Heart Broken: Saying Goodbye to Bali After 6 Months and What I Learned - Nomad Notes | EP 33

Ryan reflects on his fourth trip to Bali and why he had to leave...

What started as a plan to find one perfect villa and settle down turned into a journey through multiple locations across the island, each move teaching him something new about what he actually wanted from nomad life.

Ryan opens up about the unexpected places that captured his heart, including a villa that offered stunning beauty but came with a crushing limitation that forced him to leave his dream setup behind.

He shares how Bali has changed since his last visit two years ago, the rising costs that are shifting the nomad landscape, and why one particular area keeps drawing him back despite all the other options available.

Listen and he reveals what 6 months of actual living in paradise really looks like, including the trade-offs between stunning locations and practical necessities that every nomad faces.

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DISCLAIMER:
Listening to stories of beachside zoom calls, mountainside work views, and island-hopping entrepreneurs may cause severe wanderlust and an irresistible urge to turn your laptop into a passport to freedom. Side effects include daydreaming about tropical coworking spaces, working with Ryan to learn how you can start working and traveling and buying a one-way ticket to Bali. Get ready to start living your dream life today!

Transcript

[00:00:00] Ryan Mellon: Hey guys. Welcome to another episode of Digital Nomad Nation, the podcast where I share real stories from life on the road. and today's episode is a personal one because I've just said goodbye to Bali, so it's a little sad. ~Um, ~as you guys may know, I'm a hybrid digital nomad, so what I like to do is be at home six months outta the year.

[00:00:20] Ryan Mellon: As soon as it gets cold, I leave for warmer. Temp climate, it's usually an island somewhere. ~Um, ~a place like Bali or Thailand or Costa Rica. ~And, um, ~so yeah, my time is up to come back home for the summertime and that works out great for my businesses, ~um, ~my personal relationships and family and friends at home.

[00:00:42] Ryan Mellon: ~Um, and. And ~so it's just really great to be back, but it's also a little bit sad to leave Bali. ~So, um, ~I just wanted to give you guys a little recap of how Bali was and kind of expectations versus reality. So after living six months on the island of the gods, I'm back. I'm in Virginia, and honestly, [00:01:00] I'm feeling a little heartbroken.

[00:01:01] Ryan Mellon: I wanted to use this episode to reflect on my time in Bali. Talk about what. Went as expected and what didn't. And share some standout experiences that made this trip Unforgettable. ~Uh, ~this was actually my fourth time in Bali, but the first time I stayed put for a full six months. ~Um, uh, so ~normally I hop around, but this time I had a one year digital nomad visa.

[00:01:23] Ryan Mellon: ~I. ~The E 30 3G, which was super easy to get and gave me freedom to come and go as I pleased. ~Uh, ~so my plan was to settle in one area, get a villa and stay put. But if you know Bali, you know that plans often change. ~Um, ~looking back, I ended up staying in 10 different places over those six months. ~Um, ~part of that was intentional trying to find my spot that, the place that really.

[00:01:46] Ryan Mellon: Stuck out to me. ~Uh, ~and part of that, ~uh, ~moving around was because I had friends visiting from out of the country and I wanted to show them around. So some places that really surprised me, I found myself, ~um, ~really [00:02:00] enjoying Sanur, a quieter beach town with a slower pace. ~Um. ~I also spent some time in Ahmed in a small fishing village, tucked at the base of a volcano with black sand beaches.

[00:02:10] Ryan Mellon: I had the most stunning, ~um, ~hotel room with a huge, ~uh, ~balcony sitting right on the beach with absolutely amazing views. I miss that place tremendously. ~Um, ~but the problem was the internet, it just was not strong enough for me to have the meetings. Do the podcast recordings, do what I needed to do. So I hope, ~hope that ~that improves in the future, and I imagine it will.

[00:02:36] Ryan Mellon: It's a classic Bali trade off. ~Um, ~out of all the places I explored, Lulu Watu is the one place that I kept going back to multiple times during the trip. 'cause as a perfect mix of chill, surfer vibes, dramatic cliffside views, and less chaos if you stay on the southern edge, getting around. it's much easier.

[00:02:56] Ryan Mellon: So in Bali, there's tons of traffic in the central areas [00:03:00] in between where everyone goes, you know, Canggu, Seminyak. ~Um, ~and Nusa Dua are probably the most popular places. So all the tourists are centralized in one place. Traffic's terrible. So the southern part of Uluwatu is, is a little bit of a haven from that.

[00:03:16] Ryan Mellon: And so if I decide to set up long term or go back again next year, ~um, ~to rent and villa or even buy a place as I was looking at some places to buy the last time I was there, I think Uluwatu will be the spot. A few things have changed on the island since I last visited, which was about two years ago. So prices for long-term rentals and real estate, um, have crept up.

[00:03:40] Ryan Mellon: ~Um, ~it's still way more affordable in the us. It's not as cheap as it used to be, but that's said daily life, like food, motorbike, rentals, drinks towards groceries, all super budget friendly. ~Um, ~still very expensive to be there. ~Um, ~other than that, and it's still, ~um. ~Great deal for, ~um, ~one of the most famous [00:04:00] islands in the entire world.

[00:04:01] Ryan Mellon: There's only one Bali in the world. So some of the moments from this trip that I'll never forget, the Sunrise Volcano Jeep Tour and whitewater rafting with friends from Denmark and Germany and just getting to share Bali's ~Ma ~Magic with some friends and family. ~Um. If so, if you wanna hear more about that adventure.~

[00:04:15] Ryan Mellon: I actually did an Nomad notes episode at 27 about that experience, so check that out. ~That was, ~that was one great, ~uh, ~couple days. So now that I'm home, what do I miss the most? ~Um, ~I definitely miss the freedom of hopping on a scooter and riding past rice fields and beaches. You know, I live near the coast in Virginia.

[00:04:31] Ryan Mellon: I live on my sailboat, and I can dinghy from there to quiet beaches, but it's not the same. ~Um, ~the sand, the water, the energy. It's all just different in Bali. ~I, ~I miss the $3 laundry, drop off the $4 healthy meals and not having to cook as much. ~Um, ~I miss the locals, the kindness, the culture. I miss the community of global nomad, global travelers and other digital nomads and creatives that you run into there all the time.

[00:04:58] Ryan Mellon: ~Um. ~Being back is not all [00:05:00] bad though. ~Uh, ~it's a good time to get back and reconnect with friends, family, work on boat projects. Go sailing, go traveling in the boat, ~um, ~and drum roll. Finally finish up my digital nomad course. ~Um, ~it's something that I had planned to be completed in Bali, but it turned out to be a way bigger project and me putting way more time and effort into it and bringing on some other people on the team to just make a very robust nine module deep dive and helping people go from zero to becoming a digital nomad.

[00:05:31] Ryan Mellon: So, ~um. ~That will be coming soon. I'm hoping to finish that up in the next six weeks. So, looking forward to that summer project here in Virginia. So thanks for tuning in and letting me share this chapter with you and I will see you guys on the next one. 

[00:05:47] Ryan Mellon: ~I. ~ [00:06:00]