Discussion about expat salaries and perks as English teacher in Indonesia

[Balifrog]

So, if an average local person can live on just 1/10 of Rp33m, it’s hard to understand why others, including expats, could not live comfortably on Rp33m

It depends on what life you want....
One sure can "survive" on 3 or 5 m, living as a local.
My monthly budget (couple, 71 / 55), quiete pensioners life is 30m, of which 9m for my rental.
Next main expenses are food at home and restaurants (total 8,5m).
Note I am French, and I live and eat like a French. Although I have abandonned having wine at every meal...
But to each his own.

 

[Jaime C]

When we first moved to Bandung, before my FIL was disabled and before school for my daughter, we spent about 10-12 juta per month. Rent back then was 3-4 jt a month. No rent now, but lots of household expenses.

We are probably close to your figure of 30 juta, with our 5 day a week maid, and cousin who is acting as our driver and helper. School fees, food, security fee, gasoline, water and cooking gas.

The only thing not included is if we go for a vacation, usually at our favorite hotel in Jakarta. Usually for 60 nights a year.

 

[nd_eric_77]

When we first moved to Bandung, before my FIL was disabled and before school for my daughter, we spent about 10-12 juta per month. Rent back then was 3-4 jt a month. No rent now, but lots of household expenses.

We are probably close to your figure of 30 juta, with our 5 day a week maid, and cousin who is acting as our driver and helper. School fees, food, security fee, gasoline, water and cooking gas.

The only thing not included is if we go for a vacation, usually at our favorite hotel in Jakarta. Usually for 60 nights a year.

Hope you are in the hotel's loyalty program! That many nights should get you top-tier status

 

[Samoerai]

I just calculated how much on average I spent per month (not including vacations, clothing and shoes, visa/kitas/kitap, outpatient medical treatments, dentist):

34 juta per month for 2 persons (including renting a 2-bedroom apartment in Jakarta, electricity, water, groceries, health insurance, internet, cell phone bills, gym, gocar, restaurants).

So, living on a salary of 33 juta is doable in Jakarta.

 

[Jaime C]

Hope you are in the hotel's loyalty program! That many nights should get you top-tier status

Of course. I’ve been a top tier diamond member for many years. Usually get an upgrade to a suite. Just love most of the staff!

 

[pantaiema]

The only thing not included is if we go for a vacation, usually at our favourite hotel in Jakarta. Usually for 60 nights a year.

You live in Bandung. I'm curious, why would you want a holiday in Jakarta rather than other part of Indonesia you have not visited? You can visit Jakarta anytime you want. You could even make it a day trip, weekend trip with "Woosh". Not to criticize, just trying to understand.

 

[gemima]

You live in Bandung. I'm curious, why would you want a holiday in Jakarta rather than other part of Indonesia you have not visited? You can visit Jakarta anytime you want. You could even make it a day trip, weekend trip with "Woosh". Not to criticize, just trying to understand.

I can think of many reasons - his wife is local (I'm pretty sure I have that one right) so maybe meet her family. Meet friends. Maybe they have kids living in Jakarta. Sounds like all the hotel staff are also friends by now so to see them! Travel in Indonesia is a bit hard but once you know your way around Jakarta it's easy (taxi/ driver from door to door) so if you have some mobility challenges coming to Jakarta would be a lot less stressful than other places. Hotels here are great value (in comparison to other countries) and have a good standard - in other parts of the country (excluding bali) the hotels drop off a lot.

 

[Helpful Herbert]

I reckon I could live quite easily off 30jt a month. Unfortunately, when there are 10+ people living from one salary that is no longer possible!

 

[nd_eric_77]

I reckon I could live quite easily off 30jt a month. Unfortunately, when there are 10+ people living from one salary that is no longer possible!

Agreed. 30jt for a single person would be borderline luxurious in Jakarta. For a married couple with two kids in college, not so much. Fortunately, college only lasts four years per kid (God willing).

 

[Balifrog]

Agreed. 30jt for a single person would be borderline luxurious in Jakarta. For a married couple with two kids in college, not so much. Fortunately, college only lasts four years per kid (God willing).

Mmmm, 4 years only ? My 3 kids entered nursery school at 3 !
One left school at 16, one at 18, one did university till his 24 y old.
Partly in Thailand, not cheap. Partly in France, free (well, no tuition fee)
30 Jt would sure not have been enough. At least if you put them in proper schools.

