Batam Info / Interest / Help Thread

[retirebatam]

Originally Posted by nono1973

My own BIG Plan,hehehe...

1. Making sure my asset's yield in Singapore can cover my expenses in Batam. I have been talking about this since the 1st day i am in Batam (refer to my 1st few summaries), about allowing Batam (not Singapore) to pay for Batam itself (thats like about 5 years ago?). Sustainable cheonging,hehehe...remember?
2. Making sure i have enough saving from Singapore to splurge (minus those Batam property thingy mentioned in the thread),hehehe...
3. Making sure i can be healthy (i will touch on this one on a later time,becos my current low paying job today involve medical healthcare,hehehe
4. Making sure i can reach medical help within an hour (hopefully so, if not 2 hours or any shortest possible time). This is something which i am working on,even tho Batam is just 50 mins away from Singapore,hehehe...but travelling from Batam to Singapore is NOT 24 hours. So i better dont have any emergency from 9pm to 7pm (SG time). And i am quite surprise Batam actually have 8 hospitals.

i am quite clear about what i am looking for. Batam is Batam, Singapore is Singapore. I dont really mix them up (or mash both)...something like 狡兔三窟,hehehe...like i often have plan B or plan C as back up. Again,thats the usual me, myself and i, as you have read (if anyone did,hehehe..).

To live like a Chicken head (in Batam) or to live like a Phoenix's butt (in Singapore)... 鸡头还是凤尾，如果是你，你会如何选择？

My choice is obvious....

Thanks Nono for your sharing...
15 years ago (2004) when I was in my 30s, I was already planning for my future retirement. My major consideration was either Johor Bahru or Batam which was the two closest cities to spore.Finally I have chosen Johor Bahru over Batam as my retirement home. Below are some of the consideration factors in my decision:

Cost of living (JB cheaper)
It is a well known fact that JB has a lower cost of living compare to batam. From the weekend horrible traffic jam at cause way to the super long queue experience at customs on both sides, you could tell how sporean like to travel to JB for shopping. There are many products that were sold in spore was actually made in bolehland. (e.g. medicine, food, appliances, etc) Therefore buying exactly the same products in JB in bulk will certainly save you tonnes of money.

Unlike JB, Batam produced/manufacture less local products however majority are still imported. Due to the fact that it is a small island city and the price are strongly influence by nearby singapore, the cost of goods tend to be slightly more costly than JB in general.

Public Transport (Batam better)
In terms of public transport around the city area, Batam has an upper hand. From angkot (mini van) to taxi to bus to ojek and due to the fact that Batam city (nagoya/jodoh) is small (2km radius) and more concentrated, it is easier to move around the city. You will never be helpless as batam ojek will always be around offering their service to you.

On the other hand, JB city area is very congested and their bus schedule are always not in time. I once waited for a bus for an hour but never turned up. Cabs are sometimes difficult to call as the city area is more dispersed. The bus route mainly serve the two main road (jalan tebrau and jalan skudai) Therefore those inner small roads or housing estate are not served by bus. In conclusion JB public transport is still very lousy given that it is msia second largest city. However with the upcoming Rapid Transit System from Singapore Woodland North Station to JB Bukit chagar which is scheduled to be completed by 2024, there will be an integrated bus services from future JB RTS station at Bukit Chagar to many parts of JB towns.

Private Transport (Batam is affordable but JB is much more cheaper)
For those who prefer to travel by private transport, JB is paradise. Cars are super cheap be it local made or imported, on the average, you buy one car in singapore equals to buying 3 cars price in JB. Furthermore you buy one litre of petrol in spore equal to buying three litres of petrol price in JB. Cars in spore has 10 years life span but cars in bolehland is freehold. Servicing, road tax, insurance, repair, etc of the car are relatively cheaper too. Petrol in msia is the cheapest in Asia due to the fact that Msia is an oil producing country and has surplus for export. 1 litre petrol cost RM2.10 = S$0.70

Whereas for Batam, cars are also cheap e.g toyota Agya cost only sing dollar 13000 because their sale tax and import tax is low. Furthermore the petrol cost about 8500 rp per litre = RM2.70 (slightly higher than JB)

Infrastructure (JB wins hand down)
Over the years, JB has tried to reduce the number of traffic lights by transforming the road into raise level road interchange so that vehicle can continue to travel without having to stop. JB also has a very good infrastructure system linking the city to the surburbs areas via road interchange, flyovers, underground tunnel, road bridge across rivers, highways, expanded trunk roads providing more lanes, etc. Thus, its highway/road system & infrastructure is world class... comparable to singapore standard.

