In short
Canggu and Ubud set a standard: coworking spaces, cafés, gyms, community — everything tuned for someone who works on a laptop and wants sun.
The island is far larger than those two villages. The east and the north look nothing like what gets posted.
Bali works remarkably well for a first departure: nothing is difficult, everything is already organised, and you meet people in one evening.
What it really costs
Housing is the line that has risen most in recent years, and the prices quoted to foreigners in the popular areas stopped being local prices a while ago.
Eating local costs very little; eating where visitors eat costs European money. The gap is wider here than anywhere else on this list.
A scooter is essential and cheap by the month — the risk is not.
Working here
Unmatched density of coworking spaces, and a settled professional culture: finding collaborators or contractors on the spot is immediate.
The connection is the structural weakness: power cuts, speeds that vary by area, reliance on 4G. That is the island's side of the bargain.
The time difference with Europe is harder to work around than Thailand's, on a European rhythm.
What nobody tells you
Traffic between Canggu and Seminyak is a daily problem now, not an anecdote.
Scooter accidents involving foreigners without the right licence and without valid insurance are common, and the financial consequences are heavy.
And the tourist saturation shows: in the best-known areas, what the images sell and what you find no longer match.