Jakarta

[Maila]

Online dating in Asia works only if you are white looking (you needn't to be white). Would like to know how Mr. ENT scores so well in Thai online scene even being a non-white.

Yes, you would be correct. I guess that's not so much different than dating elsewhere 😀 or anything else haha. But we got to play the game with the cards we were dealt.

[KilledSoul]

I decided to try social media, specifically Tinder. Having no luck on that thing. What puzzles me is that these women either don't talk or if they do, it's in one syllable. You ask them a small question as a conversation starter and I just get a "why" or something. I guess these are not all working women, otherwise, one could just ask for their rate directly.

These tinder matches just go nowhere for me. Not liking it.

I also understand other people would have a different experience based on their background / demographics.

Online dating in Asia works only if you are white looking (you needn't to be white). Would like to know how Mr. ENT scores so well in Thai online scene even being a non-white.

[Thampi62]

LOL! Good luck. You obviously have never been caught up in one of those raids and have no clue what happens when those cops arrive.

So it will be better to stay in my hotels Classic and be Fashion for action during my first visit in Jakarta and buy some GFE from CJ and BATS. So sad. But I can try some window shopping in Kotah Indah and Kelapa Garding along with. LOL.

[Thampi62]

Well, the Indonesian government has already announced that it's building a new capital city on a different island.

President announced a 10 year plan to transfer all government offices to the new proposed capital city in Islands of Borneo at the area of East Kalimantan. Is that the reason for all these raids? Shifting the action places in Kotah Indah and followed by other places first to the proposed capital followed by government offices. Then it will be easy to shift the mongers. LOL.

[Maila]

That just means buying at higher ground location, no? Maybe my inland property will one day become oceanfront and be worth more. =).

Well, the Indonesian government has already announced that it's building a new capital city on a different island.

[Smoothy]

In case you weren't aware, Jakarta is the fastest sinking city in the world and expected to be underwater by 2050. Works out perfectly with the 30 year contract!

Bangkok is the other scary SEA city to invest in as it will be sitting below sea level by 2030!

Supposedly they are moving the capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan.

[BJtemp]

In case you weren't aware, Jakarta is the fastest sinking city in the world and expected to be underwater by 2050. Works out perfectly with the 30 year contract!

Bangkok is the other scary SEA city to invest in as it will be sitting below sea level by 2030!

That just means buying at higher ground location, no? Maybe my inland property will one day become oceanfront and be worth more.

[Banana Boi]

For personal use, a property in Jakarta can be made as nice as I want and bypass all that hotel checking stuff. As an investment, Jakarta is one of the most potential in all Asia. And the price is very low (USD10-15 per sqft) so downside is minimal. My agent says those ruined homes are worth just USD20 K. I see buying in Jakarta as pure win situation.

In case you weren't aware, Jakarta is the fastest sinking city in the world and expected to be underwater by 2050. Works out perfectly with the 30 year contract!

Bangkok is the other scary SEA city to invest in as it will be sitting below sea level by 2030!

[Smoothy]

And the price is very low (USD10-15 per sqft) so downside is minimal.

I am curious where that is. Doesn't sound like Jakarta. My apartment building in Jakarta sells for USD 140 per sq ft, and it's nothing special. I would even call it down market.

[BJtemp]

I meant USD10-15 per sqft to build, based on my research.

[BJtemp]

Are you an Indonesian citizen? If not, buying property in Indonesia is not easy. If you do buy something, I would be curious of the details. As far as I know, the best you can do "buying" a place is get a 30 year contract then lose the place after that. The properties I bought in Indonesia are not in my name, I had to get an Indonesian to buy them for me.

For personal use, a property in Jakarta can be made as nice as I want and bypass all that hotel checking stuff. As an investment, Jakarta is one of the most potential in all Asia. And the price is very low (USD10-15 per sqft) so downside is minimal. My agent says those ruined homes are worth just USD20 K. I see buying in Jakarta as pure win situation.

