Ever since the launch of the Palm View Properties monthly newsletter 9 months ago, we have focused a lot on taking you, our valued clients on an educational journey. We focused heavily on investing in Indonesia, particularly in and around the tropical islands of Bali, Lombok and the three Gilis. We’ve shed a light on the key steps and topics of the process of acquiring real estate as a foreign national or how to set up and run a business.

Today we are extremely excited to put you on a new journey with Palm View Properties by looking at actual practical life and lifestyle as a foreigner living in Bali, Lombok or the three Gilis, we will particularly zoom in on the island of Lombok.

In collaboration with Mr. Abbas Jamie, a South African businessman, entrepreneur and business coach, we give you his experiences as he takes us on his journey from living the rat race and ending up in the ER with a major heart attack to “selling everything” and relocating to the island of Lombok, Indonesia. Abbas started a monthly newsletter called Living Light Journey where he shares his inspirational stories on escaping the rat race and relocating to Lombok.

Enjoy and don’t forget, if you would like to know more about living, acquiring property or setting up a business in Indonesia, get in touch with our expert team by sending us an email at info@palmviewproperties.biz

My journey to a simple life – Chapter 1

It’s 14:15 on Friday, 3 June 2022 and Lion Air JT654 from Jakarta touches down at Lombok international airport. The weather is a pleasant thirty degrees and the humidity is 80%. Lombok is a tropical island forming part of the Indonesian archipelago and is located to the east of its better known neighbour, Bali. The size of the island is approximately seventy kilometres across and it is home to more than three million people.

I have arrived home…

Pause… How did I get to this point?

I have to take you back to Cape Town, South Africa 15 months before my arrival in Lombok.

As I lay in the hospital ER unit, hooked up to wires and machines, I couldn’t help but reflect on my life up to that point. I had always been a motivated and ambitious person, highly entrepreneurial, always chasing the next big deal. But in that moment, as I faced the reality of my own mortality, I realized that the rat race had brought me to this point. At the age of 56 I had suffered a severe heart attack.

That was my “falling upwards” moment. The moment that led me to make the decision to leave my busy corporate life behind and pursue a simpler, more meaningful existence.

For me, that meant trading in the metropolitan city of Cape Town for the serene and tranquil island of Lombok. I sold up all my “stuff” and boarded the plane with one bag containing everything I owned to move to an island that I had never visited before. The flight from Cape Town to Lombok was a journey of both physical and emotional distance. As the plane descended, I felt my body and mind begin to relax. The view from the window was of lush greenery and crystal clear waters, and I knew that I had made the right decision.

The drive from the airport to our new home was a journey through the beautiful natural environment of Lombok, passing through small villages and rural landscapes. I was struck by the laid back island lifestyle and the simplicity of everything.
As I settled into life on Lombok, I found myself reconnecting with the things that truly mattered to me: serenity, spirituality, and sustainability. The island’s natural beauty and peaceful way of life provided the perfect setting for me to focus on these values.

I found myself becoming more and more assimilated into the local community, learning the customs and traditions of the islanders and feeling more and more at home.
The laid-back island lifestyle, beautiful natural environment, friendly people and my reconnection to a simpler life have all contributed to me feeling at home.

As I look back on my journey over the last seven months, I can’t help but reflect on the fact that sometimes it takes a “falling upwards” moment for us to realize that the life we thought we wanted isn’t the life we truly desire. If you’re feeling unfulfilled or disconnected from your true purpose, I encourage you to reflect on your own life and consider the possibility of living a simpler, more meaningful existence in a place like Lombok.

If you enjoyed this article please subscribe to my monthly newsletter: Living Light Journey https://abbasjamie.substack.com/

Picture: Abbas Jamie and his wife Mariam Jamie on a Lombok beach at a local island style Warung(Restaurant).