In an intimate conversation, we sit down with a family who made the bold decision to leave their established lives in San Diego behind to embark on a new adventure in Bali. What began as a persistent whisper—”There has to be a better way to live”—eventually transformed into a cross-continental move for this family of five.
Having relocated from San Diego in June 2024, they share their journey of transitioning from the fast-paced American lifestyle to the more balanced rhythm of Balinese living. From navigating new parenting challenges to finding unexpected community at Green School Bali, their story offers valuable insights for others considering a similar leap. As they approach their one-year anniversary on the island, they reflect on the rewards, surprises, and everyday realities of creating a new home in paradise.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where are you originally from?
I grew up in Colorado and Texas. Blake is originally from Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Before Bali, San Diego, CA was our home for 14 years.
When did you first arrive in Bali, and how long do you wish to live here?
We first arrived in June of 2024. We are taking it year by year at the moment, but we intend on staying for the 2025/2026 school year.
What motivated you to move to Bali, and how did you go about making the decision to do so?
We get this question a lot and I think we answer it with varied versions of the same answer. The answer I feel most aligned with is that Momma Bali called us to her. We had a beautiful life in San Diego. We both had jobs that we loved and community that we had built and connected to for over a decade. Life was good, but we were always so busy. It just felt like we hardly ever slowed down. I kept saying, “There has to be a better way to live.” That became my inquiry. “This is good. I am grateful, but is there a better way to live? If so, where would it be?” Blake had become aware of the Green School during a military deployment back in 2013. We were intrigued and talked about the possibility of moving to Bali. When the world shut down in 2020, we were regretful that we didn’t mobilise sooner and decided to revisit a move to Bali as soon as everything opened back up.
How did you hear about Our Year in Bali, and what was your experience with Simone’s support?
Once we made the decision to move, I devoured every possible piece of information I could on Bali. I watched YouTube, listened to podcasts and read books. I loved a podcast called Bali Insiders. Simone was a guest on the pod. Immediately after listening, I contacted her for our first consult.
I cannot say enough about how wonderful Simone’s support has been. Not only did she hand hold us through the entire process, but she introduced us to other expats living in the U.S. with similar move dates to ours before we left. She became a future expat matchmaker. The families that she connected us to have subsequently become some of our best friends and completely enriched our whole Bali experience. Additionally, Simone helped to connect me with school admissions when I was at a loss in making a tough decision about enrolment. Without her connections, our admissions experience would not have been the same. As an added bonus, I gained the loveliest friend in school’s admissions office who I’m so grateful to know.
Where in Bali do you live? Describe the neighbourhood, community, etc.
We just relocated to Penestanan from Pererenan. Blake really wanted to try beach life first, so we did. We really enjoyed being near the beach, but found the excessive garbage burning and constant busy traffic scene to be wearing.
We absolutely love Penestanan. It’s just outside of Ubud and has a beautiful village feel with a nice blend of Balinese and expats. I love being surrounded by lush jungle and rice paddies. The EcoVillage is around the corner from us. When we moved in, we had a literal built in village of friends. It has been like stepping into a beautiful dream. In the mornings, we walk our kids to the Biobus stop. After we send them off, many of the parents gather at a local coffee shop to have tea and coffee together and to connect. This is it! It’s the answer to my inquiry about whether there was a better way to live. In contrast, In San Diego, I used to race to get the kids out of the house in time to load everyone in the car with shoes on (shoes – the mark of a successful morning). Then, I’d sit in traffic for 30 minutes or more before finally dropping them at school.
Our current reality is just so much different, so much better! And, if the kids forget their shoes, it doesn’t really matter. Many of the classrooms require shoes off anyway! Penestanan has all the convenience of the busier parts of the island, but it boasts natural beauty at every turn, great restaurants, yoga offerings and a magical, spiritual vibe. We feel at home.
As a family, how has the transition been, and what benefits do you think Bali will provide the family?
The transition was really fairly smooth. We were fortunate enough to have all of our kids in full agreement that they wanted to move to Bali for a new adventure, new school and way of life. Bali has been really good for our family. The island life has given us an opportunity to slow down and spend more time together. I am a lot less busy, and therefore, less stressed. I feel like my family gets me with a full tank now whereas before, they only got what was left. We have had some incredible adventures around the island. We’ve been able to explore, travel, eat and celebrate easily and often. In Bali, we feel held. Back in San Diego, I felt that I needed to hold everything. The difference is life-changing.
