Starting Over in Bali After 55 — Real Guides. Honest Advice.

Starting Over in Bali
After 55

Practical guides. Real numbers. No theory.

PDF guides written by someone who moved to Ubud at 59 and is still living between Brussels and Bali at 67. Real numbers, named places, honest conclusions. Not theory — lived experience, written down.

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8+Years in Bali
1Guide live now
19More coming
€19Per guide
ChatGPT got you here. Good.

ChatGPT is an excellent first step.
These guides are what comes after it.

You’ve done your research. You know the basics. Now you need numbers and conclusions from someone who has actually lived it — not averaged from forums, not generated by AI.

  • ChatGPT gives you information. These guides give you 8 years of receipts from Ubud.
  • Real costs, named places, three budget levels — not rounded averages from a forum.
  • Written by someone who has lived the decisions, not researched them.
  • No upsell, no consultation funnel. Just the guide.
  • 20 guides planned. One live now. More every month.
Jalan Sri Wedari Ubud on Nyepi day empty street
Jalan Sri Wedari · Nyepi · The day Bali disappears
Balinese Hindu ceremony women traditional dress Ubud
The honest question

What’s actually
stopping you?

Most people who find this page have already done the research. They know what Bali costs in theory. They’ve read the blogs, asked the AI, watched the YouTube videos. And they still have a knot in their stomach. Usually it’s one of these.

“My partner isn’t ready yet.”

She still has 10 years before pension. He doesn’t want to leave the grandchildren. You’re stuck between what you want and what feels possible. The guides are written for exactly this kind of in-between.

“I heard Indonesia is Muslim.”

Bali is 93% Hindu. The temples, the offerings, the ceremonies — it is one of the most distinct cultural islands on earth. This misconception has stopped more people than any practical obstacle.

“What if something goes wrong?”

Healthcare costs, clinics, hospitals — these are real fears that deserve real numbers, not reassurance. The Cost of Living guide covers healthcare costs in full.

“I can’t afford it.”

A comfortable life in Ubud starts at €1,500/month. The full breakdown is in the guide →

“Am I too old for this?”

The question answers itself. You’re reading this page. The people who are too old for this are the ones who stopped asking.

“I don’t know where to start.”

Start with the cost of living guide. Real numbers, three budget levels, no rounding. Read it here →

PDF Guides

20 guides.
One live now.

Tegalalang rice terrace restaurant Ubud Bali
★ Available now
Cost of Living in Bali 2026 — What Europeans Actually Pay

Real numbers from someone living in Ubud on a European income. Three budget levels, named places, no rounding. Updated May 2026.

  • Three lifestyle tiers — budget, comfortable, premium
  • Housing, food, transport, health, flights
  • The 16% tax trap nobody warns you about
  • Bali International Hospital — current costs
€19 · instant PDF Read More →
Coming next
Where to Live in Bali — Ubud vs Canggu vs Seminyak vs Sanur

Each area has a completely different rhythm, cost, and crowd. The wrong choice ruins the first year. Written from 8 years of living in Ubud and watching others land in the wrong place.

  • Ubud — who it suits and who it doesn’t
  • Canggu, Seminyak, Sanur — honest profiles
  • Cost differences between areas
  • Where Europeans over 55 actually end up staying
€19 · coming soon
Jean-Pierre Bobbaers book cover The Essential Guide to Becoming a Digital Nomad in Bali
Book · Amazon · Kindle & Paperback
The Essential Guide to Becoming a Digital Nomad in Bali

149 pages. Daily life, all regions, real costs, practical detail. Kindle and paperback.

Buy on Amazon →
Life in Bali

Why people come.
Why they stay is a different story.

The temples, the rice terraces, the ceremonies — they are real. So is the traffic, the heat, the crowded streets of Kuta. Knowing which parts matter to you is what the guides are for.

Balinese family temple compound Ubud Bali
Family compound · Ubud
Tegalalang rice terraces Ubud Bali
Tegalalang · Rice terraces
Balinese woman weaving palm leaf offerings Ubud
Daily offerings · Hindu Bali
Balinese ceremony women traditional dress Ubud
Ceremony · Ubud Bali
Who is JP

The person who
wrote the guides.

Jean-Pierre Bobbaers Tegalalang Ubud Bali
Jean-Pierre Bobbaers · Tegalalang · Ubud, Bali

I’m JP — Belgian, born in 1958. In 2017, at 59, I got stranded in Guangzhou on my way to Bali. Three days later the island let me in — and I never really left. I’m 67 now. I’m still here. This is not theory.

Living between Brussels and Ubud since 2017
Published author — Essential Guide to Digital Nomad Life in Bali (2024)
8 years based in Ubud
Fluent in Dutch, French, English and German
“I did this at 59. I’m still here at 67. Everything in these guides comes from inside a life I’ve already built.”
Follow on X · @jpbobbaers
The arrival

Stranded in China.
Found in Bali.

“I boarded the plane in Amsterdam without the slightest sense that anything unusual was waiting for me.”

In 2017 I flew Amsterdam to Guangzhou to Bali. The airport in China pulled me out of the immigration line without explanation. Three days in a hotel without a visa, without information, with a bartender who took me to see fake Apple stores in the rain.

When I finally landed in Ubud at 1am, a dog greeted the taxi and someone appeared out of the dark to show me to my room. Something shifted that night that hasn’t shifted back.

Eight years later I’m 67 and still here. The guides exist because what the official sources get wrong matters — and rounded averages from forums are not good enough for a decision this size.

Jalan Sri Wedari Ubud Nyepi empty street

“This is Jalan Sri Wedari on Nyepi — the one day a year Bali shuts down completely. No cars, no people, no noise. The entire island goes silent for 24 hours.”

Ubud · Bali
Follow from Ubud

Real updates.
No filter. No clichés.

What it actually costs, what actually works, what nobody else tells you. From Ubud, in real time.

@jpbobbaers Follow on X →