Annette Densham still had salt in her hair from a refreshing morning at the beach when she broke down in tears while on holiday in Bali with her family.
Despite enjoying the sun for days, the mother couldn’t shake the fear of returning home.
Her heart pounded with fear as she lazed by the sea, consumed by the thought that she would not be able to retire at 65.
With the flight back to Australia just around the corner, she pulled her husband Earl aside.
‘I feel like I’m just working to pay everyone else. We’re not moving forward, I don’t want to do this anymore,’ she sobbed in his arms.
The 54-year-old businesswoman took a deep breath to try to pull herself together when Earl suggested a solution that made her question everything.
‘Why don’t we move here? It’s much cheaper and you’re so much happier,” he said.
The thought was strange, coming from Earl, who was known for his rational and calculated thinking.
But the couple succumbed to the financial pressure of a rent increase and felt 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 Down Under. Their eldest son Zayde, 23, and their dog Georgie join them on the adventure
Their three-bedroom mansion on the Gold Coast had risen in rent from $500 to $700 a week in recent years. Bills, gas, car insurance and groceries had also skyrocketed.
Faced with the terrifying thought of not being able to retire in Australia, they have decided to take the plunge, sell their belongings and move to Ubud, in the heart of Bali, in early November.
Annette and Earl have two sons – Zayde, 23, Qwyn, 20 – both of whom still live at home due to the rising cost of living.
Annette has been self-employed for the past eleven years, earning between $12,000 and $15,000 a month before taxes, while Earl worked in catering and sales but was laid off.
Their youngest son Qwyn works at Dominos, leaving Annette to bear the financial burden on the family.
“The cost for a family of four adults under one roof is astronomical,” Annette told FEMAIL.
“We take the opportunity to change our lives and prove that it is never too old for a new adventure.”
Rising prices have prevented them from saving much, but Annette believes this will all change in Bali and they can save $5,000 every month.
In Australia, Annette supported the family of four after Earl was laid off from his sales and hospitality job
Ubud, in the heart of Bali, is known for its lush beauty and laid-back lifestyle
Abroad, Annette, Earl and Zayde rent a villa with pool and housekeeper for $350-$400 per week, including bills. Qwyn plans to stay in Australia and live with family.
They will be able to eat out more often at restaurants in Bali, some of which cost as little as $2 per plate. The price for renting a scooter is also cheap, costing between $100 and $200 per month, and gasoline costs $1 per liter.
They make $30,000 by selling all their belongings, including two cars. But there are a few items they won’t sell, such as their favorite furniture and sentimental items.
Taking their beloved 11-year-old dog Georgie to Bali will set them back $2,500. They all applied for the Working Visa Bali Kitas, which is issued for two years and costs from $1,300 AUD.
After having two children in her 30s, Annette was a stay-at-home mother who did not earn a pension during her maternity leave. Over time, she has seen her savings disappear.
‘Welfare benefits are not enough to live on in Australia. You could make ends meet, but I don’t want that. “I want to live, experience and explore,” she said.
‘Looking ahead to retirement, I will continue to knit scarves at this rate because that is all I can afford if I stay in Australia.
“My last utility 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 has also stopped buying small luxuries like lamb chops, ordering UberEats and going out as a family because it is too expensive.
“Every Monday night we would grab a bowl of soup, pho or Chinese, but we stopped because it used to cost $40 for the four of us and now it’s $90,” Annette said.
Instead of going on a family vacation, the couple bought an RV to take road trips on the weekends.
While in Bali, Annette, Earl and Zayde will rent a luxury villa with pool and housekeeper for $350-$400 per week including bills (pictured on Bali vacation earlier this year)
NEW CHALLENGES
Although moving to Bali is exciting and will be a new adventure, they have some doubts.
The biggest concern when moving to Bali is not the heavy traffic or the risk of getting sick, but the saturated tourism.
Earl and Zayde are planning to start their own tourism business, but aren’t sure how to differentiate themselves 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 also bother Annette.
‘Starting a business in a new country is difficult, because you have to be culturally accepted by the local population, otherwise it won’t work. In Australia we are understood, but in Bali we are visitors,” she said.
“It’s also a bit 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 her 30s, Annette was a stay-at-home mother and earned no pension during her maternity leave. Over time, she has seen her savings disappear (pictured with their eldest son Zayde)
CONCERNED FOR THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA
The mother-of-two fears her children will never be able to afford to move out of their home and the couple are already struggling financially – another reason why they have decided to bail.
“I think there are a lot of parents out there who are probably in the same situation as us, whose finances are being strained by supporting our adult children because they can’t afford to live on their own,” said Annette.
‘So many children have little work, but do not earn enough to get ahead. I am optimistic 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 look like it’s going to get better.’
Earl interjected, “I blame our government’s incompetence in financial management with our money. I feel that our government has failed us in its own mistakes, and we must now pay for it. I have completely lost faith in the Australian political system.”
For now, the family has ‘no timeline’ on when they plan to return to Australia and said if their plans in Bali don’t work out, 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 younger years, the couple tried to get ahead and owned an investment property when they first got together, but when the global financial crisis hit in 2008, they decided to sell and have been renting ever since.
“When we started talking about buying a house in recent years, we realized that at our age we would never be able to take out and pay off a mortgage,” says Annette.
Knowing they would never achieve the ‘great Australian dream’ of home ownership was both disappointing and disheartening.
‘If you rent, it is really not your home, because it is inspected four times a year and you cannot change anything. As we got older, we started wondering where we were going to live,” she said.
Although the possibility of home ownership in Australia is pressing for the couple, they are strongly considering buying a home in Bali, where you can buy luxury two-bedroom villas for as little as $260,000.
For now, the family has ‘no timeline’ on when they plan to return to Australia and said if their plans in Bali don’t work out, they will try to live in Thailand.
“The world is our oyster and you’re never too old to try something new,” Annette said.