I’m 54 and moving to Bali with my husband, son and our dog because we can’t afford to retire in Australia. Here’s why you should too

Annette Densham still had salt in her hair from a refreshing morning on the beach when she broke down in tears while on holiday in Bali with her family.

Despite days spent soaking up the sunshine, the mum couldn’t shake the dread of going back home. 

Her heart had been pounding with anxiety as she lounged by the sea, consumed by thoughts of not being able to retire by 65.  

With the flight back home to Australia looming, she pulled her husbane Earl aside. 

‘I feel like I’m just working to pay everyone else – we’re not getting ahead, I don’t want to do this anymore,’ she sobbed in his arms.

The 54-year-old business woman took a deep breath to try and pull herself together when Earl suggested a solution that made her question everything. 

‘Why don’t we move here? It’s much cheaper and you’re so much happier,’ he said. 

The thought was strange coming from Earl who was known for his rational and calculated thinking. 

But the couple were crumbling under financial pressure from a rent increase and feeling burnt by the cost-of-living crisis. 

Their three-bedroom townhouse on the Gold Coast had increased in rent from $500 to $700 per week over the last few years. Bills, petrol, car insurance and groceries had also skyrocketed. 

Faced with the daunting thought of not being able to retire in Australia, they have decided to take a leap, sell their belongings and move to Ubud, in the heart of Bali, in early November. 

Annette and Earl have two sons – Zayde, 23, Qwyn, 20 – who both still live at home due to the rising cost of living. 

Annette has been self-employed for the last 11 years and tends to make between $12,000-$15,000 a month before tax, while Earl worked in hospitality and sales but was made redundant. 

Their youngest son Qwyn works at Dominos – leaving Annette to carry the financial burden for the family.

‘The cost for a family of four adults all under the one roof is astronomical,’ Annette told FEMAIL.

‘We’re taking the opportunity to change our lives and prove it’s never too old for a new adventure.’ 

The rising prices means they haven’t been able to save much, but Annette believes this will all change in Bali, and they’ll be able to save $5,000 every month.

In Australia, Annette was supporting the family-of-four after Earl was made redundant from his sales and hospitality job 

Ubud, in the heart of Bali, is known for its lush beauty and laidback lifestyle

While abroad, Annette, Earl and Zayde will rent a villa with a pool and housekeeper for $350-$400 per week including bills. Qwyn is planning to stay in Australia and live with relatives. 

They’ll be able to eat out more often at restaurants in Bali with some costing as little as $2 per plate. The price to hire a scooter is also cheap costing between $100-$200 per month, and petrol costs $1 per litre. 

They’ll make $30,000 by selling all their belongings, including two cars. But there’s a few items they won’t sell such as their favourite furniture and sentimental items. 

Taking their beloved 11-year-old pooch Georgie to Bali will set them back $2,500. They’ve all applied for the Working Visa Bali Kitas which is issued for two years and costs from $1,300 AUD. 

After having two children in her 30s Annette was a stay-at-home mum and didn’t earn any superannuation while on maternity leave. Over time she’s watched her savings disappear. 

‘Welfare payments aren’t enough to live off of in Australia, you could subsist but I don’t want to. I want to live, experience and explore,’ she said.

‘When I look ahead to when I retire I’m just going to be sitting around knitting scarves at this rate because that’s all I will be able to afford to do if I stayed in Australia.

‘My last power bill was $1,000 for the quarter – I almost gagged. But you choose to be cold or live slightly more comfortably and pay the bill.’ 

The family has also stopped buying little luxuries including lamb chops, ordering UberEats and going out as a family because it’s too expensive.  

‘Every Monday night we’d grab a bowl of soup, pho or Chinese but we stopped because it used to cost $40 for the four of us and now it’s $90,’ Annette said. 

Rather than going on family holidays, the couple bought a campervan to go on road trips on weekends. 

While in Bali, Annette, Earl and Zayde will rent a luxry villa with a pool and housekeeper for $350-$400 per week including bills (pictured on holiday in Bali earlier this year) 

NEW CHALLENGES

While moving to Bali is exciting and will be a new adventure, there are some doubts in their minds.

The biggest point of concern about moving to Bali isn’t the crazy traffic or risk of getting sick, it’s the saturated tourism. 

Earl and Zayde are planning to start their own tourism business but aren’t sure how to stand out in the market.

Not only that but learning to live without a car and rely on a scooter will also be a adjustment that will throw the family out of their comfort zone. 

The language barrier and cultural differences is also playing on Annette’s mind. 

‘Starting a business in a new country is daunting because culturally you need to be accepted by the locals otherwise it won’t work. In Australia we’re understood but in Bali we’re visitors,’ she said. 

‘It’s also a bit scary because we don’t know anyone there and if something happens our family is a seven-hour flight away.’  

After having two children in her 30s Annette was a stay at home mum and didn’t earn any superannuation while on maternity leave. Over time she’s watched her savings disappear (pictured with their oldest son Zayde)  

WORRIED FOR THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA

The mum-of-two is worried her kids will never be able to afford to move out of home and the couple are already struggling financially – another reason they’ve decided to move to Bail. 

‘I think there’s a lot of parents who are probably in the same situation as us, whose finances are strained from supporting our adult children because they can’t afford to live by themselves,’ Annette said. 

‘So many kids are underemployed but not earning enough to get ahead. I’m optimistic and a ‘glass half full’ person, but I look to future and can’t see a way through for us or our kids. It doesn’t look like it’s going to get better.’ 

Earl chimed in: ‘I blame our government’s incompetence in its financial management with our money. I feel like our government has abandoned us in their own mistakes, and we have to pay for it now. I’ve completely lost faith in the Australian political system.’ 

For now the family have ‘no timeline’ of when they plan to return to Australia and said if their plans don’t work out in Bali they’ll try living in Thailand. ‘The world is our oyster and you’re never too old to try something new,’ Annette said

In their younger years the couple tried to get ahead and owned an investment property when they first got together, but when the global financial crisis hit in 2008 they decided to sell and have been renting ever since. 

‘When we started talking about buying a house in the last couple of years, we realised we’re never going to be able to afford to get a mortgage at our age and pay it off,’ Annette said. 

Knowing they were never going to achieve the ‘great Australian dream’ of home ownership was both disappointing and disheartening. 

‘When you rent it’s really not your home because you have inspections four times a year and you can’t make any changes. As we got older we started wondering where we’re going to live,’ she said. 

While the possibility of home ownership is dire in Australia for the couple, they’re strongly considering buying a home in Bali where you can snap up luxury two-bedroom villas for only $260,000.

For now the family have ‘no timeline’ of when they plan to return to Australia and said if their plans don’t work out in Bali they’ll try living in Thailand.

‘The world is our oyster and you’re never too old to try something new,’ Annette said.