Where Are We Moving to Next?!

If you missed our last post, we announced that we are leaving France permanently. We moved to France with the idea of settling down… and that didn’t quite work out for us. So what’s next?!

Are we going to start traveling long-term around the world again or are we looking for a new “permanent home?”

Even though we are leaving France, we still feel like we want to have a home base to travel from. I want the same things that I wanted when we moved here: a community, friends, a home, a dog…

So although we are leaving France, we aren’t setting out on another digital nomad adventure around the world.

After a lot of consideration and quite a few sleepless nights, we both decided that the place that we both feel like is the best for us is Bali!!!

It was our first home overseas and we have kept in contact with the friends we made there over the years.

UPDATE: We never ended up moving to Bali, instead we spent a year (2021) living around Mexico, then realized that Nice was where we belonged and now we’re back in Nice living here full-time. Crazy how things never end up how you planned them! But I love that I wrote out what I was thinking back then and it’s interesting to go back and read this now.

We both miss living in Bali for a lot of reasons, but here are the ones that are the most important right now:

1. It’s Much Easier to Make Friends in Bali

There is a very large expat community in Bali from all over the world. We already have a few friends there and I’m excited to go make more!

There are a lot of French and Italian expats, especially, which will be perfect for language exchanges.

2. Low Cost of Living

You may remember that we only spent $2000 on 6 months of rent last time we lived in Bali, which is only $333 per month!

Although we don’t plan on living on that tight of a budget this time, we could still have a villa with a lot of room and possibly a pool for less than $700 per month.

We can afford to eat out more often, save money for the future, travel more, and maybe even….

3. Get a DOG!

Ahhh I want a dog so badly! Here, we planned on getting a dog but quickly realized that we couldn’t afford it.

If we went on a trip, it would cost quite a lot for someone to watch the dog (about $20 per day) and our apartment is just too small for a dog.

In Bali, we could get a dog (adopt, of course, I’m obsessed with the @bali.paws Instagram page) and we would actually be able to afford to give that dog the life it deserves!

Of course, if life doesn’t work out in Bali, you don’t need to worry, we will take the dog with us back to the USA or wherever we go next.

I would never abandon a pup!

4. Scooters

Here in France, we can’t afford a car (it costs a ton for a parking spot, too!) Plus, we would need to get a new driver’s license to be able to stay and drive a car here.

In Bali, renting a scooter is super easy and we can zip around the island without any problems.

Well.. except for the corrupt cops…but even then that’s just a $10-$15 ticket.

This reason is more important for Jake (he said I HAD to add it lol) because he really misses being able to just go wherever you want to instead of only where public transport or Flixbus takes you.

However…

There are tons more reasons why Bali is right for us right now, but also we aren’t sure WHEN we’ll be able to get there.

For now, we’re heading back to the USA to spend time with family that we haven’t seen in a year.

We’re not sure how long we’ll be there yet, but that’s okay! We’re excited to have something to look forward to (like adopting a perfect little pup!) and also hopefully finally being able to make it with this blog!

Read More from the Blog:

• 9 Incredible Winter Destinations in California
• How to Move to Bali for 6 Months
• 8 Reasons Why You Should Move Abroad
• Happily Ever Travels’ November 2020 Income Report