‘Everyone I know in the US who has a conscience wants to leave’: Why this American girl relocated to Bali

Riding alongside the busy, slim roads of Bali on her scooter with the solar illuminating her face, Victoria Kjos has a transparent vacation spot in sight — the seashore.

The 71-year-old American, who relocated to the Indonesian vacation spot in 2022, is a daily fixture on the sands of Sanur, which extends alongside the southeastern shoreline of the tropical vacation spot, often called the “Island of the Gods.”

When she’s not having fun with one in every of Bali’s most interesting stretches of shoreline, Victoria will be discovered exploring websites like Besakih, a temple complicated often called the “Mother Temple of Bali,” positioned on the slopes of Mount Agung, the island’s highest volcano, or having fun with a therapeutic massage at an area spa.

Her life in the present day is miles other than the one she constructed within the US, the place she had a protracted profession in authorities, serving because the deputy state treasurer of North Dakota again in 1979.

Victoria says she is now fortunately settled within the Southeast Asian vacation spot, recognized for its rice fields, monkey-filled forests and historical temples, and doesn’t see herself ever returning to the United States.

“For me the best thing (about living in Bali) is probably the weather,” Victoria tells CNN Travel of the “magical place” she now calls house. “It’s the same all year long. I haven’t needed a long-sleeved sweater or jacket ever in three years.”

But her motivation to maneuver to the island was one thing extra severe — disillusionment with life within the United States.

“On the surface, as viewed from the outside, I should have had no complaints,” she says. Having additionally labored in actual property, banking and as a yoga teacher, in later life she had constructed a comparatively comfy life for herself in Phoenix, Arizona.

“I owned a nice home in a good neighborhood. Drove a convertible sports car. Frequented theater, opera, art gallery opening events. Shared regular repasts with dear friends and family,” she says.

However, Victoria discovered that she was repeatedly witnessing “trends that didn’t really mesh” along with her beliefs and felt that she wanted a “more meaningful existence.” She says she needed greater than her “middle class US existence” provided her.

“I started to see that our culture had become so self-absorbed,” she says. “So me-driven, and so money-centric, that I questioned whether or not that’s where I wanted to spend the rest of my life.”

It was these ideas, the sense of rising dissatisfaction, that set her on the highway to Bali. But her journey there was removed from easy. In truth, she says it wasn’t even one in every of her prime selections when she was contemplating locations to maneuver to

In 2012, Victoria offered her home in Arizona, alongside along with her automotive, and removed most of her private belongings, earlier than embarking in a “spiritual journey” to India, armed with solely a few guidebooks.

“I didn’t know how long I would stay,” she says. “I didn’t know what the journey could be like.

She spent round six months on a “life-altering and incredibly transformative” journey round India. She traveled via 13 states, visiting temples, meditation caves and gardens, and working towards chanting, yoga and meditation.

“I ’m a different person because of India,” she says. “I hope I’ve become a kinder, less judgmental, more patient and thoughtful human being.”

The subsequent few years noticed her spend extra time in Asia, together with an 18-month stint in India in 2017, after which 4 months in Thailand, within the coastal city of Hua Hin, close to Bangkok. There was additionally a go to to Nepal.

All the whereas, Bali was slowly seeping into her consciousness.

“I kept meeting fellow travelers who would say, ‘Oh, you must go to Bali. It’s wonderful.’ And I thought, ‘Why not?’”

In 2019, Victoria lastly traveled to Bali and immediately fell in love with the vacation spot. “There are some who believe there’s a convergence of various energy vortexes in Bali, which gives it its magical quality,” she says. “There is something very special here, and I did feel it immediately.”

When she returned to the US, Victoria felt that it was lastly time to place roots down someplace new, however regardless of being enthralled by the “magic” of Bali, she initially opted for “close and convenient” Mexico, transferring to the Pacific resort city of Mazatlán in 2020, the place she anticipated spending the remainder of her life.

Just over two years later, she reconsidered. “I decided Mexico really wasn’t the right place for me,” she says, explaining that she was sad with the “party place” fame of her chosen vacation spot. She thought once more about India, however by then Bali had gained her over.

“And I had liked Bali, so it ended up being kind of the final choice for me.”

Another incentive: Indonesia provides a retirement visa, often called a KITAS, and Victoria met the revenue necessities.

Moving to a brand new nation twice inside a number of years would possibly appear to be a frightening prospect, however she says it was made simpler by her private circumstances.

“I was married for a brief period, but I’ve been alone most of my life… I don’t have children,” she says. “So, it’s much easier for me to kind of pick up and move, than it is for people that have kids and grandkids that kind of pull on the heartstrings.”

And so, in May 2022, Victoria arrived in Bali to start her new life and says she “immediately felt very comfortable.”

“There was never any question that I wouldn’t stay,” she provides, describing how she rapidly turned enthralled by Balinese tradition, which is rooted in traditions and spirituality, and cherished its “calm energy.”

Victoria discovered locals to be very welcoming and had little hassle making new mates, regardless of not talking Balinese or Indonesian.

But, she says she made a whole lot of “missteps” in her first few months in Bali, notably when it got here to discovering a spot to stay.

“Everybody’s a real estate agent,” she says. “But they really aren’t. (It’s an) everybody has a friend who has a friend, who has a friend kind of thing.”

After transferring out and in of a number of locations, Victoria ultimately settled in Sanur, a quiet coastal city with a powerful Balinese neighborhood that’s recognized for its stunning seashores. It is, says Victoria, jokingly known as “Snore” as a result of its laidback ambiance, and recognition with retirees and households.

