19 April 2009

Jakarta - 2nd Worst Place For Expats?

I read in Jakartapost last week on a piece of news which ranked Jakarta as "the 2nd worst place for expatriates to work in outside of the United States, Canada and Westren Europe..".

The report which was published by Businessweek, was compiled by one NY-based HRC company, ORC.

The report cites "threat of violence from extremists, in particular was a serious drawback to living in Jakarta". ORC took into account the following factors - level of pollution, disease, political violence and availability of goods and services.

I surely like to know the methodology of survey (if there's any conducted) to arrive to the findings on Jakarta.

To be ranked 2nd worst must mean only one thing - the expats who took part in the survey (again, if there's any) must have lived in a squatter on the banks of Ciliwung.

That's why, my response to the report is - it is pure BULLSHIT.

Pollution? Yes, Jakarta is polluted but I believe Beijing fares much worse.

Disease? Apart from the occasional flu, I haven't had anything serious. Medical services is easily accessible. So much easier than in the UK, no thanks to the NHS. Believe me, I've experienced it.

Political violence? A zillion times safer than Bangkok.

Availability of goods and services? So much better than Phnom Penh, which I called home for almost a year.

Crime rate? I've not heard any of my expat friends being mugged. But I have plenty of horrible stories of friends being robbed in London.

Yes. There are some drawbacks living in Jakarta. There are times when you'd get utterly frustrated. But after time, you'd adapt. None of the drawbacks are major life threatening issues.


Jakarta is not perfect. So are Kuala Lumpur and many other cities. When you live in a foreign place, one must learn to adjust. Learn to accept how things work and understand their culture.

If you want everything to be as what you are used to, then just stay put where you are and don't ever leave. And you'd miss out on learning a whole new great experience which no book could ever come close to give you.

9 comments:

PNS said...

Thanks gadhogadho.we need more expats like you. U always criticize services in Indo,tp masih masuk akal dan emang bener.but u also mention things that u like in indo jadinya balance. I think you deserve to be crowned as Ratu Adil in expats beauty pageant.

nisa said...

ah, satu lagi!
banyak puan2 cantik di jakarta lho!
setuju kah azuan??

hihihi..

gadhogadho said...

Roid - apa? gue Ratu Adil?? *menangis memegang sejambak bunga lalu memberikan lambaian ratu sambil mengesot dalam kebaya yg di sponsori toko di tanah abang*.. kayak tulisan lho banget ya??

yup.. gw sering kritik tp regardless of where i am.. i'd always criticise..

Nisa - setuju!!!!! yg jual pulsa di PIM 1 aja lebih cantik dari finalis Miss Malaysia.. hehehe

MBI said...

Owing to the dysfunctional authorities (lack of or insufficient public and free amenities such as parks, libraries, transport, medical services and so on) Jakarta is a great great place if you have money, but can be the most miserable if you don't. Expatriates presumably are on far better remuneration package than the locals, so they should be able to live very well. And the cewek2, as nisa says, are gorgeous - not included in the survey?

thelaughinggas said...

org putih mmg selalu over buat news...especially when they are reporting abt asia countries. They will alwalys look down on us and sadly we always look up on them. Sialanz kan??? Konon le depa tu civilised nak mampos.

watever it is...i've never had any bad experience in jkt...:D

ni aku pun nak tambah lagi satu fact...bukan ceweknya je yg cantik...cowoknya pun meleleh2 ayor lior meq menikmati keindahan ropabentuk mukabuminya yang tak menyakitkan mata meq...:P

panji said...

hmm, such a subjective news, and i think, just like what you said, there are plenty of city all over the world that more worst than jakarta, depends on our point of view

nice blog anyway, salam kenal

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