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ure, Jakarta has problems. But once you see the bright side of the city, it’s hard to leave. And even if you want to get out, the town, somehow, keeps finding a way to pull you back in. Here are our five picks for things that keep us coming back for more:

JP/Wendra AjistyatamaYou can live anywhere. Literally.

You can live large in Jakarta, or small, if that’s your taste.

Newcomers and young professionals who refuse to deal with heavy traffic frequently choose kost rental rooms (refurbished, with bathroom), low-cost rental homes or high-rise apartments, all in or near the heart of the Sudirman Central Business District.

Jakarta’s ever-horrendous traffic congestion has contributed to a burst in property development, especially for
apartments, as people are desperate to live close to the workplace. As proof, look at the Pakubuwono View in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta (see photo).

The city is a gold mine.

Jakarta is where 80 percent of the nation’s money is circulating, meaning there are jobs aplenty — if you know where to look.

As multinational companies have expanded into Southeast Asia by opening representative offices here, the job market in Jakarta has become robust.

“Based on our database, local companies in the telecommunications and oil and gas sectors are those that employ the most expatriates,” Miranti Puspa Kemala, a senior human resources consultant, said.

Miranti said her firm has recruited several foreigners for positions in the representative offices of multinationals in Jakarta.

Aside from big business, Jakarta, as the nation’s economic and industrial center, remains a magnet, drawing people from across the country, also accelerating the capital’s frenetic pace of urbanization.

According to Jakarta’s Civil Registration Agency, about 50,000 people from other provinces come to Jakarta after every Idul Fitri. In 2010, 60,000 people flooded the capital after the holiday.

The city is a melting pot.

You can be sure that those who live in Jakarta will never be bored. As a melting pot of peoples, there are conflicts, of course, but the city’s cultural offerings are diverse and expanding.

The city hosts a bevy of film festivals, for example, attracts global rock stars for concerts, puts on a fashion week and has almost four dozen museums to choose from.

The cultural cavalcade can also be seen outside and on the streets of Jakarta, such as during Chinese New Year, where Barongsai lion-dancers were a common site (see photo).

Services that make life easier.

Life can be hard in Jakarta, but at the same time, the city also offers privileges that are irresistible, such as delivery services that some in Manhattan — or Medan — might find unimaginable.

Take, for example, Jakarta’s taxi belanja, or shopping taxis, where people hire others to do their grocery shopping. The city also offers ‘taxijeks’, a portmanteau of taxi and ojek, which provides motorcycle taxi services at metered rates.

There is also go-jek, providing motorcycle taxi couriers that deliver goods, lunch boxes and will even wait in line to buy your concert tickets. There are even breast-milk courier services for working moms to shuttle food home to their newborns.

And after dark ...

Jakarta provides the best night life a person could ask for: From the 7-Elevens that offer all-night outdoor seating and a cheap place to enjoy a Bintang (despite signs to the contrary) to nightclubs with sexy dancers and visiting European DJs.

Nightclubs in South Jakarta tend to be more glamorous and less seedy than those in West Jakarta and North Jakarta, where drugs and prostitution are as much a part of the decor as the drinks. Please see Moammar Emka’s Jakarta Undercover for a lurid narrative of the city’s demimonde.

According to the Entertainment, Tourism and Recreation Association (PPRHU), Jakarta is home to more than 1,129 nightlife businesses, including nightclubs, discos, massage parlors, saunas, arcades and bars that employed a staggering 670,000 people in 2011.

The industry in Jakarta has grown 15 percent a year in recent years, with revenues estimated to top Rp 1.8 trillion (US$200 million) in 2010, according to the association. — JP