Pros and Cons of Living in Jakarta (according to Susan)

Ah.... The capital city of Indonesia, DKI Jakarta. Located in northwest coast of Java island, Jakarta is considered the top metropolitan city of Indonesia, where hopes and dreams were made, or so they said.
Roads are always filled with red lights and horn sound from cars. Whether it is daytime or night time, it is always filled with life and it seems to never sleeps.

I've been living in Jakarta for about 7 years now. I can't believe how time flies so fast. I still remember the first time I came here, I was so amazed by all the tall buildings and huge shopping malls filled with all the branded stuff you can name. It was all so new to me, considering I came from a small town that is completely the opposite of what Jakarta has. And these 7 years I've been nothing but enjoying my time here. But of course, not all the time I had was sugar and spice and everything nice.

Which is why this is the whole reason this post exist. I want to tell y'all the pros and cons about what this city has to offer, my love and hate relationship for this city. If you're a traveller or a fresh high school graduate trying to find the meaning of life in Jakarta like I used to be, feel free to hang around a little bit longer to know a little more about this city. It might scare you.... Or it might excite you. Whatever it is, I won't judge.

So, here it goes :)

Pros and Cons of Living in Jakarta (according to Susan)

Disclaimer : Before I got bashed or accused or whatever, I would like to declare that this whole post is completely subjective to me, and it is merely just an opinion based on my experiences, so if any of you who read this are feeling uncomfortable or somewhat disagree with what I stated, please do remember; as the title said, twice; this is pros and cons according to me :D so please chill the f out.

Pros

1. Open-minded people. This is probably my favourite of all the pros I have about Jakarta, which is why it is the first that I mention. According to UNDATA statistics results on 2010, Jakarta has about 9.608 million which proves my point that there are all types of people you could possibly find here living in Jakarta. Just name what type of person you are looking for, Jakarta will have it. More types of people with different perspective, meaning there will be more interaction and brainstorming involved and hence more open-minded ways of thinking. You're a girl but you drink and smoke? Have it your way. You're not a virgin? Nope, not a problem. You failed your study? Alright, let's move on.
2. You have basically everything you can ask for here. Branded stuff, bars, clubs, cafes, restaurant, parks, museums, cinemas. Everything. All the entertainment you could ever ask for is here. You just have to call out some friends to join you, and that's it. The only thing Jakarta don't have is mountains and beaches, which of course you can just easily book a ticket and go to Bali/Puncak/Bandung for those.
3. Tons of good food. Jakarta is the place where all people around Indonesia gather, so it is no doubt there's going to be varieties of local food served here. Nasi padang, pempek, nasi gudeg, coto makassar, you name it. And not to mention Jakarta also makes sure to check out the list of international foods too, like Mexican or Italian food, or basically just anything.
4. Like I said, it is where hopes and dreams were made. Literally. You can find all kinds of jobs and professions based on your passion here. It is unlimited. From fashion designer, programmer, architect, there is always a place for you to fit in. The only thing you have to worry about is what exactly you want to be.
5. Online transportation. This is probably available in some other cities as well, but this helps a lot when it comes to finding the best and safest way if you're a girl living independent like me. So I figured it deserved to be mentioned and you guys are aware with this feature. We have GO-Jek, Grab and also Uber, with reasonable price and occasional promos. You can choose between using car or motorbike, depending on your needs. It is pretty much the savior for your transportation problems, if I do say so myself.
6. Various living options. You can live in a house, apartment, kos, hotel, hostel, depending on how long you're going to stay in Jakarta. As for me I live in a kos. It's like a hotel, but you pay it every month. Cool, right?

Cons

1. Traffic jam. Every time you mention Jakarta, people will relate it to heavy traffic jams, hours spent wasted on the roads, etc etc. There are even sayings like if you live in Jakarta, you're going to get old on the road (tua di jalan). And yes, the rumors are all true. Traffic jam in regular hours is bad enough, worse if it's between 8AM or 5PM (on and off work time), and basically hell on earth if it rains. Traffic jam is possibly the biggest reason people hate coming to Jakarta, because it will take you around 2-3 hours just to drive around 10km home. It's excruciatingly painful to drive home with a car, so I consider using public transportation. But that doesn't mean public transportation is the best solution either, which brings me to the next point:
2. Public transportation is also a pain in the ass. Let's list it down one by one shall we? Angkot/Kopaja. Price between 3000-5000 rupiah. A public bus or mini van that has scheduled tracks around Jakarta. Not an option if you're living far from work/school because you have to transit a few times. It is also very dirty and the chance you got mugged or robbed? Very high. (I got robbed once while I was using angkot home. The son of a bitch snatched my phone from the window). Next, we got busway. Price is 3500/ride. Busway is much more cleaner. Not as dangerous as angkot/kopaja but still have a chance of you being mugged or molested when it is crowded. Can consider this as your choice if you live 10km+ apart from home. Still need 1-2 hours ride, but at least you don't have to drive. And last but not least we got train. Price is 3000/ride. Train is for those who live outside of Jakarta, like in Depok, Tangerang, or Bekasi. Train is clean, and it is a pleasant public transportation if it's not between on/off work hours. But when it is, you probably don't wanna go anywhere near it. People push and shove just to get in the damn train, although it is already at the point where you can't even stand anymore. It is just... horror.
3. Don't even think about walking home... Well it's okay if it's only around 5-20 minutes of walk or 1-2km of walk, or when you're in safe neighbourhood. But to walk at night or even to walk in the rest of Jakarta is out of the question, due to first, safety, and second, well... You don't really have a place to walk since all the pedestrian roads are occupied by gerobakan.
4. Heavy pollution. With traffic jam in every corner of the road you can find, it is no surprise that the pollution rate is very high. I suggest you wear a face mask and a jacket every time you go out, because if you don't your lung probably suffers from so much pollution you're gonna get sick and your hair/clothes will smells like shit once you arrive at your destination point.
5. Criminal rate is high. There are some high privilege area in Jakarta, and then there are some ghetto area. The chance of you getting robbed/mugged/molested/or even worse, killed is high anytime, anywhere you're outside, especially in night time. I got robbed three times while living here already. It traumatized me enough to change the way I live. Now every time I ride home I get very paranoid that someone might follow me and rob me.
6. Lifestyle and peer pressure. I think this occurs to every metropolitan city and every middle-high class people. You are stuck between too broke, but wanting to keep up with the pace of your rich friends with royal lifestyle. This will probably stresses you out at some point, but I say the best way to deal with it is to fuck it. Real friends won't let you suffer, they'll understand if you say no whenever they ask you out :)

So I guess that's pretty much it, let me know if you have more pros and cons that I didn't mention on the comments section below! And also good luck for those of you who are going to live in Jakarta, I wish you enjoy the city as much as I do, despite all the shit that I had gone through! lmao

Cheers!