3.34/5
374 reviews
Photo by Muhammad Rizki via Unsplash

Jakarta

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good

traffic

absolutely

beautiful

food

bali

quality

air

drive

kind

great

malls

big

speak

walk

rest

smug

Jakarta receives mixed reviews from visitors. Some praise the affordability and convenience of transportation, especially motorbike taxis like Gojek that make it easy and inexpensive to get around. The city offers a vibrant skyline at night and a wide selection of malls and restaurants with familiar international brands, which appeals to those interested in shopping and dining. There are also scenic spots outside the city, such as Bogor, that offer natural beauty and a break from the urban atmosphere.

However, many reviewers express strong dissatisfaction with several aspects of Jakarta. Air pollution is a recurring concern, as is the chaotic traffic and generally poor walkability, making it unsafe and unpleasant for pedestrians. Long-term stays are challenging due to a complex and costly visa process. The cost of food and alcohol is considered high, and some visitors report that the local population can be rude or unwelcoming. English is not widely spoken, which has been frustrating for some travelers. Overall, Jakarta may appeal to those comfortable navigating a major Southeast Asian city with heavy traffic and smog, but may not be suitable for others looking for a more pleasant or tourist-friendly environment.

AI-generated summary of reviews
8 months ago

I'm so surprised to see all these comments. I absolutely love Jakarta !
You can take a gojek bike taxi for 1$ and they bring you anywhere. The skyline is beautiful at night. The food is good. The people are kind and always smiling...
I prefer Jakarta to Bali ! And I've been multiple times in both. For sure it's a city with many skyscrapers, so the quality of the air is not great. But you can drive out of the city and have absolutely beautiful mountains and rice fields (such as Bogor).
In the city center there are many malls with all the big brands you know of. So many delicious restaurants too.
It is true that sometimes people dont speak English but... what's the point of travelling to Asia if you want absolutely everyone to speak the same language as you ?

2 years ago

The ugliest city I've ever set foot in. It is very polluted. Developers are obsessed with "European" style building because it looks "rich". There are an endless amount of shopping malls with new ones coming, which get old quickly. "Parks" here are more of an afterthought, not a legitimate park. Gated communities are the fabric of the city so you must drive or walk through the main roads that are jam-packed with traffic. In other words, the city is made up of exclusive pockets of housing areas that are unintegrated with the rest of the city, meanwhile, the rest are slums. People are (as a previous review mentioned) smug, pretentious, and deeply insecure about themselves but manifested outwardly as being rude. Traffic is a problem in itself but to drive here is entirely another subgenre. To give you an idea about the mentality of the people here; nobody will do anything if there's someone dying in an ambulance. Not a single car would give way for an ambulance or pedestrians crossing the road. Speaking of pedestrians, the city is extremely unsafe to walk.

3 years ago

Skip this place and go to Bali right away. This city only looks beautiful in tourism videos but ugly in person. It is dusty and smelly.

4 years ago

Some things I don't like about Jakarta-
1. Not much English spoken
2. Everything is overpriced especially food and alcohol.
3. People are weird, smug, rude and kind of r-cist actually.
4. The food isnt good except for nasi goreng and satay and most of it is low quality.
5. Everywhere is crowded and locals are loud so good luck finding a place to work.
6. Visas are costly and difficult if you want to stay long term.

5 years ago

"Don't go to Jakarta" is what people from Jakarta tell you.

But you do. It can't be that bad, right? Then you arrive. Although "arriving" is a big word for getting stuck in traffic first for hours. When you do finally arrive in your apartment, you open the windows and wonder why you can't see further than 10 meters. It must be a foggy day? No, it's not fog, it's smog, and it's an every day occurrence in Jakarta, a city that is now competing with Beijing for worst air quality in the world.

What's good about Jakarta? It's one of the few places in Indonesia (except maybe Bali) that's open-minded. Jakartans are friendly, helpful and warm acting as if Jakarta is still just a small Indonesian village and that's great. It's also one of the fastest growing cities in Asia. It's cosmopolitan. But all that doesn't weigh up to the negatives that is Jakarta right now.

Clean up the air, fix the traffic, and Jakarta might be liveable in a decade.

"Don't go to Jakarta" is what people from Jakarta tell you. They're right.

