What is Live-Work-Play — a new concept of life that Russians liked

The concept of Live-Work-Play (translated from English — "Live, work, have fun") is the idea of creating residential complexes where you can live, work and relax in one space, that is, houses, offices, shops, restaurants and areas for sports or recreation are within walking distance. Live-Work-Play originates from the desire to optimize urban space and reduce travel time. For the first time, similar concepts appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, when architects tried to decentralize megacities. Today, developers are creating "cities within a city," paying special attention to creating spaces for recreation and entertainment — these can be parks for walking or shopping malls. Such living spaces help people find that balance.

The modern development of the Live-Work-Play concept is associated with the slow trend, which, in turn, has been going on for almost half a century and is associated with McDonald's. It originated in Italy in the 1980s as a protest against the proliferation of fast food chains. The movement in defense of slow food has developed into a whole philosophy of slow living, whose adherents consciously approach all its areas. Slow is not about slowing down in the literal sense, but about switching attention from the result to the process. That is, to enjoy life.

For a long time, the trend had nothing to do with travel and the rhythm of life, but also concerned urbanism and fashion in addition to gastronomy. Meanwhile, diametrically opposed sentiments prevailed in tourism — the desire to see as much as possible and as quickly as possible (hit-and-run tourism and experimental travel). Before covid, the focus shifted — more and more travelers wanted not to "gallop through Europe", but to plan longer voyages, leaving room for enjoying the moment. A good example is the book, and then the film "Eat, Pray, Love" (2010). In the latter, Julia Roberts' heroine enjoys cooking in Italy for three months, meditates in India for the same amount, and then lives among the rice fields in Bali's Ubud for another quarter.

However, this trend did not last forever either. He was changed by covid and the collective lockdown experience. People, especially owners of capital, began to consider their previously favorite locations for "slow tourism" as a second home, showing interest not just in long-term travel, but in investing in real estate in their favorite locations. In addition to covid, generational change and the timely transfer of capital played a role. Millennials and especially zoomers began to enter the vanguard of the most solvent and active audience, writes The Economist. The tastes of these two generations began to dictate their terms to the market, because unlike the boomers, choosing from traditional 5* hotels and ethnoglamping in the jungle, they will stay at the second. And over time, the love of eco-friendly slow rest turned into Live-Work—Play - the love of eco-friendly slow life. Over the years, only the location has not changed. Bali remained its center.

Back in the glorious pre-pandemic days (namely in 2019), Bali set a historical record for the number of tourists. After the lockdown break, interest in the island and Indonesia has not waned. Moreover, having missed the local beaches, tourists hurried back to the promised land. And in 2023, the Indonesian authorities announced a new tourist record on the island. But this is not the only trend that tourists have brought. This time, along with suitcases full of surf clothes, they began, figuratively speaking, to bring... suitcases with money to buy a house on your favorite island, join Live-Work-Play and just invest well.

A large number of Russians turned out to be among such tourists. And their preferences have changed. Previously, Bali was consistently among the top places where Russian citizens bought resort properties in both the mass and premium segments, but in the last two years interest has shifted towards luxury square meters (and even began to prevail over the mass segment in 2023 and continued in 2024), says Olga Gorkhiyan, the chapter "Floors Indonesia". First of all, they pay attention to real estate, offering the opportunity to live, work and have fun in one place with a developed infrastructure and amenities, growing with quantum steps. Luxury villas and apartments are at the top (starting from $2 million).

Another reason for the growing interest in buying such real estate is the financial aspect. Premium real estate in Bali provides a high return on investment (ROI) — rental yields can reach up to 10-15%, depending on purchase prices (with an average gross return in the country of 7.55%). This is higher than the global ROI, which averages 5%. As a result, sales of luxury square meters in Bali have increased by 66% over the past five years, which is two—thirds more than before the pandemic. According to the forecast of Verified Market Research, the market volume will grow by 20% annually, Gorkhiyan added.

Bali's attractiveness to Russians after the pandemic is explained by the inaccessibility of other investment markets traditionally associated with resort real estate. 80% of the world's resort real estate is located in Europe, the USA, on the coast and islands of the Caribbean (Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, etc.). Most of these markets have become inaccessible to capital with roots in Russia since 2022. Meanwhile, Asia is not an obvious destination for promising investments, since it accounts for a fifth of the world's luxury spending.