I lived in Bali for 9 months and here’s the dark side expats don’t talk about

When my husband and I first talked about spending extended time in Bali, the vision was clear: warm weather, affordable living, a slower pace. We'd heard all the stories from friends who'd done the digital nomad thing, and honestly, it sounded perfect for a change of scenery before our daughter was born.

We ended up staying for nine months, renting a villa in Canggu and settling into what looked like paradise from the outside. The sunsets were incredible. The food scene was amazing. But there's a whole other side to the expat experience there that people don't really talk about until you're deep in it.

Here's what I wish someone had told me before we went.

1. The visa run cycle becomes exhausting

Most people arrive on a tourist visa that needs extending every month or two. You can pay an agent to handle it, which we did, but it still means handing over your passport regularly and hoping everything processes smoothly.

Some expats do visa runs to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur every few months. That sounds adventurous at first, but when you're trying to maintain any kind of routine or work schedule, it becomes another thing to plan around. We met people who'd been doing this for years, and you could see the fatigue in how they talked about it.

The uncertainty gets to you. You're never fully settled because you know your time is technically limited, even if you keep renewing. It's hard to commit to anything long-term when your legal status feels temporary.

2. Healthcare is a gamble you don't want to take

The international clinics in the main expat areas are decent for minor issues. You get a cold, you need stitches, they can handle it. But anything serious, and you're looking at medical evacuation to Singapore or Bangkok.

I had a friend who developed appendicitis while living there. The local hospital wasn't equipped for the surgery she needed, and her insurance company arranged an emergency flight out. She was fine, but the whole experience shook everyone in our circle.

Insurance that covers medical evacuation is expensive, and a lot of younger expats skip it to save money. That's a risk I wouldn't take again, especially now that I have a child. The healthcare infrastructure just isn't built for complex medical needs, no matter how beautiful the island is.

3. The pollution is worse than anyone admits

Bali has a serious trash problem. You'll see it along the roadsides, in the rivers, washing up on certain beaches during rainy season. The local waste management system can't keep up with the population growth and tourist influx.

There's also burning. People burn their garbage in the evenings, and the smoke settles over neighborhoods. I developed a persistent cough that didn't go away until we left. My husband dealt with constant sinus issues.

The air quality in Canggu and Seminyak gets particularly bad during dry season. You don't see it talked about in the glossy Instagram posts, but it's there. We started checking air quality apps before deciding whether to go out, which felt absurd given we'd moved there partly for the outdoor lifestyle.

4. You're living in a bubble that doesn't represent real Indonesia

The expat areas create this weird alternate reality. Everyone speaks English. The cafes serve avocado toast and specialty coffee. You can get by without learning any Indonesian if you stay in those zones.

But step outside that bubble, and you realize how disconnected expat life is from local culture. The income gap is massive. Your villa rental for a month could be what a local family lives on for six months or more. That disparity sits with you.

I tried to learn Bahasa Indonesia and spent time in areas where fewer tourists went. Those experiences were valuable, but they also highlighted how separate the two worlds are. The rapid influx of digital nomads has created tensions around gentrification and cultural preservation that most visitors never engage with.

5. The social scene gets repetitive and superficial

You meet a lot of people, but most connections stay surface-level. Everyone's transient. Someone you get close to leaves in a month. New people cycle in constantly, and you end up having the same introductory conversations over and over.

The social calendar revolves around beach clubs, sunset drinks, and wellness retreats. That's fun for a while, but it starts feeling hollow when you're looking for deeper friendships. We found ourselves missing the relationships we'd built over years back home, where people knew our history and we knew theirs.

There's also a strange competition that emerges. Who's traveling to the coolest places, who has the best remote job, whose lifestyle looks most enviable online. It gets tiring when you just want genuine connection without the performance.

6. Infrastructure problems make daily life harder than it should be

Power outages happen regularly. Internet drops during important work calls. Roads flood when it rains hard. The villa we rented had beautiful photos online, but the reality included mold issues, inconsistent water pressure, and a landlord who was slow to fix anything.

Getting reliable wifi was a constant challenge. We ended up paying for two different providers and hotspots as backup because my husband's work couldn't afford interruptions. That added cost and complication to what was supposed to be a simpler lifestyle.

Transportation is another headache. Renting a scooter is cheap but dangerous, especially with how chaotic the traffic is. Using ride-sharing apps works, but surge pricing during peak times adds up. We spent more money on transportation than we'd budgeted for.

7. The cost savings aren't as significant as advertised

Yes, you can live cheaply in Bali if you eat local food, rent in less touristy areas, and live like a local. But most expats don't do that. They want the nice villa, the Western food options, the coworking spaces with good wifi.

Once you factor in visa costs, health insurance that actually covers you, regular flights back home, and the higher prices in expat areas, the savings shrink considerably. We found ourselves spending nearly as much as we would have in São Paulo, just on different things.

There's also a hidden cost in constantly replacing things. Electronics die faster in the humidity. Clothes get moldy if you're not careful. You end up buying items you already owned back home because shipping them over doesn't make sense.

8. You can feel stuck between two worlds

The longer we stayed, the more I felt this odd sense of displacement. We weren't tourists, but we also weren't residents in any meaningful way. We couldn't fully participate in local community life, but we'd also stepped away from our life in Brazil.

Important family events happened without us. Friends back home moved on with their lives while we were having our Bali experience. We missed my husband's cousin's wedding and my best friend's baby shower. Those aren't things you get back.

By month seven, I started feeling lonely in a way that had nothing to do with the number of people around me. I missed having roots somewhere. I missed being part of a community where I contributed something beyond tourist dollars.

Final thoughts

I don't regret our time in Bali. We had beautiful experiences, and it taught us a lot about what we actually value in daily life. But I also think the expat experience gets romanticized in ways that set people up for disappointment.

The Instagram version exists, sure. But so does the version where you're dealing with visa stress, missing your family, breathing polluted air, and wondering why you don't feel as free as you thought you would.

If you're considering an extended stay there, go in with realistic expectations. Budget more than you think you'll need. Invest in proper insurance. Learn some of the language. And be honest with yourself about what you're actually looking for, because paradise is complicated when you're trying to live in it.