On the other hand, although i have never drive in Batam, from my observation of Batam infrastructure, it is still very far behind compare to JB. Batam roads are bumpy & not well maintained (many potholes), road lanes not many, traffic quite chaotic, no proper pedestrian walkway or overhead bridge, lag of flyover to ease traffic jam. Road signage are also not very prominent.

Medical facilities (JB offers more options)
Due to its greater land size and bigger population, there are much more private and public hospital and clinics in JB and most of them have very good medical facilities. That is the reason why sporean like to travel to JB and melaka private hospital / medical centres to seek for treatment as it can provide the same standard as what spore can offer. Doctors/surgeons in msia private hospital are very experience as they are overseas trained (US/UK). Example : Johor Specialist Hospital in Larkin and Regency Hospital in Masai. JB Govt hospitals medical equipment are also very complete and quite advance, medication are relatively cheaper than lion city by a hugh difference.

For info - msians citizens only need to pay RM 1 to get admitted to hospital, the rest of the medical fee is taken care by their garmen.
Although I have not come across or heard of any popular Batam hospitals but friends of mine told me that Batam medical standard and service still lagging behind those in JB.

For info - In order to be admitted into the hospital in indonesia, the patient has to pay upfront a certain amount of medical fee or deposit first. For those who does not have enough money are not allowed to get admitted and treated because indonesia has too many poor people and afraid that after treatment no money to pay the hospital, then the hospital can close shop already..That comes to the point as to why indonesians are very helpful towards each other... When a poor indonesian need to seek treatment in the hospital, the family/relative/neighbours/friend/friend's friend will try to raise the money for the patient to get admitted into the hospital...very touching

Accessibility from singapore (JB more accessible & can be access 24/7)
To some of us who stay at the south of spore take about 1.5 hours to reach batam and may take about 2 hours to reach JB. But to those who stay at the north or north west spore may take a shorter time to reach JB than Batam.

Therefore in terms of distance to spore, JB and Batam are almost the same, depending on which part of spore you are staying. However, one thing for sure you can travel anytime to JB as there is always transport 24 hours in case of any emergency, but there is limitation if you want to travel to Batam e.g. you cannot go to batam at midnight as the last ferry to Batam is 9.30pm. In addition JB is definitely more easily accessible to singapore.
From Singapore to JB
1) By land (woodland and tuas),
2) By rail (KTM train woodland),
3) By sea (changi ferry),
4) By Rapid Transit System (future thomson line extension from Woodland North Station to Bukit Chagar JB Custom ) Year 2024 in operation
5) By High Speed Rail travelling at 250km/h (future HSR jurong east - JB nusajaya) Expected to operate in Year 2025
From Singapore to Batam
1) By sea only (ferry) pathetic ..miserably inadequate... kesihan lah...

Safety & Security (Batam is a safer place)
I believe many of us have read news about the crime rate in bolehland was terrible especially JB & KL. The robbers in JB are very cruel, will attack the victim before robbing them. That's the reason why many sporean buy property in JB always have gated fencing landed houses or condo guarded and protected by the security guards. (hope the guard dont kena bribe)

On the contrary in Batam, robbery and theft cases are very minimum . Some jobless or poor people roaming round the street in Batam tend to "beg" rather than "snatch" unlike happen in JB. Therefore In terms of safety, I would say that Batam is a much safer place to stay or retire when security is concerned.

Massage options & cost (Batam and JB both offer many options)
JB has many health centre located in a 4 & 5 star hotels e.g. Grandbluewave, Newyork, Paragon, Berjaya waterfront, Paris Spa, etc providing massage and sex service. These are the more upmarket massage places which will cost more than those shophouse massage parlour. The massage alone in a hotel health centre will cost about rm 100 whereas in shophouse massage average about rm 65-70 per hour. JB hotel health centre also offers B2B masage at rm 180 which is maybe more expensive than Batam B2B massage.

