The difference Jakarta offers

Singapore and Hong Kong tend to be more like career path stepping-stones. No one goes to Hong Kong or Singapore to immerse themselves in the culture and no expats see themselves retiring there.

By its nature Jakarta is more renegade... the chaos and desperation of the place provide a sort of frenzied sanctuary to a lot of expats - it's like putting on a big pair of headphones and turning Metallica up loud enough to make the rest of the world disappear for a while. -David Griffin, Singapore