You are sending your three children to the Green School; how has school life been in Bali so far? Please share!
Green School was a dream school for us for many years. Ever since learing about it, I envisioned our kids there. Once we were enrolled, I was a bit concerned that the dream wouldn’t live up to the reality. I’m so grateful to say that it has exceeded even our dreamiest of expectations. All of our kids are thriving in their respective grades. They’ve had to navigate some hard things throughout the year, but they would have to do that at any school they attend anywhere. The school isn’t perfect, but I can’t imagine any place we’d rather be. We love the living, breathing nature of the Green School. It really feels like a campus in nature is the way all schools should be. One of the most impressive and surprising aspects has been the school community that we have become part of. We have made so many wonderful friends in such a short period of time. We’ve found that it takes a unique profile of family to decide to leave everything to move to Bali, so we’ve found that we already have that in common when we meet other parents and kids. Instant foundation upon which to build a friendship. We didn’t realise that we were craving this kind of community until we had it.
How has the cost of living compared to back in the States? What are you able to afford that you wouldn’t normally, for example?
School and housing are our highest expenses in Bali. Everything else is massively reduced compared with what we were spending to live in San Diego. I am on my way back from California for a work trip now and I was sticker shocked when I went to fill my gas tank at $100+ after only 5 days of running short distance errands. I think the most notable difference is that we used to spend a lot of money on things that didn’t really enhance or enrich our lives. The gas is a great example of that. The value for the money spent in Bali is in stark contrast to San Diego. We can work less and enjoy more.
How has living in Bali influenced your personal and professional life, and what opportunities have you found here?
Bali has definitely brought balance to our work and personal lives. That balance was so lopsided back in California. My client load was so heavy that I didn’t feel that I could keep going at that pace while remaining healthy. One of the draws to Bali was to explore healing modalities for healers to avoid burnout, illness and imbalance. I had to pause in-person client sessions, but I still work successfully with them via Zoom. I feel much healthier, more grounded and able to hold space more effectively for my clients. I have found a lot of people here whose philosophical operating systems are similar to ours. Many have experience in healing fields, so finding ways to collaborate has been fun and exciting.
Blake is a former military pilot who stepped into his true calling as an artist back in 2016. Bali has activated his creativity in a huge way. He has launched a podcast and a clothing company in the eight months that we’ve been here.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced?
One of the biggest surprises to me was the adjustment to parenting teens in Bali. In the U.S., for example, teens who don’t drive, need a parent to shuttle them around. They are not allowed to buy alcohol, cigarettes, get into clubs or see R-rated movies. In Bali, teens can easily get around the island on their own with the help of apps like Grab or Gojek. They are also able to rent scooters and motorbikes (legal age to ride is 17, but some shops will rent them underage for cash). IDs are not checked in convenience stores, theaters and most clubs. So…we had a crash course in setting many new boundaries and rules for our 15-year-old when we arrived in an effort to keep him safe. There are no accessible drugs and that is a really nice benefit (one less thing to worry about), but the other possible pit falls are worth noting. I wish I would have known this in advance just to mentally prepare prior to coming. This was one of those things that was not in the brochure!
Of note also are the super lice. I know, it’s so gross! They are a constant challenge and also were not listed in the Bali “Live the dream” brochures. If you have school aged kids, I’d highly recommend bringing some lice treatment with you when you come. Unfortunately, you’ll need it at some point. We found Ivermectin lotion (not sold in Bali) to be the most effective so far.
The other challenge has just been adjusting to a totally different way of life. We were used to Amazon, Target and Costco. In Bali, convenience shopping isn’t really a thing. After a while, everything feels easy because you end up finding stores and resources, but at first, it’s challenging to know how to find what you need. I don’t miss the big box stores at all. In fact, that was something we were eager to get away from, but it is an adjustment.
What are your favourite things to do in Bali? Any new hobbies and interests?
This one is hard. I love it all. Since moving to Penestanan, we love going on walks along the rice fields and rivers. I’m starting to love riding my scooter to yoga and lunch. We’ve also really enjoyed the sound healings and visiting different Balinese healers to get a deeper understanding of Eastern healing modalities. I’m looking forward to taking up pottery and Blake is getting into silversmithing. We’ve really enjoyed the process of fabric shopping and going to the tailor to have clothing made. It’s creative and useful.