Many towns in JB In the past ten over years started opening massage shops mainly operate in a second storey shophouse unit. e.g. taman pelangi, tmn sentosa, bukit indah, tmn university, etc Therefore in any JB township you stay, you will definitely be served by at least one massage parlour...hehe

In JB, traditional malay massage can be found in many shophouses too. These joints have many pretty and young malay girls available and beside providing a relaxing massage with scented massage oil, they also know how to repair your aeroplane head. In bahasa they called it Urut Batin or sometimes called rawatan traditional. This penis therapy can improve your manhood by preventing premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction. On the average, the cost of urut batin for 40 mins is rm 90. One of the more popular joints for urut batin is Gold Point massage parlour in permas jaya & tmn sentosa.

Contrastingly, Batam has many massage parlour packed in DC mall area & formosa/nagoya hill unlike in JB which are more dispersed. Massage near Utama area only cost 60k rp = 18 ringgit per hour much cheaper than the average cost of JB massage of rm65-70. Batam shophouse mp beside having normal massage, they also offer four hand massage, lulur body scrub, mandi susu milk bath and other type of treatment.

In conclusion my ideal retirement home is Johor Bahru because to me easy accessibility from singapore is first priority, medical facilities is very important. Cars and petrol are cheaper. Road infrastructure in JB is fantastic. Peninsula Malaysia is hugh unlike Batam and can travel to many parts of the peninsular enjoying sceneries/landscape of highlands, beach resort, waterfall/lakes, etc. Johor Bahru also allow more foreign ownership of landed property. Public hygiene standard wise also much better in JB. (unlike there are some dirty streets filled with rubbish at Batam jodoh area and smelly drain behind formosa hotel)
There are also many upcoming hugh JB shopping malls like mid valley, Toppen Shopping Centre (Tebrau city), Sunway Bigbox near 2nd link, Larkin Junction Mall, Eco Galleria, etc opening in the near future.

However, Batam is not a long term retirement place for me but it will still remain as my favourite cheong place due to the fact that overnight cewek booking is available, more selection of brown sugar cewek ranging from javanese to sundanese to minangkabau to batak, better hospitality provided, great food and many other unforgetable awesome experiences...

[maykiap]

Any one knows any good B2B still open during Ramadan? B2B is awesome!

[DDAMn]

Originally Posted by miumiu6464

Will be visiting batam next couple of months. Will try checking with the larger hospitals there if they carry the medicine I'm taking. If have, then will apply for their medical insurance card. Very cheap, 80k per month only and entitled to 2 beds ward, if suay² required lah.

Boss can elaborate more for the medical insurance card.Standing by umbrella before raining la...

[cleyeo]

Originally Posted by retirebatam

Safety & Security (Batam is a safer place)
I believe many of us have read news about the crime rate in bolehland was terrible especially JB & KL. The robbers in JB are very cruel, will attack the victim before robbing them. That's the reason why many sporean buy property in JB always have gated fencing landed houses or condo guarded and protected by the security guards. (hope the guard dont kena bribe)

On the contrary in Batam, robbery and theft cases are very minimum . Some jobless or poor people roaming round the street in Batam tend to "beg" rather than "snatch" unlike happen in JB. Therefore In terms of safety, I would say that Batam is a much safer place to stay or retire when security is concerned.
:

Beg to differ, to say Batam is a safer place I wouldnt agree. Let me tell you a true experience, I have uncle staying in Batam, he has 4 children, so there are 6 people in the family. Everyone of them, father, mother + children were robbed before. Car were stolen before, few motorbikes were stolen before. When make report to police, still need to five coffee money. You need to see yourself when a certain group (religion based) hold a rally to protest things that are not in hand with them.

And I can bet $1 with you, if you walk alone (in the evening), the chance you are getting rob in Batam is much higher than in Johor..

[miumiu6464]

Originally Posted by DDAMn

Boss can elaborate more for the medical insurance card.Standing by umbrella before raining la...

