jungle — you just have a real jungle.”

Is living and working out of a backpack really a permanent option?

Continually planning new trips and booking flights, dealing with departure times, finding friends — and more importantly — customers. At the end of the day, the digital nomads want to make money too.

David Abraham, Outpost Co-working Space: “People fail. I think it’s not necessarily failing; it’s more of learning. When you are out here in Bali, you have that time to develop that proficiency. And if you know where you want to go, I think it’s a great spot. If you’re trying to find it, it’s probably going to be a really wonderful vacation.”

Living on an idyllic, tropical island, and of being your own boss sounds tempting.

But budding digital nomads might want to talk to some of those who are not able to realize the dream.

And of course, they are nowhere to be seen in Ubud, they’re back home, cursing the weather and the nine-to-five.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

Questions

1. Only online workers from the United States come to Bali. True or false?

2. Do they need a complete office to do their work? Why do they want to live and work in Bali? What are the advantages of living and working in Bali?

3. How do the locals and local authorities feel about the digital nomads?

4. There are only computer programmers at the co-working center. Is this right or wrong? What do Patricia and Andrew do?

5. Do their friends and family back home understand, support and appreciate their ventures and activities?

6. The digital nomads enjoy their work and lifestyle. Is this correct or incorrect?

7. Has everyone succeeded and loved being a digital nomad?

 
 

A. Are you a remote worker or digital nomad? Do you know anyone who is?

B. Could you become a remote worker or digital nomad? Would you or your friends want to become a digital nomad?

C. There are people from my country living or working abroad. Yes or no? What are some popular or common destinations?

D. Are there digital nomads or foreigners living and working in your country? Where are they from? What are they doing?

E. What will happen in the future?