What are the positives for Jakarta?

harryopal1

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I can understand people settling in Jakarta for a great job opportunity, family or some other special reason but looking at the ongoing issues of critical pollution, appalling traffic and crime levels I wonder why anyone would choose to live there? What does Jakarta have that other parts of Indonesia don't? So what exceptional qualities does Jakarta offer?
 
Jakarta is the business and financial centre of Indonesia. All money from Indonesia is flowing to the capital.
That is the only quality that Jakarta offers.

For the crime levels I disagree, they are on low levels comparing to the outer world and Indonesia is generally safe.
 
.....
For the crime levels I disagree, they are on low levels comparing to the outer world and Indonesia is generally safe.

I don't disagree compared to other countries but in terms of Indonesia one has the impression of a higher crime rate in Jakarta.
 
Jakarta has mostly everything for:
  • culinary (both international and Indonesian archipelago)
  • culturally (concerts, exhibitions and so on)
  • entertainment (from amusement parks to bars and clubs)
  • services
  • you can easily fly to anywhere
  • so many different kinds of people to open ones horizon

There isn't really any other place in Indonesia that offers those things.
 
Just got back from my annual visit back to PDX...never thought I'd miss Jakarta until I was looking for a great massage for $15!

Prior to being diagnosed as a diabetic....martabak manis was one of Jakarta's advantage for me...now..that option is no more.
 
Ye
Jakarta has mostly everything for:
  • culinary (both international and Indonesian archipelago)
  • culturally (concerts, exhibitions and so on)
  • entertainment (from amusement parks to bars and clubs)
  • services
  • you can easily fly to anywhere
  • so many different kinds of people to open ones horizon

There isn't really any other place in Indonesia that offers those things.

Yes, same as most big cities in the world.
But I agree with the OP, except for professionnal reasons, no way I would live in a mega city anywhere.
I just lived 8 years in HKG, which offers all the above without the cons specific to Jakarta (loud speaker noice..., traffic, ..) and no way I would go back live there.
A very small town or community will do for me now.
Now, 20 y younger a stint in Tokyo would have appealed to me.
 
For expats, it's usually the 3 D's - divorce, debt, drink - they relocate to Asia (in this instance Jakarta) to start again, etc etc, better quality of life for their $, cheap beer, yes sadly also Raja Minyak syndrome looking to feel handsome again with 20 year old girl etc

You can hardly say Jakarta is rife with lucrative jop opportunities or even welcoming for entrepreneurs - in fact most of them are leaving and fed up with beaurocracy and corruption here.
If you mean why Jakarta and not Bandung etc, well yes it is the capital and no other major city in Indonesia comes even close to the finances within Jakarta city.

Even the bars now are full of brondong at the weekends who fly in from SG because it is cheaper to party here than in HK SG etc and possibly easier to find a friend. Ironically from an alcohol pov it is not that much cheaper to party here than over there unless you are pretending to be a baller and open bottles, which is pointless in HK and SG anyway.

But each to their own, if you live and work in the same area and have no family, then traffic etc is not a factor. If you are smart with your money (e.g. rent) then you can still save a lot.

But as you can read on the FB forums when expats are talking about how $2,000 a month is good money here (WTF???) then the standards have fallen.

$2,000 a month is less than the UK average wage so to pack it all up and move to Asia for less than you earnt in UK is a warning sign that they are not here for career progression and it is hardly all palm beaches and clear blue sky here.
 
Rather than your three Ds, if I had to sum it up in three words from the small sample of expats I've met it would be career, adventure and standard of living. Career - since many are sent here by their companies and it's a big future market with opportunities, a 4-year rotation here can be good for career progression, and some stay on. Adventure - because, well no need to explain that one, even walking down the streets is an adventure. Standard of living - can have a bigger house/apartment than at home, weekends in Bali, good clubs, etc. (I don't mean overall quality of living, which because of pollution and speaker noise, and fewer entertainment options is probably worse).

Regarding the three Ds - debt - you mean moving getting into debt in the West and moving to Indonesia to escape debt collectors? A bit of an extreme case I would think. Divorce - well yes that can happen anywhere, and it would be normal to want to move somewhere else. Drink? You mean an alcoholic coming to Jakarta to dry out? If moving here to drink more, he might end up disappointed with the selection of alcohol available here!
 
pretending I'm an expat working for IOC. I love Jakarta for the reason mentioned by @el_goreto, plus (now, i hate to tell) Indonesia including Jakarta is still considered as hardship location, meant premium allowance, Nice accommodation, more paid leave days including more free biz class ticket and or travel budget (supposed to be used to visit home country) but hey, Singapore, Bali, KL are not bad, could be better alternative than spending holiday at home country.

But im not expat in Indonesia, just a TKI.
So, I don't like Jakarta.
 
Jakarta is good for shopping but now that there are a lot of online shopping sites such as Tokopedia, Shopee, and Lazada. There isn't as much need to physically be there unless you like to window shop at the stores in person.
 
I enjoy the fact that you never get into trouble for being late.
 
^ That’s probably true for quite many countries, regions and cultures.

Indonesia? Link from the past, predecessors - study - connection to home country.
Jakarta? Istri saya.

About avoiding big cities; wait till you have to walk using a rollator. Then you’d appreciate the cosmopolitan cities and their amenities (again)...
 
Thanks for broadening my horizons; I now familiar with rollators.

Jakarta sidewalks seems to be improving a bit under Jokowi, but the encroachment mentality persists. Although the sidewalks along Raya Bogor in my area are better (probably not rollator ready, yet) they are still usurped by street vendors (Durian, anyone?) who spill out into the outside lane of traffic. As we drove home yesterday, the Satpol PP were busy rousting the encroachers and carting away a truck load of their flimsy display tables and a pick up truck or two.

I bet when things cool off in a few days, it will be business as usual again. Panas panas tahi ayam.
 
Thanks for broadening my horizons; I now familiar with rollators.

You’re welcome. Since the ones here at ACE etc. are such a POS, I took one from Europe for my mother-in-law. She’s extremely happy with it, esp. in the house and also in the malls (often there are not enough wheelchairs).

The curbs or trotoars are an everlasting problem of course. Even at the LRT stations ? where they have escalators and elevators, there is no way to reach those if you have trouble walking. Impossible in a wheelchair.
 
Reminds me of a movie: They Shoot Horses Don't They.
 
As big city folks use to say: “XXXXX is the city, the rest is parking.”
 
I love living here despite all the BS that comes with it (pollution, corruption, traffic etc..). When I got here I was having a beer with a long time expat who was about to leave to return home. He said: "Jakarta is what you make of it." And, I think that is very true. If you can see past the aforementioned caveats then you'll see a vibrant city with massive potential. Great people, cuisine and culture and room for exponential growth.

There is a group on Facebook that aims to discuss Jakarta on an uplifting note: https://www.facebook.com/groups/368098083740424/

I thought that might be of interest to anyone here who hasn't seen it.
 
Three things have kept me here all these years: Summertime all the time, cops don't bother me, and good looking women. (One needs to visit a Walmart store in the USA to appreciate the last.)
 
Lets not forget the great infrastructure with free flowing traffic and of course the world famous stable electricity supply :eek::eek::eek:
 

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