8 years ago

✅ Cheap transportation

✅ Good skyline views

✅ Many dining and shopping options

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality today

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Easy to make friends

✅ Easy to do business

✅ Good hospitals

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ Not a lot of alcohol abuse

❌ Very polluted

❌ Unfriendly locals

❌ Difficult visa process

❌ Poor walkability

❌ Expensive

❌ Bad traffic

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Nomads.com members really didn't like going here

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Feels crowded

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Roads can be dangerous

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

3188°
hot

3391°
hot

3697°
hot

3799°
hot

3595°
hot

3697°
hot

3799°
hot

3595°
hot

3391°
hot

Real (median)

2882°
very warm

2984°
very warm

3086°
very warm

3187°
hot

3085°
very warm

3187°
hot

3086°
very warm

2984°
very warm

Humidity

sweaty
77%

sweaty
71%

sweaty
75%

sweaty
74%

sweaty
75%

nice
70%

sweaty
72%

sweaty
71%

nice
70%

sweaty
73%

sweaty
75%

Most common

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
275mm

rainy
318mm

rainy
236mm

rainy
208mm

rainy
127mm

rainy
94mm

dry
50mm

rainy
51mm

rainy
64mm

rainy
141mm

rainy
202mm

rainy
250mm

Cloud

cloudy
62%

cloudy
59%

cloudy
52%

pockets
47%

pockets
44%

pockets
35%

pockets
37%

pockets
44%

pockets
50%

cloudy
58%

cloudy
55%

Air quality

okay
69 US AQI

okay
87 US AQI

okay
86 US AQI

bad
106 US AQI

bad
135 US AQI

bad
129 US AQI

bad
147 US AQI

bad
137 US AQI

bad
129 US AQI

bad
134 US AQI

bad
120 US AQI

bad
109 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

Remote workers

2,618 people

2,100 people

2,677 people

2,200 people

3,060 people

2,050 people

3,709 people

1,920 people

2,031 people

2,271 people

2,727 people

2,677 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Jakarta's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

Help pick the best photos for Jakarta and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

154pts

83pts

41pts

38pts

37pts

31pts

12pts

10pts

9pts

7pts

5pts

4pts

3pts

124pts

80pts

39pts

37pts

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10pts

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87pts

41pts

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$900 / mo

9 Mbps

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° 🥵 AQI 177 😷

✈️1h

$1,894 / mo

24 Mbps

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 34° 93° 31° 88° 🥵 AQI 100 😷

✈️4h

$1,304 / mo

20 Mbps

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 31° 88° 🥵

✈️1h

$4,427 / mo

🌇 Also went here221 people

Canggu, Bali

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° 🥵 AQI 177 😷

✈️1h

$1,894 / mo

🌇 Also went here186 people

Ubud, Bali

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° 🥵 AQI 177 😷

✈️1h

$2,072 / mo

🌇 Also went here158 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 43° 109° 33° 91° 🥵

✈️2h

$1,633 / mo

🌇 Also went here211 people

Phuket

Thailand

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 11° 52° 12° 53° AQI 76 😷

✈️16h

$5,728 / mo

🌇 Also went here137 people

1,800 remote workers in Jakarta now, of which 3+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.34/5 (Rank #207) 374 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍3 liked it 👎6 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Bad
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,214 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 10 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Good
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Too hot: 30°C86°F (feels 37°C99°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 79%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	🥵 Low: 22%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Good: 33 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	😷 Unhealthy for some: 129 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Bad
🤮 Food safety*	Okay
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Great
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very low: $298 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
😤 People density	🤨 Busy: 14k ppl/km² (1 per 8x8m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Okay
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Indonesia
🗓️ Average trip length	6 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	10 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 30°C 86°F + 🥵 Sweaty (79%) = feels 37°C 99°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 33 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎☠️ 129 US AQI = 🚬 🚬 / day
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	GoJEK
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100,000 IDR in USD	USD 5.95
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	IDR 10,000,000 = USD 595
💸 Tipping	Yes, 7.50%
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
💻 Best coworking space	Comma
☕️ Best coffee place	Anomali Coffee
☕️ Best alt. coffee place	Reading Room
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	Dapur Indonesia Restaurant & Cafe
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍12% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	3,587,500 visitors
📸 Tourists now	68,754 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	10,000,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$3,570 / year
😤 Population density	🤨 busy: 8x8m (64m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 51% 👱‍♀️ 49%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 84% 👱‍♀️ 16%
⛪️ Religious government	Religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Tokopedia
🏠 Apartment listings	Agoda
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Lion
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Garuda
🏥 Best hospital	RS Pondok Indah

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,214 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$895 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,296 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$656 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$474 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,016 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$512 / month
🏠 Median home price	$89,273
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$22 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$33 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$169 / month
🍛 Dinner	$3
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$0
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$9,017 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$14 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$1 / trip