And 30 Jt, "luxurious" for a single person ? LOL...

 

[Helpful Herbert]

If you include primary, secondary and university, it lasts a lot longer than four years.

 

[nd_eric_77]

Mmmm, 4 years only ? My 3 kids entered nursery school at 3 !
One left school at 16, one at 18, one did university till his 24 y old.
Partly in Thailand, not cheap. Partly in France, free (well, no tuition fee)
30 Jt would sure not have been enough. At least if you put them in proper schools.

And 30 Jt, "luxurious" for a single person ? LOL...

You skipped an adjective there... "borderline..." Depending how a single person allocated resources, 30 jt could provide a more than comfortable lifestyle in the suburbs of Jakarta. Not in CBD, and certainly not in Bali, but 30 jt would go quite far in BSD or similar suburbs.
Both of my kids are in the US. Their education is partially subsidized, but nowhere near "free" since living costs are a thing.

 

[Jaime C]

You live in Bandung. I'm curious, why would you want a holiday in Jakarta rather than other part of Indonesia you have not visited? You can visit Jakarta anytime you want. You could even make it a day trip, weekend trip with "Woosh". Not to criticize, just trying to understand.

I’m quite mobility challenged. Severe arthritis in my knees, horrible pain in my lower back if I’m sitting up for more than an hour. In Bandung, I end up mostly being in my bedroom upstairs. Just going up or down the stairs is a major ordeal. So I jokingly say I’m in prison upstairs for months at a time.

Even going in our car to Jakarta can be pretty rough for me. I use an electric wheelchair at the hotel. I can walk very short distances, 3-10 meters if necessary, but it’s fairly painful.

I really enjoy this hotel, as they have a great lagoon style pool, with concrete entry steps and railings so I can easily get in and out of the pool. It’s about the only exercise I can do these days. So many nice hotels have very basic metal stairs that I can’t use to exit the pools.

Getting a cargo van to transport my electric wheelchair can be a pain, but it’s a heavy duty type that weighs 130kg. We usually need 4-5 people just to lift it into the cargo van. Being in a wheelchair isn’t easy in Indonesia. So, we usually go for at least 10 days.

My wife has friends and relatives in Jakarta, so it’s a good excuse to visit everyone. I’m stuck at the hotel mostly, but at least I can go to the restaurants and pool. We even found a movie theater nearby, that we can drive up to the exit, and I can walk to my recliner seat. Got to see 2 different movies on our last trip.

My daughter likes to go to different things like the Jakarta Fair, Ancol, or other fun stuff at malls.

We get a pretty extensive breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening food and drinks, including alcohol, because of our hotel status. The staff has known us for the 10 years we’ve been going there, and they are really so great.

 

[HappyMan]

Mmmm, 4 years only ? My 3 kids entered nursery school at 3 !
One left school at 16, one at 18, one did university till his 24 y old.
Partly in Thailand, not cheap. Partly in France, free (well, no tuition fee)
30 Jt would sure not have been enough. At least if you put them in proper schools.

And 30 Jt, "luxurious" for a single person ? LOL...

I guess there are different definitions of luxury. I'm not the sort to particularly want to go out very often. Probably not even once a week, even if I didn't have to think about paying for it.

I don't enjoy shopping. When I see something that I want and that is worth the cost, I want to be able to buy it. Something like a nice pair of boots that will last me 5 to 10 years, but I'm choosing them based on the cut and quality, not the maker's mark.

I don't realllly enjoy cooking, unless I have someone to cook for. So, I'd be ordering a lot of takeout. But, again I care about the quality and what I feel like having rather than the name of the restaurant. It's hard for me to imagine spending more than 70k for the average meal. I've never understood the appeal of expensive booze.

I'll be fine with a single bedroom apartment, if I were still single.

Are there other things people spend money on? Yeah, I'd probably be all luxuried out at 25jt and putting the rest into savings.

 

[Bad_azz]

My husband & I live on much less than 30jt a month. We don't live in Jakarta, we do have luxury goods now & then - we have a thing about M&S chocolates. But we buy from the sale rail when the items are a third of the price. We don't have any rent to pay & household bills are probably about 1,2 jt a month including the BPJS, electricity, internet. Maybe 1,3 if I count in the random purchase of gas bottles. The annual tax for our house is about 60k.
We don't eat out or do take-aways often , as I tend to cook heart healthy food due to my 'condition'.
If i was single & on 30 a month , I could live quite nicely in Jkt area, but I wouldn't waste cash on fancy apartments. I know a nice hotel I could live in for around 3-4 mil a month.

