Why I now split my life between Bali and Singapore

A tale of two Craigs

In August 2023 I made the decision to move part time to Bali. It was a very hard decision to make after Singapore had been my only home for over 11 years. A year and a half later, I’m confident that I made the right decision. In this article I’ll talk about why.

First I’ll summarise my thoughts on each location, their character, their vibe.

Singapore:

• Perhaps the most well-organized and planned city in the world. Everything just works. It’s always a pleasure to land at Changi airport and know that it will be a smooth five or ten minutes to go through the immigration auto-gates and get my check-in bag and be in a taxi. This experience is a good analogy for the country as a whole.

• An introverted society. People are unlikely to speak to you or offer a smile if they do not know you. This is common to North Asia cultures where much of the Singaporean people originate from. In can cause friction with people from more extroverted cultures. Although I’m American, I’m introverted among strangers so I handle this ok, but even I’ve had some incidents that bugged me about this, like neighbours not acknowledging me even after years living next door to each other.

• Intellectually oriented. Singapore is a place to do business. People there are, on average, well educated, well compensated and work hard. Time is precious and communication and meetings are efficient. I value my network in Singapore of friends and colleagues from all over the world who I learn from. There is probably not a higher level of per capita intelligence in Asia.

• Expensive. While Singapore often tops the charts of the most expensive places to live, this is a bit of a farce because they include car ownership (not necessary in Singapore) and expensive meals (also not necessary). But Singapore IS expensive compared to areas near Singapore, including Bali. Since COVID, rent and food prices have increased quite a bit. You can still eat cheaply at the hawker, but even my favorite hawker (Farrer Road Chicken Rice at Empress Market, see pic below) has raised prices from $3 to $5 for their basic roasted chicken rice meal, an increase of 67%!

• Amazing condo life/amenities. Following the previous comment, if you can afford it, Singapore condo life can be one of the best options for living that I’ve ever seen or experienced, especially if you have children. I spent seven years living at d’Leedon condo (see pic below) and it was an absolute pleasure. The condo offered six swimming pools, two of them olympic size, three tennis courts, a basketball court, gym, sauna and steam room, billiards room, piano room, library, a movie projector room, two golf simulators and three function rooms! In addition, we had two grocery stores, a clinic, a spa and a barber on premises. You don’t ever need to leave the condo! It’s a ten minutes walk to Holland Village, Dempsey Hill and Botanic Gardens with easy bus and MRT access nearby and a market and hawker centre next door.

• Limited nature exposure. Singapore does an amazing job of integrating nature into an urban landscape, but it’s not the same as having “real” nature escapes. The closest I found in Singapore was McRitchie reservoir, with it’s dirt trails and waterside grassy areas. While I enjoy Botanic Gardens and East Coast Park, they are manufactured parks, not “real” nature.

• Culture. Singapore has a cool and interesting surface level culture. A mix of foods and religions, Churches, Mosques and Temples on the same street and peoples of various skin tones and accents. But beneath this surface level I find Singapore’s culture lacking in depth. My diagnosis is that it’s a result of low tolerance for risk as well as low tolerance for chaos. Singapore does not have a culture of music, art and theatre that other global cities like New York, London, Tokyo and even Hong Kong do.

Bali:

• Culture. A huge part of the attraction to Bali is the ancient Hindu culture that is maintained (with incredible dedication and effort) today. Temples comprise a large percentage of developed land in Bali, ceremonies happen at least weekly, with frequent processions of traditionally dressed locals banging gongs and drums and often carrying pedestals for whichever God is being honored that day. They even close the airport on Nyepi (see Nyepi procession pic below), and you are not allowed to leave your home, make loud noises or use lighting at night (it will attract the evil spirits) that day.

• Nature. Another main reason people are attracted to Bali is the amazingly beautiful volcanic island’s many picturesque beaches and rice fields. Green and blue, brown and black, you can feel your blood pressure ramp down as you immerse yourself in the sounds of the surf on the beach while you enjoy a coconut.

• An extroverted society. Smiles are on offer wherever you go. When someone asks, “How are you today?” you believe they actually care. The people are polite and attentive although not always efficient. One of my favorite stories about Bali involves going to a local minimart. After scanning my items the attendant, with a smile on his face asked me, “Would you like a bag, sir?”. After replying “Yes, please”, I was informed that “Sorry, no have”. But with a smile on his face and obviously nothing but positive intent I had to just chuckle to myself and juggle the items in my arms until I could get them to my motorbike.

