Cost of Living as a Digital Nomad in Kuta, Lombok
This breakdown is the first I’ve written where we’ve spent six months in one place. We’re leaning further into the slow travel mindset the longer we travel. This is our total spending for the six months, averaged for a single month.
We chose Lombok as the perfect place for us to slow right down. It’s got a mix of energy and things to do alongside a slow pace of life.
This is a breakdown of costs for the two of us, so if you’re a solo traveller some of these you could halve (dining out, groceries) but some you’ll need to keep as is (rent). You can see the rest of our Cost of Living series here. Let us know in the comments if this stacks up against how much you think it would cost.
Dining Out
We spend a lot of money on food. We eat out for lunch and dinner. We also usually go for breakfast once a week and coffee several times.
One of the best things about Kuta, Lombok is the amazing food. There are wonderful warungs serving cheap, tasty local food and a wide range of non-Indonesian places serving anything you desire. Not to mention all the amazing coffee shops.
We could spend less here, but going out for these meals is an absolute joy.
Nohi has one of my most favourite breakfasts
Spending Money
As our income has grown, we’ve set aside more money for fun activities!
We include alcohol, fitness (surfing, yoga, gym), self-care (massages, facials), donations and clothing in our spending money.
Some of this is much cheaper in Lombok than in Western countries, but the prices are rising and you can’t expect bargains. Inflation and rising costs are apparent all across the globe, although we benefit from some geo-arbitrage.
One of the beautiful yoga spaces in Kuta, Lombok
Rent
Rent is usually our most significant monthly expense. However, we made a big move this month, which changed the game for us. We invested in a property here in Lombok.
So, for the first three months we were here, we spent an average of $642 monthly. This gave us a two-bedroom house in Kuta. We didn’t have a pool and were across the road from the mosque. But the house was large and had two bedrooms, making it really comfortable to work from.
We invested with Mewali Property and are so happy with our place. It’s a two-bedroom, with a pool located just on the edge of Kuta. If you have any questions about this process, we’ll share more.
Our home in Mewali Pasar, Kuta
Groceries
For us, groceries are coffee, breakfast, and snacks. Some are cheap - we buy lots of fresh fruit from the market opposite our house. But some are more expensive where we value quality - we buy locally roasted coffee beans.
Visa
Over these six months, we had two different types of visas. One was the standard 30-day Tourist Visa, which you can get on arrival or online before arriving. Both of these are extendable by another 30 days.
We also had the B213A Visa, now called the C1 visa. This is 60 days and extendable for another 60 days, twice (so, valid for six months).
We switched visas as the C1 visa is a single entry, so it can be restrictive if you need to leave. However, it’s easy to manage and great not to have to leave for a full six months.
With views like this, you’ll want to stay as long as possible
Medical
We’ve started this as a fairly new inclusion in our budget. But there are always little things (painkillers) that come up. And then there are the big things. This includes a couple of fillings that we needed to get done.
We used to just take this money out of savings, but our approach now is to include as much in our monthly budget as possible. This means we’re saving up for the big one-off expenses and not relying on our savings account as much.
Transport
As we knew we would be in Lombok for six months, we decided to invest in a bike. At $700, this was a much better deal than hiring by the week or month.
So this figure includes all our petrol, parking and a few airport transfers. The airport costs are something we usually forget to budget for when planning for a trip, but they can add up!
The joy of your own wheels
Utilities
We’ve paid monthly power charges at all our homes over the six months. This usually includes running at least one air-conditioning unit whenever we’re at home. We also paid to upgrade our home wifi to a faster speed to make video calls more reliable.
Subscriptions, Bank Fees, Cell Service, Insurance
In the last bucket, I’ve grouped a few random costs that are mostly unavoidable and a part of life.
Cell service is super cheap in Indonesia. If visiting for a short time, consider getting an eSIM. Otherwise, pick up a SIM card and credit from a local shop in town (avoid the airport if possible).
Final Note
Our spending in Lombok has slightly increased compared to what we spent in Bali. But I think this is partly because it is a more accurate representation, with things like our medical costs included. We’ve also increased our spending money to enjoy life a bit more now!
I hope this breakdown helps anyone considering spending time in Southeast Asia understand the costs. If you’re already here, I’d love to know how this compares to what you spend. Let me know in the comments below.