 

[pantaiema]

If they are on a temporary secondment sent by their company to work abroad for a year or two, no one sensible would accept the relocation unless they receive at least the same salary as back home, along with coverage for their kids' education and family accommodation. Keep in mind, they might still have family back home with rent or mortgage payments. So get relocated and getting paid of IDR33m does not make sense.

If the family decides to temporarily relocate, they'll likely choose an international school for their kids, as their children might not be able to communicate in a local school. Additionally, at the end of the secondment, the kids will need to continue their education at home. But typically, these individuals receive assistance with their kids' education at international schools as part of their relocation package. If they have to pay around USD 30k for one child at an international school in Jakarta, then IDR33m a month does not make sense. But no one sensible would want to relocate with that figure if they still need to pay their kid education in an international school.

However, for ITAP holders who intend to live in Indonesia permanently, one major component, e.g children's education in international schools, is avoidable as they can send their children to local public schools which are virtually free.

This is an example of tuition and other fees in an international school at JIS.

Fees and Tuition at Jakarta Intercultural School

As a non-profit school, Jakarta Intercultural School’s tuition and fees are used for student learning, facilities and classroom resources. Inquire today.

www.jisedu.or.id

 

[Balifrog]

If they are on a temporary secondment sent by their company to work abroad for a year or two, no one sensible would accept the relocation unless they receive at least the same salary as back home, along with coverage for their kids' education and family accommodation. Keep in mind, they might still have family back home with rent or mortgage payments. So get relocated and getting paid of IDR33m does not make sense.

If the family decides to temporarily relocate, they'll likely choose an international school for their kids, as their children might not be able to communicate in a local school. Additionally, at the end of the secondment, the kids will need to continue their education at home. But typically, these individuals receive assistance with their kids' education at international schools as part of their relocation package. If they have to pay around USD 30k for one child at an international school in Jakarta, then IDR33m a month does not make sense. But no one sensible would want to relocate with that figure if they still need to pay their kid education in an international school.

However, for ITAP holders who intend to live in Indonesia permanently, one major component, e.g children's education in international schools, is avoidable as they can send their children to local public schools which are virtually free.

This is an example of tuition and other fees in an international school at JIS.

Fees and Tuition at Jakarta Intercultural School

As a non-profit school, Jakarta Intercultural School’s tuition and fees are used for student learning, facilities and classroom resources. Inquire today.

www.jisedu.or.id

View attachment 4238

Fully agreed with both aspects.
I was an expat detached by my French company for 33 years, full package as you indicated. Basic salary x 2 usually + local "expense indemnity" (1000 / 1500 euro) + indemnity for high hours (usually 12h x 6day, night and day shift), lodging, car, driver, kids in French International school, yearly tickets home for the whole family, French social security and pension.
This kind of packages becomes less and less common, as there are now plenty people willing to work for local salaries due to high unemployement rates in the West.
Most of us started with the idea of doing it for a.few years to put money aside to buy a house for example. Nearly all.of us got hooked to the lifestyle and did it all our life...
When I got my French pension (at 61) I was working in Malaysia. The local manager (expat) offered.me to continue to work for them on a local contract at about 40% of my previous salary. You can guess my answer.....
Took 4 months sabatic in Bangkok. Then was contacted by a Chinese Co in HKG and ended up working for them 3 years as "independant contractor" at 3500 HKD/Day + a nice flat on the sea.
Do I have luxury tasts ? Nope, but I like being able to have a confortable life.
Good French food, flying Business, nice lodging etc...
Not forgetting bringing up 3 kids.

I am not jalous of people who have much more than me, but I don't.look down.on people who have less. Everyone decides the life that suits him.

 

[Balifrog]

I guess there are different definitions of luxury. I'm not the sort to particularly want to go out very often. Probably not even once a week, even if I didn't have to think about paying for it.

I don't enjoy shopping. When I see something that I want and that is worth the cost, I want to be able to buy it. Something like a nice pair of boots that will last me 5 to 10 years, but I'm choosing them based on the cut and quality, not the maker's mark.

