Cathy, you emigrated to Bali in 2021 and thus made your dream come true. How long have you planned your emigration?
I would say that I worked strategically for a year on how to shift my business from Austria to Bali and how to align my training and coaching digitally. Of course I also started to deal with Indonesia and Bali in particular thematically.
What were your reasons for going to Bali and leaving your career as an anchor woman in Austria behind
you?
I haven't been that TV and radio presenter for 10 years. I consciously took this step when I left the job voluntarily at the end of 2012. I'm Austrian, but I never saw myself as Austrian in many ways because I often couldn't identify with the mentality. I wanted to choose a more international, open and positive place for myself. A place that allows me to grow and really find myself.
How have you settled in Bali and what is your everyday life like now?
I've been here for exactly a year now and have settled in very well. I know the island well, have my favorite bars and restaurants, my Bahasa is getting better and I feel at home. My everyday life is currently still very much characterized by a lot of work, which is mainly due to the fact that 2.5 months ago I entered the beauty business alongside my established speaking business and I am building something completely new. All my motivation and energy goes into it. Since I have set myself the goal of financial freedom and independence from myself as a performance coach and presentation trainer, my full focus is on the new business. That means calls, calls, calls, especially in the afternoon to evening due to the time difference with Europe.
What were your biggest hurdles when emigrating to Bali?
At first my mind. I wasn't sure if I should really do this. However, these doubts did not last long. I go very much with my intuition and it said: "Do it!" So I did. What's going to happen? If something doesn't work out the way it's supposed to, I'll either go back, I thought, or go somewhere else. I'm not chained in Bali.
Otherwise the hurdles were very small. On the spot it's mostly bureaucratic things for me that just take forever. This sometimes tests my patience.
The exciting thing is, before you emigrate, you think, crazy, what a giant step, I feel like I'm the only one who dares such an adventure. Then you quickly find out how many thousands upon thousands of people have done it before you and you think to yourself, why did I hesitate for so long.
What tips would you give our readers who would also like to take the step to emigrate?
I think a lot of research is important to find the place that suits you best. Culture, cost of living, taxes, climate, all that and more are essential for the decision. It's about your priorities. What is important to you? For example, I decided to make compromises in terms of structure and extreme cleanliness, Bali definitely has an issue with both. Both are incomparably better in Austria. But I feel freer, happier and less taxed here on this often noisy, chaotic island. I have more left. I don't run through the beautiful city like I'm remotely controlled and "disconnected" from myself, and like I'm close to burnout in my hamster wheel. What's the point of all this if I'm not happy?
Then I would get in touch with people who are already where I want to be, who have already successfully walked the path. I would ask them for tips, advice and honest testimonials.
And thirdly: once you have decided, do it. Life is about taking risks. There's a lot of magic in there. For me, that's what makes life worth living.
You have been working as a presentation and performance coach for years, how does working with you from Bali look like?
Very good. The training usually takes place 1:1 in zoom calls, which works great. Just last week I was allowed to accompany a great woman for seven weeks, who has now reached the highest position in the company thanks to the presentation we created. In addition, her partners congratulated her on her appearance, who praised her personal touch and emotionality in addition to her expertise. Of course, that's the best compliment for me too, training people to be successful. The time difference is also ideal, I haven't had any training before 2 p.m. my time for a year, when it's 8 a.m. in the DACH area.
n the Lifestyle Collection we report on beautiful destinations. Do you have one or more destinations that you would like to recommend to our readers and what did you particularly like about this country/these countries?
I love Mallorca and the nature and vegetation there. Spain is just great and the food is a dream. I am a big fan of Cape Town. I remember well when I was there for the first time 15 years ago and thought I could imagine living here. The openness of the people, the vibe, the internationality, the city just has something very special that attracts me. That's why Cape Town has always been a dream destination for emigration for a long time. But security, crime and the high cost of living dissuaded me somewhat. Who knows, maybe one day it will be a second or third home. My vision is anyway to have something in Europe, maybe South Africa and in Bali. We will see …
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