Every August 17, the island I call home turns red and white. Flags line the streets from Canggu to Sanur, children rehearse marching routines for weeks, and entire villages gather for games, ceremonies and shared meals. This year Indonesia celebrates 81 years of independence — and I want to write down something I believe more strongly with every year I live and work here.
We are guests who were welcomed in
Most of my clients are foreigners buying property in Bali. I am a foreigner here myself. And I think the single healthiest mindset an international buyer — or any expat — can adopt is this: we are guests who were welcomed in.
Indonesia did not have to open its property market to the world. It chose to — carefully, on its own terms, with rules that protect its land and its people. Leasehold structures, Hak Pakai, PT PMA: these aren't bureaucratic obstacles designed to frustrate you. They are the terms of the welcome. A country that fought for its sovereignty 81 years ago has every right to decide how its land is shared.
Admiration is not a courtesy — it's a strategy
Here is what I've noticed after years on the developer side: the happiest foreign owners in Bali are, almost without exception, the ones who genuinely admire Indonesia. Not as a backdrop for their villa photos — as a country.
They learn a few words of Bahasa. They know why offerings appear on their doorstep each morning. They understand that the village banjar is not an inconvenience but the oldest form of community governance on the island. And when it comes to their purchase, that same respect shows up as compliance: proper titles, proper zoning, proper taxes, proper licenses.
The buyers who treat Indonesia as a loophole to be exploited — nominee schemes, unlicensed rentals, "everyone does it here" — are, almost without exception, the ones who end up in disputes. I don't think that's a coincidence. Respect and due diligence are the same habit wearing different clothes.
What this island gives back
Bali gives extraordinarily much to those of us who came from elsewhere: a home, a livelihood, a pace of life most of the world envies, and a community that absorbs newcomers with a patience I've rarely seen anywhere else. Six million international arrivals a year, and the island still finds room to be gracious.
The least we can give back is to build here the way the country asks us to — legally, transparently, and with gratitude. That's how I try to work every day, and it's the standard I hold every project and every deal to.
Dirgahayu Republik Indonesia
So today, no market analysis and no buying advice. Just this: happy 81st Independence Day to Indonesia — the country that lets people from every corner of the world call this island home.
Merdeka! 🇮🇩