Biomedicine and ‘Risky’ Retirement Destinations: Older Western Residents in Ubud, Bali

Abstract

International retirement migration is often conflated with the generic emergence of a new stage in the life course, the third age. I describe how well-travelled, globally orientated retirees are drawn to and experience biomedical provision in 'risky' retirement destinations. Drawing on ethnographic research in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, I consider how older Western residents shape, share, and manage their health concerns in light of an Indonesian biomedical system that is transforming in the context of modern medical provision and an emerging retirement industry. Building on Rose and Novas's notion of biological citizenship, I illustrate the ways in which Western retirees engage with multiple biomedical realities built around localized, symbolic distinctions between 'hospital' and 'doctor,' immigration frameworks, the transregional context of medical tourism, and broader concerns relating to change and overdevelopment in Ubud and Bali.

Thinking within, across and beyond lifestyle paradigms: Later-life mobility histories and practices ‘in’ Ubud, Bali

“…The research findings presented in this article derive from a longitudinal ethnographic project that began in 2011 (see also: Green, 2015aGreen, , 2015bGreen, , 2015cGreen, , 2016Green, , 2017. Since then, I have made numerous visits as an individual researcher, and completed almost eight months of fieldwork in total, in Ubud, Bali.…”

“…This 'culture' of mobility feeds into understandings, especially for new arrivals, of how to 'do life' in Ubud and beyond. A bureaucratic need to renew one's visa every six months further feeds into this culture of mobility, with individuals and couples combining 'visa runs' with medical check-ups in Bangkok or Penang, for example (Green, 2015a(Green, , 2016.…”

Racial hierarchies and contradictory moral regimes in lifestyle destinations: Older, Western residents in Ubud, Bali

“…The findings of this article are based on close to seven months of “yo-yo fieldwork” (Wulff, 2002), conducted in Ubud between 2011 and 2014. This research is part of a broader lifestyle research project in Southeast Asia; I have also conducted fieldwork in Penang, Malaysia (see Green, 2014, 2015a, 2015b, 2015c, 2016). I specifically visited Ubud, as an individual researcher, on seven separate occasions; each visit lasted between two and six weeks.…”

“…As a white social space, these establishments provide foreigners with a basis to socialize and build relations with other foreigners living in the area. These cafes and restaurants may also cater to significant numbers of tourists, or “non-white” lifestyle migrants, but the surrounding clientele in such spaces is of little relevance – the “bubble” is shaped and formed through “company, support and information” (Wilson and Richards, 2008: 191) that in later life may center on age-specific concerns around recommendations and experiences of health care provision (Green, 2016).…”

“…Scholars are now addressing the experiences of largely non-working Western migrants and retirees in South Asia (Korpela, 2010) and various parts of Latin America (Benson, 2013; Croucher, 2009; Hayes, 2014, 2015a, 2015b). This article builds on emerging scholarly interest in the movement of international retirees to Southeast Asia (Green, 2014, 2015a, 2015b, 2015c, 2016; Howard, 2008; Ono, 2014; Toyota, 2006; Wong and Musa, 2014) by focusing on the lives of older, Western migrants and retirees based in the popular tourist destination of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.…”