If you can read Indonesian, go here:

https://bpjs-kesehatan.go.id/bpjs/

Its for both Indonesian and foreigners, if you hold a long stay permit. Just got it for my wife, but didn't have the chance to use it yet.

You can download their service guide here:
https://www.bpjs-
kesehatan.go.id/bpjs/application/modules/post/files/EBOOK_Panduan_Layanan_JKN_KIS_Tahun_2018.pdf

[fde83]

@rb, ngomong apa sih lo, sok tau.

Yes i agreed 100%. Never go out at night in batam. Very dangerous. Its scary when night falls

[OnlyLiveOnce]

Brother Retirebatam,

Thanks for your most interesting and detailed insights/analyses about retiring in Batam and JB, very useful for consideration of fellow members who have such inclinations.

I would like to add some of my personal views:-
Batam (Indonesia) , JB (Malaysia) , Bangkok (Thailand), Manila (Philippines), HCM (Vietnam) and other ASEAN countries including China are all nice places too chiong and enjoy.
Retiring in these places is very much a personal consideration based on one's inclination, health and wealth. Batam and JB have advantage of proximity that is very important when you need to be back home for any emergencies. However, you may need to consider properly on the tenure and rentability of any properties you are interested to purchase and other factors such as vagaries of local laws that often discriminate non-citizen, political stability, religious sensitivity, medical facilities, cost of living and social security, among others. You may also need to re-evaluate your links and obligations to our country before leaving with regards to family, relatives, assets before making a jump.

As for myself, I have happily retired here with sufficient fund to move around all the nearby exotic and interesting places for enjoyment and fun. Remember, 'to each his own' and 'one person's meat is another's poison' .
Cheers and enjoy.

[FreshJives]

I also have to start to plan for my retirement here in batam.. .getting soon to 50 liao.

[FreshJives]

Was at the pub The Link last night, still a good place to relax and chill out with buddies. Order a bottle of red wine at the Linker (duty free liqueurs shop) next to the link at about 250k. And have it serve at The Link. The charge at the link comes out to 150k, didn't notice the details.. Maybe the icebucket, serving, or opening. Etc. So total spend is abt 250k+150k.. Have live band performance.. Not bad. Nice.. Hehe.. Requested the song THE Creep..

[OnlyLiveOnce]

Originally Posted by FreshJives

Was at the pub The Link last night, still a good place to relax and chill out with buddies. Order a bottle of red wine at the Linker (duty free liqueurs shop) next to the link at about 250k. And have it serve at The Link. The charge at the link comes out to 150k, didn't notice the details.. Maybe the icebucket, serving, or opening. Etc. So total spend is abt 250k+150k.. Have live band performance.. Not bad. Nice.. Hehe.. Requested the song THE Creep..

A bottle of Jacob's Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, brought by manageress of 999 Seafood at Windsor FC, costs 150k. Red wine and beer go well with our dinner at the FC. Cheers.

[FreshJives]

Anyone here in batam now.. Is raining...

[ndnd]

I agreed that batam is a safer place compare to Johor Baru,
There a period when i need to walk pass Jodoh area evey nite between 12am to 2am and i walk alone, no problem encountered. I hang out every nite when im in batam for past 25 years and never have any issue before. Only one incident when i have got into fight was at the old nagoya foodcourt with a local chinese group, and later met them again in pacific disco extend another round. Heard one of them from that group pass away next day, maybe due to too tired.
I always find batam very safe for me.

[fde83]

Originally Posted by FreshJives

I also have to start to plan for my retirement here in batam.. .getting soon to 50 liao.

Bro, 50 still young. pratice due diligence when planning ya.

[nono1973]

Originally Posted by retirebatam

Thanks Nono for your sharing...
15 years ago (2004) when I was in my 30s, I was already planning for my future retirement. My major consideration was either Johor Bahru or Batam which was the two closest cities to spore.Finally I have chosen Johor Bahru over Batam as my retirement home. Below are some of the consideration factors in my decision:

Hehehe...i guess everyone is truly different then. One of the key reason why i picked Batam instead of Thailand or JB is becos, lesser people choose the option i did. In a way, Batam is way less crowded,hehehe...

