Robin
Working in Jakarta
Monthly Earnings 286,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
Salary + annual Bonus : 246k. My salary and annual bonus is 246K and private tuition makes me another 30K, and then a further 11K from various investments.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
Around 155k a month. Some months more, some money less. A lot depends on whether i make any large one off payments or go away on holiday. Nearly all of that goes into long term, low risk ETFs and shares, with the intention of hopefully being able to live off the interest/dividends in a few years time.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
Around 25k a month. That get's you a 160 sqm, 3-bedroom condo, relatively close to my school. There are tennis courts, pools and a bar here, so it's a good place to keep fit, but also sink a few beers after work. I plan to move out of here in Febuary to a slightly more modern place, for the same price.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
Around 5K. I used a motorbike in Bangkok, but the roads here are a totally different beast. They are utter chaos. So, i just rent a car/driver and car share for the daily commute. The rest goes on Grab taxis, which are much cheaper than they are in Bangkok.
Utility bills
Similiar to Thailand. Around 2K a month for water and electric.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
There is far less nightlife here compared to Bangkok, so I spend a lot less on restaurants and have started to cook at home a lot more, which i have found to be a little more healthier and better in terms of saving money. However, I do like to head out at the weekends and treat myself and order food in during the week sometimes. This comes to around 12K a month.
Nightlife and drinking
As previously mentioned, there aren't as many bars as in Bangkok, so in terms of nightlife, very little. I do like the occasional drink with friends after football, and that comes to around 3K a month.
Books, computers
I have a Macbook from work and a Kindle. I buy a few Ebooks off Amazon each month and enjoy reading. So around 2K.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
World class. The school is first class and takes care of your every need. I was in Bangkok for three years at two schools, which weren't bad at all, but very profit orientated, with the Thai owners constantly penny pinching. Therefore, when I was approached to work in Jakarta, the package was simply too good to turn down. You can eat and drink out whenever you want, and when the holidays arrive, you can go on some truly spectacular holidays.
The food scene and nightlife isn't a patch on Bangkok, but that's only a few hours away and won't go anywhere. I do miss Bangkok for sure though, particularly the parks, watching Port FC and the bar scene by the Chao Praya. I may come back to Thailand at some stage, most likely to Chiang Mai.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Accommodation. When I lived in Bangkok, my housing allowance of 25K didn't really go very far, getting me a condo room the size of a shoe-box in Asok. Over here, you can get some very impressive apartments for the same amount of money, if not less.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
You could easily survive on 40-50k a month here, but like Bangkok, it would mean that you live a fairly restrictive lifestyle.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thanks Robin, it sounds like a great life in Jakarta on that sort of money. You would have a fantastic life in Thailand as well on that salary package but obviously, you'll save as much as you can while Jakarta gives you the opportunity - and head back here one day.
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