What started as a honeymoon in Bali became a life-altering turning point for this family from Spain. Meet the couple from Barcelona who left behind the mountains, careers, and comfort of home to embrace something deeper — a new way of living in Ubud, Bali.
Driven by a desire to raise their daughter in a more open, conscious, and connected environment, they’ve spent the last seven years building a life rooted in community, purpose, and respect for local culture. This is their story — of transformation, everyday lessons, and finding home far from where it began.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are originally from?
I’m from Barcelona, Spain/Catalonia. I grew up in the mountains far from the city until I met my partner, and then we moved to the city together.
When did you move to Bali?
Our honeymoon in Bali in 2010 changed everything and our way of seeing life. We decided to leave Spain and live in the Asia-Pacific for a few years to finally reach Bali, as we already felt it was home. We spent five years in Hanoi, Vietnam, two and a half years in Melbourne, Australia, and now we have been in Ubud, Bali, for the last seven years. This is home—our last stop.
What inspired your move?
I was tired of the Western mindset, tired of the racism I was seeing against migrants coming from developing countries. Once I heard kids around me talking badly about Chinese and Africans people without any reason just repeating what adults around them were saying, I know I was done. Our trip to Bali showed us how happy people here were with less. Thinking about our future, I never wanted to raise a kid in that closed-minded society. That’s when we decided to sell everything, say goodbye to our very well established jobs, and to everything we had known until then.
Where do you live in Bali?
We live in Pejeng, we have always been in the Ubud area. We love the vibe here the real Balinese Ubud vibe, the local vibe. Our Banjar is quite small, and all the villagers know each other; it’s a really supportive, close community. We feel like one more of them.
What school did you choose for your children, and why was it the right fit?
Our daughter has been attending Wood School since 2020, and I need to thank COVID for that! My husband always wanted an academic education, but I wanted the opposite: hands-on work and project-based learning, not classrooms & books.
When we arrived here in Bali, our daughter was six years old, and she was attending a school that had a bit of both, but it wasn’t enough. During COVID, we had the chance to try Wood School for a summer camp. She loved it, and after enrolling her, my husband saw that she was learning much more, was more confident, and was so happy learning. School felt like a family, it was and is home for us a really caring and safe place for her to grow up, completely aligned with our life values. Wood School it’s a big part of our life here.
How does the cost of day-to-day life in Bali compare to Spain?
I honestly don’t like when people move here, or to other developing countries, thinking they can get more with less money. For me, living in a place like Bali was about culture, nature, and gaining knowledge about a new place, not because I could have better housing for less or a massage every week.
Bali is not that cheap place anymore that people were looking for. You were always able to live very cheaply or very expensively, but now this has changed because we foreigners pushed for it. Therefore, we can’t complain. And Bali decides who stays and who goes, we saw hundred times how the island can keep you or kick you out! Watch out your Karma!
Can you tell us a bit about your work situation in Bali?
We don’t own a business here. My husband works for a social enterprise helping communities mostly around Indonesia, and I work for a family sport and wellness club. We were both so lucky to be hired from the first day, which usually doesn’t happen. We have been working at our workplaces since our first months here.
What are some common misconceptions about Bali, and what would you say to set the record straight?
Lately, with social media and all the influencers around, there is a misconception about Bali. For me, Bali is not yoga, retreats, breathwork, cacao ceremonies, or cheap shopping. That’s not the real Bali. The real Bali is their people living daily aligned with their Balinese Hindu beliefs, and the powerful nature that we are now seeing destroyed because all these Instagrammers are showing a perfect, cheap place. I would love to go back in time and make that social media about places like this completely disappear.
What cultural experiences have you enjoyed since moving to Bali?
What have we learned about the Balinese? Lots. When we were living in other places like Vietnam or Australia, we always tried our best to observe and integrate. There will always be things that we love and things that we don’t like. It’s like being reborn and learning from zero, always taking the positive, and the negative too, to grow up a bit more every day. We are still learning day by day. In my workplace, we have around 100 staff; I am the only foreigner, and they have treated me like one of them since day one. The people, the nature, the big energy here. If you’ve never heard about Tri Hita Karana, it’s time to Google it 😉.
What should other families think about before making the move?
Before moving to Bali, you need to think if you are able to open your mind completely, not judge, and not compare. If you are able to help the island, taking its good and bad things, all will be good. If you just want a cheaper way of living, taking advantage of maids working for you, you won’t be happy here, and you won’t be accepted like one of them. You need to be able to grown up as a human and take the good and positive, then everything will be ok.
Final thoughts
Bali has my heart. It is our home, it is our people and family. They will always make you feel welcome, the rest depends on you, on the way you see the world around you, and believe me Bali is beautiful even not being perfect, because perfection doesn’t exists.