Victoria lives in a small, fashionable, gated home, which options conventional Balinese-style sliding glass entrance doorways and excessive ceilings, with one bed room, a front room, kitchen and toilet.

“My neighbor’s dog barking is the only noise I ever hear here,” she says. “So it’s almost like my wake-up call or a reminder of the outside world.”

Victoria, who describes herself as an “avowed introvert,” concedes that she socializes even much less in Bali than she did within the US, however says that this fits her simply effective.

“I was one of those people that loved Covid,” she says, recalling lockdowns applied through the pandemic. “I was in heaven, because I live kind of like a hermit.”

While she’s been attempting to study Balinese, Victoria says that almost all of her mates within the nation communicate English and he or she usually finds that locals desire to talk her native language along with her, though she needs to apply.

“I think it’s really important in any foreign country to learn the language, not only to benefit you and understand but also as respect,” she says. “I’m actually more interested in learning the language to read the signs on the street and things, more so than speaking.”

Pros and cons

Although she’s encountered many different foreigners who’ve moved to Bali, Victoria says she feels extra linked to Balinese folks and her mates are primarily locals.

“I haven’t met a single expat here who is on that same path as I am,” she says. “So, I spend my time with locals, not foreigners. Because I have more in common with them spiritually.”

Victoria says she’s an admirer of how household oriented native tradition is.

“It would be like in my country a century ago, where the grandparents and the parents and the kids and the grandkids all lived in the same house,” she says.

“Generations resided together. We don’t live like that in America. Once you’re 17 or 18, you go off to college and you never want to go home again.”

She’s additionally seen that life in Bali, which is a Hindu-majority area of Muslim-majority Indonesia, appears to revolve round ceremonies, which steadily take precedence over work or actions.

“There are ceremonies for everything. From the baby being born to the baby being named, to the cremation, to the anniversary of the cremation,” she says. ‘“The ceremony comes first, which would be unheard of in my country. Except for major holidays like Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving.”

Last 12 months, Victoria was invited to a Balinese cremation ceremony, often called Ngaben, and was the one non-local in attendance. “Hence, I felt like an honored guest, witnessing the traditional washing of the body on the first day and the actual cremation on the second, with elaborate rituals, drumming, music, meals, and processions.”

Bali is far slower paced than she’s used to, which has its execs and cons, in accordance with Victoria.

“Sometimes I find myself standing in the grocery line and it takes like 15 minutes and three people to do something that in the United States would take five minutes,” she says. “But it’s just the way it is.”

As the price of residing is decrease in Bali, Victoria’s cash goes additional, which implies she’s in a position to afford issues that she would as soon as have thought of luxuries.

“Ordering from catering services and through the food delivery is so inexpensive, almost embarrassingly,” she says, stating that she not often cooks, and her housing prices are round 1 / 4 lower than they have been within the United States.

“So, I don’t do laundry for the same reason. It’s inexpensive to take it next door, a minute away.”

She will get round primarily by way of motor scooter, which she realized to journey on the age of 65, and whereas she’s had a “couple of spills” on Balinese roads, Victoria prefers two-wheel transport to a automotive as a result of common visitors snarls in Bali.

“I’m cautious,” she says. “And I’m old. I know my reflexes are slower than the kids. So I kind of drive slowly to the left. People pass me all the time, but I don’t really care.”

Although Victoria suffers from a power medical situation, which causes ache and fatigue, she describes herself as in “relatively good health,” stating that she additionally walks as a lot as she will be able to, and goes to yoga courses commonly.

She says she’s had optimistic experiences with the native healthcare system, which consists of each private and non-private healthcare suppliers.

“I am fortunate enough to be on the government health insurance program, which is very affordable,” she says, including that she additionally has a personal insurance coverage plan that might cowl her for “something major.”

Victoria factors out that the usual of care will not be the identical as “in the West or other countries.”

“My feeling is, if you’re going to live here, you kind of have to suck it up…” she says. “If you want Western medicine, then stay in a Western country. But overall, I’ve been pleased.”

She notes that “retirement centers or homes and assisted living options” are “non-existent” in Bali as households are likely to care for his or her aged family of their later years, quipping that she could haven’t any alternative however to return to the US if she lives “too long.”

But after residing within the Indonesian island for 3 years, Victoria says she will be able to’t think about going again to the life she had earlier than.

“I jokingly say, ‘The only way I’m setting foot back in the United States is if I’m demented,’” she says. “Everyone that has a conscience and a soul in the United States that I know wants to leave now.”

Victoria plans to transform her retirement visa to a KITAP visa, or everlasting keep allow card, which is legitimate for 5 years, inside the subsequent two years.

However, she admits that she misses easy issues about residing within the US, akin to with the ability to do all of her buying in a single place.

“I know it seems sort of silly,” she says. “But the distinction is the buying choices – we get form of spoiled (within the US).

“There’s a major drugstore in every corner. You can go in, and buy everything at one place. Here, you have to go to 10 different shops and little markets. You don’t have the same kind of availability.”

Victoria additionally misses going to the opera and theater commonly, however stresses that there’s “nothing to be sad about” as she was an “active participant in those activities for 40 years.”

Although she’s fortunately settled in Bali, Victoria concedes that she hasn’t dominated out transferring “elsewhere,” describing herself as a “vagabond.”

“I’ve learned never to say ‘never’ and always to remain flexible,” she says. Her principal focus now could be attempting “to live a little more consciously” and “being of service” throughout what she describes because the “last phase” of her life.

“A person’s life is enriched by variety and change,” Victoria provides. “And, I feel incredibly blessed to finish out my life in such a beautiful, peaceful location.”