What is a day in a life?
We are awake on weekday mornings at 6:30 AM to get the kids up and ready for school. If we have food in the fridge, we make breakfast. If not (that’s more often than we’d like to admit because our fridge is so tiny) we walk with them to a local cafe and they buy something to eat before loading onto the biobus. Afterwards, we sit with other Green School parents and people in the community to have coffee or tea and a chat. By 8:30 or so, we head back to our villa. I see clients online until about 1:00pm and Blake works remotely. Around 1:00pm, we hop on the scooter together and go to lunch for a couple of hours. This is one of our favorite things to do. It’s still such a novel thing to be able to spend time together in the middle of a workday. Afterwards, we might run errands, go to yoga or go our separate ways to get workouts in. By 4/4:30 the kids are back from the bus and we’re off to after school activities. That might be Muay Thai, basketball, circus or gymnastics depending on the day.
Bali has endless after school activity offerings. By 6:30/7:00pm, we have dinner. This is some combination of cooking in, eating out or inviting Ibu Wayan to cook for us, which is always lovely because she makes the most amazing Indonesian food and she loves cooking.
Afterwards, we do homework, learn some Bahasa, spend time as a family, sometimes play games together and then head to bed to a jungle symphony.
What do you think are the biggest misconceptions about Bali, and how would you correct them?
I would say that people are most surprised by the trash problem and pollution from burning trash. It may be that it’s just not talked about much on social media or in the news. There are parts of the island that deal with a lot of excess trash, but there are other parts that are really clean and beautiful. We try to leave as little of a footprint as possible and we look for ways to be part of the solution. We went snorkeling over Christmas break and my youngest kept gathering floating trash and giving it to me to get out of the water. I love that they know to do that. We want to leave Momma Bali better than we found her.
What has been some of your favourite discoveries so far and findings travelling beyond Bali?
We have stayed on the island since moving here. Our strategy is to explore as much of Bali and her outlying islands as possible before working our way out to the rest of Southeast Asia. We’ve discovered magic everywhere we’ve traveled to so far. Our favorite place to visit so far is Sumberkima in the Northwest part of the island. It’s peaceful, largely untouched and stunningly beautiful.
What are some factors that families looking to live in Bali should consider?
It’s worthwhile to talk about what’s important to you in a place to live. The beach is a totally different experience than Ubud. Both are amazing, but I wish we would have known more when we first arrived about all of the areas from people living here so that we could have spent less time sampling the places we didn’t want to be and more time in the place that we are now.
If you know that you can only come for a year, ignore this part. If it’s at all possible that you might extend your Bali experience for longer than a year, I’d suggest that you start to plant that seed with your whole family as soon as possible. If you set their expectations to “maybe longer than a year”, it will make it much easier when you decide to stay. We are finding that a lot of our friends are struggling because they promised their kids that the Bali move would just be for a year to get them to agree to come. Many parents are now feeling like they’d like to extend for another year, but the kids are holding them to their promise to return home. It’s so tough when part of the family wants to stay while the others want to go. Luckily, all of our kids are happy to stay another year!
Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience living in Bali that we haven’t covered yet?
We have often joked with our expat friends that we can’t tell everyone back home how good it is in Bali because we don’t want them to feel like they are missing out. The truth is, Bali isn’t right for everyone, but it has been the best experience we could have ever asked for.
It was a monumental feat to move our entire family here, but it’s one I would do all over again. It has been the best decision we’ve ever made.
If you’re on the fence, I say leap! Don’t look down and move to Bali. It’ll be the adventure of a lifetime.
Hear It Firsthand: Watch Kelly’s Bali Story on Instagram Live Replay
Don’t miss our Instagram Live replay, where Kelly @socal_medium opens up about her family’s inspiring move from the U.S. to Bali.
In this heartfelt conversation, she shares what it’s really like to exchange a fast-paced American routine for the slower, more intentional rhythm of island life. From discovering community and creativity at Green School Bali to finding balance and purpose in Ubud, her story offers a glimpse into what’s possible when you follow your intuition and say yes to change.
It’s a must-watch for anyone dreaming of a more conscious, connected life in Bali.
