Karimun Besar, Riau
Is moving to Karimun Besar a good idea???
Another location, I had set my eyes on for a relocation was the Island of Karimun Besar. The island is not as well known as Bintan and Batam.
One of the reasons for choosing this island was due to the reason that it was (pre-COVID) accessible by a 90 min ferry ride to Singapore. That being said mainland Singapore is only about 30 kM away.
There are a few things about this island that I find fascinating. One is that in spite of it being close to Singapore it does not seem to be as commercialized as the islands of Batam or Bintan. The other is that the capital of the province is, Pekan Baru, located on the Sumatra mainland.
When it comes to information from countries which have emerging economies it is sometimes hard to gauge the conditions based upon Google Street View and search alone.
According to information collected from sites such as WikiTravel (which seems to promote some businesses over others) and Trip advisor there are several beaches which are not very commercialized.
Indonesia is actively implementing a universal healthcare system called the JKN under the umbrella of BPJS Kesehatan. There is a hospital near the port called RSUD Muhammad Sani and several other like it scattered over the island. I am unsure if non residents are able to get care at a public hospital.
This island is an FTZ (Part of the Free Trade Zone). There are several shipping related companies including Sembawang shipyard (Singapore) and Oil Tanking (Deutschland) and MOS (Multi Ocean Shipyard) scattered across the North and the West of the island. My assumption would be the economic drivers of the island is more manufacturing than tourism related.
The road along the East Coast of the island wide and is divided. The development along the stretch of road is not very consistent. There are several “Kampung” style shops, newer shophouses and the 21 Karimun hotel in the middle.
When it comes to accommodation there seems to be a wide variety from the Aston Karimun City Hotel, 21 Karimun to Hotel H3 and Hotel Wikoria. Accomodations seem to start at around C$18 a night.
Considering the island is small, sparsely populated and working in shipbuilding and other manufacturing activity, it might be easy to get around the island by bike without getting run over by motor vehicles.
Karimun Besar island, solely based upon the information available online, does not seem to be as exciting as Chiang Rai or Montreal but it does seem to have potential. The big question though is if there is enough fresh water available on the island to sustain a bigger population.