About 12 years ago, my no. 1 choice was China. I even bought 2 apartments there but gradually i find it less feasible,hence i sold it. Long story,hehehe...so i arent going to elaborate here. I didnt make a lost when i changed my mind,hehehe..

Thank you for your sharing those pointers which helps makes you decide to pick JB as a retirement ground. I have no doubts you were right in many ways but not all tho (just like i cannot be right in all ways too). Like i said earlier, everyone is truly different. When i decide to pick Batam, i already considered your pointers and adjusted it in my way to best suit me (yes,i change the environment to suit myself). What suits me will always be the best,likewise for yourself too.

(my new clock to bring to Batam soon)

1. When it comes to cost of living, its really much depending on how much one wish to spend. If i choose to spend less, cost of living can be way lower than in JB but if i choose better living option,it could cost way higher. Try the S$5 living a day challenge and you will have a better understanding when it comes to cost of living. Its more about quality of life versus cost of living and everyone's requirement can be different.

2. As for public transport, in many way, tho this wont be affecting me much when i am in Batam (i will come to why its not going to affect me later as you read the other pointers below) but i still find JB's public transport better, or the least they are more comfortable,efficient and well-organised. When you reach 70s,will you sacrifice a few cents to compromise comfortability on a public transport? i highly doubt so (meaning at that age, you probably dont mind paying a little more for comfort).

3. I have no plans to drive in Batam. Not today (my summaries said so), neither in the near future nor during retirement too. But i cannot dont drive in JB once i retire due to the point to point distance. In Batam, my ideal place of my staying condominiums were almost like my staying place in Singapore, neigbourhood can fulfill almost all my daily necessities. All things (other than medical facilities) were within reach within 20 mins of walking distance (yes, i use the word "All" here, which is a strong word,hehehe..).

Alternatively, for short distance...or within condo's 500m radius (in Batam),can use foldable e-scooter to move around w/o worries of getting into the nerve of the police in Batam or being stolen.

* its only an alternative, as i notice in my previous trips, there are older mane who drive such bikes up the ferries while heading to Batam and they were being treated like some wheel chair.

4. When it comes to infrastructure, it really depends on how one looks at it. JB definitely got the upper hand. They have to becos point A to point B is REALLY far apart hence the people living in johor need to make bulk shopping,hehehe...in Singapore, i sincerely appreciate the covered walkway when i walked from point A to point B. In Batam, once it gets rainy or gets too sunny during the day, walking can be near impossible, if not a hassle.

5. Now, medical facilities is the most interesting part on retirement. While JB may have be able to beat Batam totally hands down when it comes to medical facilities, i devised my own solution, tapping into Singapore medical facilities instead of using Batam's.

- Remember i talk about Batam's hospital? Its not gonna come cheap when it comes to the best in town. I even list out some decent Batam's hospital, but only one were able to have a more complete medical facilities. (i skipped reading the RM$1 hospital bill becos i arent a malaysian,hehehe...)

https://sbfsg.agency/showthread.php?p=...post1 8528795

- Again, remember i talk about being a tourist in Batam which i choose to still be one even if i choose to retire in Batam,hehehe...i will need a fairly good medical TRAVEL insurance,hehehe...which i will come to that on a later time. I have done quite a bit of research on that recently. If anyone remembers, i did talk about having medical helicopter flying me back to Singapore and those insurance covers me the particular portion too. (i need some time to organize those postings)

- What i am trying to work out here today when it comes to medical during my retirement would be, i will be staying in Batam majority of my time but i will still be tapping into Singapore medical facilities (since i am Singaporean). Hence in the event of a real medical emergency, i need to have that capability to "fly" back to Singapore in the shortest possible time (faster than travelling by ferry). Other times, i will just take the ferry,hehehe...counting from the moment i step out of my Singapore home to reach my would-be Batam home, only no more than 2 hours during peak time. But it will take me at least about 3.5 hours for JB during non-peak time and definitely way beyond 3.5 hours during a peak time.

- I do hear/read a handful of sad stories on Indonesian in Indonesia local hospitals too. i need to agree with your point. Situation compared for a Malaysian in Malaysia and Indonesian in Indonesia. Malaysia is definitely better. Hehehe...as for Singaporean in Singapore, while it MAY stand a high chance to save my life, but i might also go bankrupt after that if i dont plan well (hence i try my best to keep myself as healthy as possible).

