So Why Bali? Swapping Easy Amsterdam For Unknown Ubud.

There's something utterly intoxicating about falling in love with a new place like Bali. The vibrant colour and unexpected encounters will stimulate all your senses. Last weekend we were down south in Ulluwatu, watching the sunset over the sea with a monkey sat beside us.

After a bumpy first month of crazy January monsoons, struggling to find a family home, or our feet on the wonky pavements of Ubud, I can now breathe deeply. Leaving Amsterdam and moving to an completely unknown part of the world was totally worth it. The spiritual energy and gracious Balinese people are everything we imagined.

Swapping City Limits For The Tropical Outdoors

So what exactly are we doing here in Bali? The only concrete plan was a confirmed place at The Wood School for Saffron. After a tough couple of years as we hit our 40's, all we knew was we desperately needed a change of scenery. To press the reset button on life and swap city limits for the great outdoors. Financially scary but emotionally essential.

We were given the golden opportunity to do just that when Paul was made redundant on his 10th anniversary at an American company. We viewed it as the ultimate gift, he needed to get out of corporate-life and return to musical creativity. And Ubud first started calling when we met a sound-healer from here on tour in Europe.

If like me, you're a laptop freelancer, there's always that tantalizing thought...'I could do this anywhere'. Ubud is full of freelancers hanging out in cool co-working spaces such as Outpost, Hubud or one of the zillion cafes offering free wifi and great coffee. 'We are the future' I always think on emailing copy back to a happy client in Amsterdam, seven hours ahead of time.

Inspiring International Schools with a Difference

But this life-change wasn't just about us, we were also moving with our 5 year-old daughter as a family. Which again is a reason why Ubud scores so highly. Not only is there a inspiring choice of international schools, the whole town feels welcoming and family-friendly. One of the main driving forces behind this move was to spend more time outdoors within nature. There's no TV in our rental home. Instead our pool and beautiful garden provide the perfect place to splash, skip, hula hoop and hide. Playdates in the pool have been taken to a whole new level.

And rather than being posh expat enclaves, the 3 English-speaking schools here are totally different. Offering an Inspiring international mix of parents and teachers who are more interested in raising caring, consciencious kids than high-scoring test results. The famous Green School is the ultimate in holistic learning, set in a bamboo village deep in the jungle. We eventually chose a smaller (and cheaper) alternative called The Wood School 4 km East of Ubud. Surrounded by paddy fields, its huge shady gardens instantly have a calming magical effect.

The conservation-based curriculum includes the obvious fluffy stuff like yoga, singing, gardening & goat-keeping. But it's also helped Saffron progress instantly with her reading, writing and arithmetic due to being in class of just 7 kids. She comes home singing in Bahasa each day. It's a world away from the huge classes and concrete playgrounds back home - and a bargain at 1000euros per term.