I don't realllly enjoy cooking, unless I have someone to cook for. So, I'd be ordering a lot of takeout. But, again I care about the quality and what I feel like having rather than the name of the restaurant. It's hard for me to imagine spending more than 70k for the average meal. I've never understood the appeal of expensive booze.

I'll be fine with a single bedroom apartment, if I were still single.

Are there other things people spend money on? Yeah, I'd probably be all luxuried out at 25jt and putting the rest into savings.

Depends on your age also....
Till 60 I was rather a party animal. Living in "fun" places, and knowing life is short, one would be silly not to enjoy it at the fullest.
And 7 years Navy, followed by 33 years international construction well that's a "work hard, party hard" world....
Nowadays, 2 or 3 times a week to the restaurant is enough. When the Missus is in Java, I switch to "bachelor status" and add to that 2 or 3 evenings to the pub or live music bars. But, at 71, my days of all night out are over. Midnight is the best I can do.
I like cooking proper French food, specially when with the Miss. Of course it's not gonna be cheap. A Boeuf Bourguignon like I made a few days ago, will cost around 500k for 5 servings. Main cost being the beef and the wine...
Never been a fan of fancy clothes, the Missus neither. Now retired in Bali, shorts, shirts and sandals will do.
I attach a big importance to a nice lodging. Not luxurious, but nice. A studio will not do it for me.
No car, no motorcycle. Not compatible with Jack Daniels !
Ok, 07:00 am, off to the swimming pool. Need to keep the slim and handsome Latin lover in shape....

 

[Bad_azz]

If they are on a temporary secondment sent by their company to work abroad for a year or two, no one sensible would accept the relocation unless they receive at least the same salary as back home, along with coverage for their kids' education and family accommodation. Keep in mind, they might still have family back home with rent or mortgage payments. So get relocated and getting paid of IDR33m does not make sense.

If the family decides to temporarily relocate, they'll likely choose an international school for their kids, as their children might not be able to communicate in a local school. Additionally, at the end of the secondment, the kids will need to continue their education at home. But typically, these individuals receive assistance with their kids' education at international schools as part of their relocation package. If they have to pay around USD 30k for one child at an international school in Jakarta, then IDR33m a month does not make sense. But no one sensible would want to relocate with that figure if they still need to pay their kid education in an international school.

However, for ITAP holders who intend to live in Indonesia permanently, one major component, e.g children's education in international schools, is avoidable as they can send their children to local public schools which are virtually free.

This is an example of tuition and other fees in an international school at JIS.

Fees and Tuition at Jakarta Intercultural School

As a non-profit school, Jakarta Intercultural School’s tuition and fees are used for student learning, facilities and classroom resources. Inquire today.

www.jisedu.or.id

View attachment 4238

Being relocated by a foreign employer is absolutely irrelevant to the discussion though. That is comparing apples with turnips.
Someone being re-located is not going to be looking at the job market here are they, they will have nego'ed a fabulous package from their employer.

 

[fastpitch17]

How far a monthly salary goes depends mainly on your location. 30 juta per month goes a lot farther in areas with lower cost of living than it would in major metropolitan areas like Jakarta.

In Jakarta, if one looked at house rental cost, I have seen houses in comparison to what I live in coming in at around 20 juta per month. Modern with Westen features including yards bigger than a matchbox. I pay 25 juta per year. Owners do not raise because they appreciate people who take care of their property.

Of course, if you are only making 30 juta per month in Jakarta you would need to settle for much less for a house. Apartments are just as expensive. Food cost in my area run from 20 to 50% less than what I see reported for Jakarta. PLN is the same and with 3 A/C, 2 refrigerators, a freezer, microwave, and a number of electrical appliances that is around 1.5 juta per month. We do not own a car or motor and use Go and Grab car regularly. Close to 20 years of on line taxi compared to cost of a vehicle and someone else does the driving. Not to mention we don't have to have wasted time setting in traffic. We pay the premium like everyone else buying items on line to be able to somewhat maintain our lifestyle we are comfortable with. We pay cash for everything. Even though I do not bring in quite 30 juta per month and monthly income depends on exchange rates. We, if so desired can still save close to 5 juta per month. We have no debt and no financial worries. In Jakarta it would just be financial stress.