FendersonSwaney744
Because the late 1960's Jakarta is growing into a megacity that has been "temporary" home to thousands of expatriates from all over the World. One of the city's most famous expatriate "kids" Barack Obama spent part of the childhood in Jakarta.
In addition to a long history of being "home" to many nonIndonesians. bar jakarta is a city of contrasts and to many a scary mega city which has a larger inhabitants than many countries inside Europe and states in the USA. But this has created a 21st century mega city firmly influenced by a mixture of ethnics.
Expatriates in Jakarta today have an easier time than it than expatriates of last night. The city has adopted numerous "westernized" traits such as megamalls fast food outlets and suburbia. You can shop at Carrefour drink coffee at Starbucks and eat any type of meals often at reasonable prices compared to home.
Depending on your contract and the area you live within. Expatriates on the "high end" live in an ultra modern day affordable and "westernized" lifestyle. There may not be that much difference between suburbia in the West including Indonesia to many of these expatriates.
Many expatriates prefer to reside beyond the "high end" westernized suburbs like Kemang in South Jakarta. At times because of convenience given the simple fact traveling across Jakarta could take as long as a flight to Singapore or even Shanghai according to the traffic.
So most natives and expatriates prefer to dwell close to where they do the job rather than live in "ghettos" similar to Kemang. This means you experience the "real" Jakarta the city connected with contrasts were traditional kampungs. intermix with Fast food outlets Malls and roadside street food stalls.
And not all of expatriate jobs are the properly paid Corporate Management or even Consultant jobs that make existence affordable in Kemang or maybe other exclusive suburbs inside City another reason why quite a few expatriates live in "normal" Indonesianstyle suburbs or kampungs.
One of many secrets of adjusting to lifestyle in Jakarta is to turn into Indonesianized. " This helps using business and work exactly where just because something resembles "back home" it does not mean these have the same. attitudes manners and also tastes differ from person to person and Indonesians have a history of taking an idea and then developing something uniquely Indonesian from it.
Learn the local language get acquainted with the local food and explore interests outside the closed in high end and surrounding suburbs and you discover a very special and thought provoking Metropolis that will live in your recollection even if you are passing through.
