This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Eliot Davenport, a 32-year-old SEO manager and business owner from Melbourne, Australia. It’s been edited for length and clarity.
In 2024 alone, I’ve worked remotely from places like Australia, where I’m from; Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, Spain, Albania, the United States, Croatia, and Bali. After working in many places, Bali is one of my favorites.
I started remote working in Bali in 2020 while my girlfriend and I were vacationing. Then COVID-19 hit, and we got stuck. We stayed for 10 months and fell in love with the place for its optimal work-life balance and gorgeous weather. Recently, I got a one-year visa and moved back there to build a villa and launch my new sailing travel business while working my regular job.
The major downside to living in a place as beautiful as Bali is that I always want to be out, but work still needs to be done.
I’ve struggled to balance work, rest, and play and have reached burnout multiple times trying to achieve a work-life balance as a traveling remote worker. But the happiness I feel living in Bali leaves me scratching my eyes to see if I’m awake.
Bali is one of the most amazing places in the world to work and live
There are so many reasons I prefer Bali. First, I prefer the warmth and don’t miss Melbourne’s weather. Also, money stretches much farther in Bali. The same monthly rent for a small one-bedroom apartment in Melbourne, over $2000, gets me the equivalent of a two-bedroom villa in Bali with a little pool.
Local, non-touristy food is also much more affordable. In Australia, I’ve had to pay about 30% more than the price of food in Bali.
I’ve lived all around the island, from Menjangan in West Bali to Amed on the North Coast, to the Gilis. Outside Kuta, an area overrun with tourists, visitors can experience what people often call Bali — an Island of the Gods.
I was surprised to find gyms and restaurants rivaling Melbourne and coworking spaces that made my old office look like a cheap tech bros warehouse conversion. The coworking spaces I use in Bali are so large and inclusive. They have weight-floating classes, F45 training, yoga, a massive kitchen around a pool, ice baths, saunas, coworking spaces, and meeting rooms.
Finding a job that allowed me to work in Bali had its challenges
I initially had a job in Melbourne that required me to be in the office for three out of five days. I was reprimanded for using my annual leave to work from Bali for two weeks. This led me to quit after a year and switch to my current employer, a Shopify optimization agency, in August 2023.
My current job understands my remote work lifestyle and allows me to work from anywhere. The tradeoff is that I occasionally have to jump on a 4:30 a.m. meeting.
I was a full time salaried employee, but my boss is a legend, and I’ve negotiated my schedule down to three days a week. I don’t need to clock in and out; we’re a small, family-friendly team, and there’s trust and faith.
Sometimes tourists can be disrespectful
Tourist traps like Seminyak and Canggu have become overcrowded and full of drunk, wild, crazy tourists and every other wannabe searching for the perfect wave.
There are also the annoying wannabe Instagram models and OnlyFans influencers who stop traffic to take photos in the middle of the road and wear next-to-nothing — disrespecting the Balinese culture. Bali has a conservative culture, and people should dress modestly when in town or shopping at markets. Remote workers and ex-pats like myself value and respect local culture.
It’s been tough to find a work-life balance traveling as a remote worker
One of the hardest things I’ve ever done was when I road-tripped through America, from Orange County to Savannah, Georgia, and the South. I drove five to six hours daily and had to pull into random restaurants and cafés, hoping the internet worked.
I’ve had significant internet issues. I lived in Albania for a while, and the internet was terrible. I couldn’t get any video calls to work. However, a solution I’ve found is purchasing an e-sim card wherever I travel.
I miss being close to my family, but I don’t miss Melbourne
I don’t miss Melbourne much, except for being close to family and friends. An unexpected struggle I’ve had is making new friends and emotional attachments with other people. However, remote work in digital marketing has allowed me to turn my life into a workcation.
I’ve found a way to balance work and leisure, making every day feel like a beach day. I feel happy not having to live in Melbourne in the winter and that I can have this life and a career in Bali.
If you work from a unique destination and want to share your experience, please email Manseen Logan at mlogan@businessinsider.com.
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