The major drawback of Jakarta for me is food. Local food looks unappetizing to put in mildly. While there I survive on mostly on western fast food. KFC, Domino's, Pizza Hut. Even at KFC they don't do chicken quite right, but at least eatable. Jonisteak's Wagyu steak is good, although I don't think any the meat they give you is the cut shown in menu.

The land title restriction is a show-stopping problem. I have no one to do this for me, and am still studying the strata title law. Can I have someone own the land, and enter a 9999 year lease for 0 dollars? Can I park the land title with the government? I feel I can trust the govt more than an individual, because logically the spirit of the law is to prevent foreigners from controlling the land, not that government is intending to rip off foreigners. I hope to go into the Land Use department to see if any such arrangement is possible. Will also need to talk to a lawyer.

Overall I just think Indonesia needs to bring in foreign investment and foreigners if they want to modernize. People think of colonial times and think foreigners coming in is a bad thing; it really isn't. Singapore is so rich today mainly because it modernized, and dare I say, westernized. China has done the same thing. So what if foreigners make some money in the process? Foreign investment creates tremendous wealth for the country and its people; everyone wins.

[Smoothy]

Truth of the matter is I like Jakarta and will go on a monthly basis. Am contemplating buying a little place there.

Are you an Indonesian citizen? If not, buying property in Indonesia is not easy. If you do buy something, I would be curious of the details. As far as I know, the best you can do "buying" a place is get a 30 year contract then lose the place after that. The properties I bought in Indonesia are not in my name, I had to get an Indonesian to buy them for me.

[Sean EZ]

Truth of the matter is I like Jakarta and will go on a monthly basis. Am contemplating buying a little place there.

To be honest I am not buying this whole government wants to get rid of tourism thing. Look at Bali, the way the place has improved over the years is incredible, so many beautiful hotels, bars, places, clubs, even the roads are good, I've met so many Europeans and Americans who moved there and working remotely, etc etc. You never know what is going to happen in Jakarta but if things continue to develop as they have been real estate should continue to go up in value.

[BJtemp]

Where do you live? I used to think same thing when entering NJ from Manhattan and it went on for miles, worse than Jakarta in my opinion. But it is much worse in India than anywhere else I've seen.

Are you there for pussy or sightseeing? If sightseeing Central and South Jakarta are cleaner and generally more developed than Kota Mangga Dua area of the North.

I am no fan of New Jersey but Jakarta is in a class of its own. There are just so many old and ruined homes, with debris sitting onsite seemingly for a long time and weeds growing wild, all happening in city's center.

I usually stay at Classic, or Red Planet, or this time at Heef. All around Pasar Baru. I'm there for pussy but one can only do it so many times a day. You got to do some other tourist stuff.

Truth of the matter is I like Jakarta and will go on a monthly basis. Am contemplating buying a little place there.

[Sean EZ]

I just returned from Jakarta; am preparing my report. Mainly dealing with pictures, which takes a a bit longer to sort through. But I want to raise a separate question first.

As I travel through the city, I saw one shitty neighborhood after another. At many spots right at the center of the the city, even next to the museums and govt buildings, there are building ruins. I have not seen one true "nice area" in Jakarta, and decent-condition buildings are few and far in between. I went to Mangga Dua mall; inside the mall is OK, just outside the mall... shitty.

The sewage gutters are mostly clogged by garbage. The area around Classic is pretty old and run-down as well. It flooded after the new year eve rain.

Why is the city so run-down?! Where are the nice areas in Jakarta (if they exist)?

Where do you live? I used to think same thing when entering NJ from Manhattan and it went on for miles, worse than Jakarta in my opinion. But it is much worse in India than anywhere else I've seen.

Are you there for pussy or sightseeing? If sightseeing Central and South Jakarta are cleaner and generally more developed than Kota Mangga Dua area of the North.