Annette Densham still had salt in her hair after a refreshing morning on the beach when she burst into tears while on holiday in Bali with her family.
Despite spending days sunbathing, the mother could not avoid the fear of returning home.
Her heart beat with anxiety as she rested by the sea, consumed by the thought of not being able to retire at 65.
With the flight back to Australia approaching, she pulled her husband Earl aside.
“I feel like I’m just working to pay everyone else; we’re not going to get ahead, I don’t want to do this anymore,” she sobbed into his arms.
The 54-year-old businesswoman took a deep breath to try to collect herself when Earl suggested a solution that made her question everything.
‘Why don’t we move here? “It’s much cheaper and you’re much happier,” he said.
The idea was strange coming from Earl, known for his rational and calculated thinking.
But the couple was crumbling under the financial pressure of a rent increase and feeling burned by the cost of living crisis.
Annette Densham (right) and her husband Earl (left) have decided to sell their belongings and move to Bali for fear of not being able to retire in Australia. Their eldest son Zayde, 23, and their dog Georgie will join them on the adventure.
The rent on his three-bedroom home on the Gold Coast had risen from $500 to $700 a week in recent years. Bills, gasoline, car insurance and food also skyrocketed.
Faced with the discouraging idea of not being able to retire in Australia, they have decided to take a leap, sell their belongings and move to Ubud, in the heart of Bali, at the beginning of November.
Annette and Earl have two children, Zayde, 23, and Qwyn, 20, who are still living at home due to the rising cost of living.
Annette has been self-employed for the past 11 years and tends to earn between $12,000 and $15,000 a month before taxes, while Earl worked in hospitality and sales but was laid off.
Their youngest son, Qwyn, works at Dominos, leaving Annette to shoulder the family’s financial burden.
“The cost for a family of four adults under the same roof is astronomical,” Annette tells FEMAIL.
“We are taking the opportunity to change our lives and prove that you are never too old for a new adventure.”
Rising prices mean they haven’t been able to save much, but Annette believes this will all change in Bali and they will be able to save $5,000 each month.
In Australia, Annette was supporting the family of four after Earl was laid off from his job in sales and hospitality.
Ubud, in the heart of Bali, is known for its lush beauty and relaxed lifestyle.
While abroad, Annette, Earl and Zayde will rent a villa with a pool and housekeeper for between $350 and $400 a week, bills included. Qwyn plans to stay in Australia and live with family.
You’ll be able to eat out more frequently at Bali restaurants, some of which cost as little as $2 a plate. The price of renting a scooter is also cheap: it costs between 100 and 200 dollars a month, and gasoline costs 1 dollar per liter.
They will earn $30,000 by selling all their belongings, including two cars. But there are some items they won’t sell, like your favorite furniture and sentimental items.
Taking their beloved dog Georgie, 11, to Bali will cost them $2,500. They have all applied for the Bali Kitas Work Visa, which is issued for two years and costs from $1,300 AUD.
After having two children in their 30s, Annette was a housewife and did not earn any pension while on maternity leave. Over time, he has seen his savings disappear.
‘Social assistance payments are not enough to live in Australia, I could survive, but I don’t want to. “I want to live, experience and explore,” he said.
“When I think about retirement, I’ll just sit there knitting scarves at this rate because that’s all I’ll be able to afford to do if I stay in Australia.
‘My last electric bill was $1,000 for the quarter; I almost gagged. But you choose to be cold or live a little more comfortably and pay the bill.’
The family also stopped buying small luxuries like lamb chops, ordering UberEats, and going out as a family because it’s too expensive.
“Every Monday night we would have a bowl of soup, pho or Chinese food, but we stopped because it used to cost $40 for the four of us and now it costs $90,” Annette said.
Instead of going on a family vacation, the couple bought a camper for weekend road trips.
While in Bali, Annette, Earl and Zayde will rent a luxury villa with a pool and housekeeper for between $350 and $400 a week, including bills (pictured from a vacation in Bali earlier this year).
NEW CHALLENGES
While moving to Bali is exciting and will be a new adventure, they have some doubts.
The biggest point of concern when moving to Bali is not the crazy traffic or the risk of getting sick, but the overcrowded tourism.
Earl and Zayde plan to start their own tourism business, but aren’t sure how to stand out in the market.
Not only that, but learning to live without a car and relying on a scooter will also be an adjustment that will take the family out of their comfort zone.
The language barrier and cultural differences are also on Annette’s mind.
‘Starting a business in a new country is daunting because culturally you need to be accepted by the locals, otherwise it won’t work. “In Australia they understand us, but in Bali we are visitors,” he said.
“It’s also a little scary because we don’t know anyone there and if something happens, our family is a seven-hour flight away.”
After having two children in their 30s, Annette was a housewife and did not earn any pensions while on maternity leave. Over time, he watched his savings disappear (pictured with his eldest son, Zayde).
CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA
The mother-of-two worries her children will never be able to afford to move house and the couple is already struggling financially – another reason they decided to move to Bail.
“I think there are a lot of parents who are probably in the same situation as us, whose finances are strained to support our adult children because they can’t afford to live alone,” Annette said.
‘Many children are underemployed but do not earn enough to get ahead. I am an optimist and a glass-half-full person, but I look to the future and see no way out for us or our children. “It doesn’t seem like it’s going to get better.”
Earl chimed in: ‘I blame our money on the incompetence of our government in its financial management. I feel like our government has abandoned us because of its own mistakes and we have to pay for it now. I have completely lost faith in the Australian political system.
For now, the family has “no timeline” for when they plan to return to Australia and said if their plans don’t work out in Bali, they will try to live in Thailand. “The world is our oyster and you’re never too old to try something new,” Annette said.
In their youth, the couple tried to get by and owned an investment property when they first got together, but when the global financial crisis hit in 2008 they decided to sell it and have been renting ever since.
“When we started talking about buying a house in recent years, we realized that we would never be able to afford to get a mortgage at our age and pay it off,” Annette said.
Knowing they were never going to achieve the “great Australian dream” of home ownership was both disappointing and disheartening.
‘When you rent, it’s not really your home because you have inspections four times a year and you can’t make any changes. “As we got older we started wondering where we were going to live,” he said.
While the prospect of homeownership in Australia is daunting for the couple, they are seriously considering buying a home in Bali, where they can purchase luxurious two-bedroom villas for just $260,000.
For now, the family has “no timeline” for when they plan to return to Australia and said if their plans don’t work out in Bali, they will try to live in Thailand.
“The world is our oyster and you’re never too old to try something new,” Annette said.