6. On accessibility between the 2 countries, this is actually the biggest issue for me. No access 24 hours, 7 days a week and how i wish they could actually build a bridge over or do an under ground tunnel,hehehe...but this is rather unlikely. Therefore i need to work out other plans to counter this weakness,which is the insurance and the helicopter travelling. When i added this part of my plan to counter accessibility during an emergency, the cost for my per year spending goes upward.

7. Safety in a city or country really depends on individual. Some would say a certain household have every member in it being robbed, threatened or had their things stolen before. i have had friends who lost his motobike he bought in Batam before too. But do note that i am there as a tourist, i speak as a tourist, and i planed to retire as one. I have never been robbed or had my things stolen in Batam before. For every 1 friend of mine (that stays in Batam) who has been robbed or things stolen, i have yet another 100 of them who didnt. So the statistic isnt really accurate hence i said, it really depends on individual. I cannot have my vehicle stolen when i dont own one.

(there really isnt any right or wrong on this point or even an accurate way to find the correct statistic, so i am only speaking on myself, as an individual)

Whether Batam is safer or JB is safer, really depends on how one looks at it. And i only speak of me and myself. Doesnt mean JB isnt safe and thankfully to the entity up there, i have not had any mishaps so far in both JB and Batam. So both were all safe enough places (for me).

8. Hmm...when it comes to cheonging,both sides do have many options. In fact, i find JB having many more options than Batam,hehehe...or the least i could easily find Thai girls, Vietnamese, PRCs etc and other more exotic races of girls in JB, but those choices in Batam were unlikely there in bigger numbers as compare to JB. Which means, JB has more choices of different types of girls than Batam,hehehe...right?

Price wise may have cost a bit lesser in Batam but well, i am sure if one is from the 1st world countries, they were unlikely to try to save on cents when it comes to dollar versus varieties versus qualities. It still ultimately boils down to what one is looking for. As of today, my priorities are Indonesian girls, hence Batam is heaven,hehehe...

Disclaimers :

When i make all those points above, i wasnt saying what you point out is right or wrong. Its NOT an argument nor comparison between Batam and Johor but more of that i learned of a certain deficiency exist and how i would counter it when i picked Batam by choice.

Other pointers :

The postings/info i shared on retirement in Batam isnt meant to encourage readers to come to Batam to retire,in fact i would like to see Batam has as less retirees from Singapore as possible,hehehe... It would likely lessen out many competition and has a higher chance to keep cost down for a longer period of time (cost of living will always goes upward over time).

When i pick Batam as a retirement ground, i have to work out the odds,seek solution/s for any issue that i might encounter. I grew in this thread with readers watching how i grow. I started as an individual tourist, having not step foot into Batam about 5 years ago (those who miss out knowing me can read back my 40 posts of month to month trip summaries which i wrote, linked on my signature). i grew to like this place i visit which is now heaven to me. I wish to spend my remaining parts of my life in this heaven (while still on earth). Its that simple.

Whatever obstacles that comes in my way,i will try to work out some solution/s. Those who read would know, be it my past trip summaries, be it the info compilation,and in the start of this thread stated, its mostly on me, myself and i. Just like how i compile my apartment-buying information below :

https://sbfsg.agency/showpost.php?p=18...ostcount=13831

I am now working on retiring in Batam and am still doing so. Its an ongoing process and it wouldnt end any time soon. Like 5 over years ago, i took baby steps a time in Batam and those steps has took me this far 5 years later. Retirement isnt about staying at home doing nothing to me but is more about doing something i like to do meaningfully,and hopefully be able to pass on with some dignity when my time comes. (there is actually no perfect place to retire in)

Last but not least,i wish every retirees (and future retirees), be it those in the Philippines, Thailand, JB or Batam...i wish they can all be able to have a fruitful life before their respective Big Guy "up there" called for them to "return".

Enjoy your time...wherever you are.

Cheers!

* please avoid quoting the whole post if anyone is replying to it, thank you.

[DDAMn]

Any bros can update the exchange rate over at batam.thanks.