Could You Start Over Abroad? The Expat Life That Inspired My Novella
My novella Change of Lifestyle is about Gabe Shaw, who moves to the other side of the world after a personal and public betrayal. Eventually, the woman who betrayed him follows because she wants him back.
But does he want her back?
Change of Lifestyle is inspired by my experiences living in Indonesia between 2016 and 2020. With my family, I lived for a while on a compound similar to the one where Gabe stays.
Pros and Cons of living in indonesia for Families Moving Abroad
Jakarta is a fascinating city, full of all the pros and cons that are described in Change of Lifestyle. Living there gave my family opportunities they might never have had. In various extra-curricular activities, our children travelled to the most amazing locations, from jungle-topped hills to tropical islands to the top of volcanos. As a family, we went to Bali, Lombok and Yogyakarta, and also were able to travel to Australia, Hong Kong, Laos, Singapore and Malaysia, all of which we would never have been able to do in the same four years if we’d lived in the UK.
We learnt all sorts – about Indonesian independence (Merdeka), the reason why the cats have mutated tails, the methods being considered to combat the fact that, slowly, Jakarta is sinking. We experienced the most extreme rainfall you can imagine, an earthquake, and we even adopted two tiny kittens. Nutmeg is named after the Indonesian spice and Bertie after a famous Indonesian fitness instructor.
Earthquakes, Mosquitoes and Traffic Jams
As mentioned in Change of Lifestyle, Jakarta has issues that make it a challenging city for expats. The mosquitoes are ever-present, and sometimes carry dengue fever. In my first few months, my boss told me that I’d probably catch dengue at some point. Somehow, I never did, even though I have the type of blood that mosquitoes seem to love!
In the story, Gabe experiences an earthquake, in much the same way I did, although my experience came when I was teaching. I bent to insert a USB drive into my computer and when I sat up, I thought I was having a dizzy spell. I wasn’t – the walls were genuinely shaking.
Gabe also discovers that Jakarta’s traffic is appalling. I’ve lived in Cairo, which is notoriously bad for congestion, but I think Jakarta was worse. The cars all seem too large for the roads, and motorbikes are everywhere. And don’t get me started on the air quality. In the second house we lived in, we had air purifiers in every room.
Would I Live in Indonesia Again?
For all those issues, if I had the choice again, to live in Jakarta or not, I’d still go there. We went up Mount Merapi, for goodness sake! We were able to have the most amazing holidays, visiting Bali several times as well as Laos, Perth, Malaysia and Singapore.
Besides, if we hadn’t gone, we wouldn’t have Bertie and Nutmeg.
Change of Lifestyle
If you’ve ever thought about packing it up and starting afresh, you’ll recognise yourself in Gabe’s story as he adapts to living in Indonesia. You can find Change of Lifestyle on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.
Further Reading
What’s wrong with Indonesian cats tails?
Links
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