• Affordable. While prices have gone up, especially in the hotspots of Canggu and Denpasar, you can still rent a villa in Bali that is twice the size of a Singapore apartment at half the price. Daily goods are also much cheaper. My gym has a wonderful cafe where I will often get a grilled tuna steak with vegetables, rice and a coconut for about S$9 (see pic below). Most things are about 50% cheaper than Singapore, including international schools, medical care and that other life necessity, coffee.

• Poorly organized. There is completely unnecessary traffic in Bali. On the main road near my villa there is a turn that is always backed up. All that needs to be done is to install a turn lane so that through vehicles can pass by on the left. There is available land there, but no, nothing has been done and may never be done to solve this. This type of situation is common. The airport isn’t too bad, but it can take more than thirty minutes to receive a checked bag and there can be friction at customs if you bring the wrong thing in and get the wrong official. Rules aren’t always black and white.

• Instead of a focus on the intellectual, Bali has a focus on health and fitness. The people (granted, I’m speaking about expats/travelers) here are noticeably more attractive than almost anywhere else I’ve been. They exercise and eat well and care about their appearance. Whether it’s surfing, padel or fitness classes, you can find every option in Bali. And of course, it’s a global focal point for all types of yoga. The food is amazing and you can eat vegan, vegetarian or carnivore at your pleasure. Most of it is locally sourced and usually free from the pesticides and additives you’ll find elsewhere.

• Spirituality. Nicknamed “The island of the Gods”, Bali attracts a wide set of spiritual practitioners. Where it’s Jesus, Mohamed, Ganesh or Mother Earth there’s a place for you to explore your spirituality in Bali.

So back to why I now split time between Bali and Singapore. Well, I now have the best of both worlds. The majority of my boxes are checked. While I’d live to live in one place where I can “have it all” that’s not really on offer.

In Bali I:

• Enjoy lifting weights at my gym which is 50% cheaper and 50% less crowded than my Singapore gym.

• Play padel about 3 times per week (pic of my favorite padel spot below), paying around S$12 for 90 minutes (compared to S$35 in Singapore) in beautiful facilities with cafes and surrounded by nature.

• Go to the beach for sunset 2-3 times per week.

• Love having the freedom of my motorbike to go anywhere I want anytime and pay about S$130 per month for.

• Live in a three bedroom three bathroom villa with a small pool and a nice garden full of greenery. I pay less than 50% of what I paid in d’Leedon Singapore.

• Have a nice network of friends from all over the world who are active and healthy.

• Enjoy my daily interactions with the locals who are smiling and friendly, including my local spa staff where I have a one hour full body massage for S$12.

• Love my neighborhood full of temples and rice paddies and ten minutes from the beach.

• Enjoy the great and healthy locally grown food at affordable prices.

In Singapore I:

• Get shit done! I have productive meetings with investors and founders for Accelerating Asia.

• Play polo at the Singapore Polo Club (sadly no polo in Bali). It’s a wonderful oasis of green and relative quiet in the city.

• Love meeting my amazing friends who are highly intelligent and motivated and doing cool stuff.

• Enjoy rollerblading around Marina Bay and north over the Barrage.

• Walk a lot! I love the walkability of Singapore and how you can get around whether it’s walking or taking public transport.

• Appreciate the integration of nature into the urban landscape, making it a more liveable and enjoyable experience than most other cities in the region.

• Play tennis and padel either early or late as there is no cover on the courts.

• Enjoy standup comedy. Some great spots including the weekly Tuesday Comedy Masala at Hero’s in Boat Quay.

What am I missing?

The main thing, as I mentioned earlier in the article is a truly global high culture. London and New York, to me, are the pinnacles of culture, with amazing museums, concerts, sports, live theatre, standup comedy and so much more. Just walking around in these cities you’ll find numerous impressive street performers, poetry readings at cool bookstores and a general infusion of artistic appreciation that is hard to match. I’d put many other cities in tier two, including Paris, Rome, Washington, LA, Tokyo, and others. In Asia, Tokyo probably tops the list although Shanghai is a contender and Hong Kong as well. But New York winters suck and London doesn’t exactly have the best weather or beaches either :)

Anyway, those are my thoughts after a year and a half of splitting time between Singapore and Bali.