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Renting or buying an apartment or house in Indonesia

Forget buying anything with land. Some flats are available for foreigners to buy, but only at mad prices.

Rents vary. If I rent a 3 bed house in Wonosobo, I can expect 15/million/year as a silly max.

The same in Cirebon will cost around 20 to 25 million/year

A house of the same like will cost around 60 million in a fancy estate near Jakarta.

Notes:

If you search in English, expect to pay more

If it's priced in Dollars, it's an illegal transaction aimed at foreigners without a clue

If it's a villa in Bali (Villa means house), expect to get ripped off for a stupid chunk of cash.

I've seen crackpot prices of tens of millions per month. God gave humans the brains to realise these offers are for idiots, and a middle finger with which to communicate your rejection to the agents concerned.

Public transport:

Taxis (I strongly suggest sticking to Bluebird - Download their app) 15 km in Jakarta will set you back 100,000 to 150,000 depending on traffic jams. Bluebird are honest - Stick with them.

Local buses are so cheap it's almost as if they pay you - Same for local trains

Long distance buses are pretty cheap but I don't have up to date prices

Trains vary depending on the class you choose and the time you travel. Download the KIA app for details

Grocery shopping:

I generally spend 700,000 to a million per week for a greedy family of 4 with no interest in how much things cost. That would be easy to chop if I bothered looking at prices, went for cheaper alternatives, or cut down on the meat.

Veggie people who don't care about cakes and so on are laughing. You can go to a local market and buy everything you need for a week with 100,000 in your hand.

Note - Organic is the norm here. Asking for it, even in your best Indonesian, will have people looking at you as if you were dribbling saliva down your chin and saying, "is that a fish in the sky?"

Take away food:

Sensible take-aways of local food varies from 10,000 for fried rice in Wonosobo, to 20 or 25 thousand from a street cart in Jakarta.

International chains are far more expensive - 60,000 gets you a burger, or 100,000 for a pizza (Give or take as starter prices)

Medical:

If you buy insurance from a rip off job, expect stupid premiums - More so if the ad is in English

If you buy as locals to, a million/month will get you something with good benefits

The uninsured -

Go to a good hospital with an ear infection, and expect less than a million for the consultation and drugs. The same at a cheaper local place will start at a couple of hundred thousand (but it might not be clean)

Schools:

State schools are close to free but operate in Indonesian

The cheapest English speaking schools in a small town like Cirebon  start at over 2 million/month, but they go up to international telephone number money at the top places around Jakarta

Electricity depends on how many Air Con usits you use, and how long you use them for. A million/month get you two units running for around 8 to 12 hours per day.

Forget other appliances because they hardly use anything

I have absolutely no clue about gyms and such as I'm too fat to engage in such stuff.

A trip to the cinema will set you  back 50,000 at good times for a normal seat, or about 100,00 for a premier screen seat (But they are very nice)

Going out to a very nice Indian restaurant for 4 will cost less than a million, but only as much as that if you're greedy and go home with a doggy bag.

Alcohol, if you can't live without it, is commonly an arm and a leg.

The rest is really down to how much you get paid -every cost is only cheap/expensive depending on if you work for a cheap and nasty place, or have a decent employer.

@Cheryl

Thank you for this initiative. Hope my experience can be useful for those looking to decide. All prices are in IDR.

Place: Medan

Housing: We live in a nice society in the outskirts of Medan (5 km from city center) with all amenities and it has mostly expats.

3 bedroom + 2 bathroom fully-furnished house (not independent, but with attached wall to another villa) with a big garden: 55 mil/year

2 bedroom + 1 bathroom unfurnished house with a smaller garden in the same society: 30 mil/year

4 bedroom house + 3 bathroom with garden in my society (2 floors with separate room for househelp/nanny): 75-80 mil/year

Prices outside my housing society are at least 25-30% cheaper.

There is not much concept of apartment complexes in Medan and most of them are in the city center. I have no idea about prices in the city center.

Public transport: 5k per one-way route for buses and Angkors (irrespective of your distance). 25k-30k for most distances within 5-6km radius for InDriver and Gojek. Grab is slightly more expensive. Petrol is 10k per liter so often it is cheaper to buy your own vehicle for long-term use. Self-drive car is 300k per day for Avanza (3-4 year old) and about 7-8 mil/month. I guess Indonesian law does not allow us to take a vehicle in your name but your friends/colleagues might be able to help you out.

Grocery shopping: I go to local pasar for vegetables/fruits/eggs. It cost me approx. 300k for a week's shopping for family of 3. To buy groceries, I visit a supermarket and it costs me 1.5 - 2 mil every 2 weeks.

Health insurance: No idea about the actual cost as my employer provides it. I have visited Columbia Asia hospital once and the consultation cost usually comes to 400-600k (usually reimbursed by insurance).

Tuition fees: No idea as my employer provides for it. However, I guess an international school with IB curriculum will be at least 50-60 mil/year (tuition alone) for primary kids.

Utilities (approx):

Electricity: 500-600k pm

Gas: 185k for a big cylinder (18 L I think) cylinder that lasts us a month. Smaller cylinders are cheaper but a hassle to change every few days.

Water: 300-400k pm

Internet: 300k pm (50 MBps unlimited plan)

Phone: We buy only data (no voice or messaging) and it costs 50-60k for 8-10 GB plan/30 days

Leisure activities:

Ballet (primary): 600k/month (8 classes)

Swimming: 20k on weekdays and 30k on weekends for a semi-Olympic pool with relatively clean bathrooms

Gymnastics: 850k/month (8 classes)

Tennis: 100-150k/1 hour lesson

Skating: 300k/month (8 classes)

Indoor kids playground: 80-100k during weekdays and 100-150k during weekends

If you need any other estimates, feel free to reach out.

what a great detailed answer, Thank you

Hello everyone,

I would like to thank you all for your input!

Future expats will definitely have an idea of what to expect while relocating to Indonesia.

Cheers,

Cheryl

½ûÂþÌìÌà team