Remote Work in Sangereng: My Camera Bag and Crappy WiFi Reality Check
so there i was, perched in some warung with my laptop open, trying to upload a photoshoot while dodging geckos. sangereng, man. everyone's hyping it as the next big digital nomad hub, but let's be real - it's messy, weird, and kinda perfect.
*the jarak rumah coffee conundrum
first things first - coffee. in sangereng, your caffeine fix is either a plastic cup of kopi tubruk that tastes like burnt earth or overpriced artisanal nonsense at jarak rumah. i tried working from both. the tubruk joint had zero wifi but the best people-watching; the fancy place had decent internet but played lo-fi beats so loud i couldn't hear myself think. pro tip: bring a portable hotspot. don't be me, crying over missed uploads because the warung's 4g died at noon.
the rumah kos horror stories
rent here? yikes. a decent one-bedroom near the alam sutera area will set you back at least 8-10 million a month if you're lucky. but dig deeper and you'll find these weird warung-kos hybrids - tiny rooms above noodle shops with shared bathrooms that smell like damp socks. i crashed in one for a month. worth it? kinda. the owner's kid would bring me free mie ayam, but the roaches... man, the roaches were the real roommates.
> "heard the new co-working space in gading serpong is run by some dude who stole his wife's inheritance to fund it. true story. - overheard at a wedding"
here's the cold, hard truth about sangereng:item cost (idr) notes decent warung meal 15,000-25,000 eat before noon or get old rice beer at bar 60,000-100,000 happy hour your only friend sim card (1gb/day) 50,000 invest in this grab ride (airport) 150,000-250,000 traffic roulette
the alam sutera bubble*
let's talk safety. the expat enclave of alam sutera feels like a different planet - clean streets, security guards everywhere, malls that close at 10pm. step outside that bubble and you're in traffic-hell where crossing the street involves dodging motorbikes while praying.
weather-wise? right now it's that weird sticky-hot season where you sweat just thinking about moving. but jump in a car for two hours and you're in puncak, breathing actual non-damp air. or fly to bali if you're fancy.
> "bro, don't trust that new co-working space in serpong. they'll promise you everything but the wifi drops during prayer times. true story. - drunk advice from a guy named budi"
is sangereng a digital nomad paradise? nah. but it's got character. the internet sucks, the traffic will kill your soul, but the food's cheap, the people are weirdly friendly, and my camera's loving the chaos. check out r/sangereng for the real tea, or warung recommendations if you're brave enough.
pro tip: if you work remote here, make friends with a motorbike guy. mine takes me anywhere for 30k and shares his snacks. worth more than any co-working space, honestly.
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