Anyone Living In Malaysia?

[RummyBoy]

How's the life out there?

What's the people like?

What's the cost of living?

What's the pros and the cons?

Is the heat bearable?

Which are the best cities?

What about the chickies?

Just curious if its a place which is a livable?
I'm heading out there for a trip next month and wanna sample the COOSINE.

[Captain Kawaii]

Tell em yur a Jew. It will be fine.

[wdsguy]

If you are all about the food, goto penang.

[Chosen]

Originally Posted by Captain Kawaii

Tell em yur a Jew. It will be fine.

[420]

Pizza man lives there but its middle of the night so he's sleeping.

[Chosen]

It would depend on what you get used to.
Life there is diverse.
People there are different - there are mostly Malay, Indian and Chinese people, each group has specific culture.
Cost of living depending on what you're looking for. In general not expensive.
It's hot there.
KL worth visiting, also most of the islands are nice.

[Chosen]

Also Cameron Highlands, there are tea plantations, strawberry farms and so on and so forth.

[F-U-Jimmy]

Penang has great food but is now full of tourists and expensive. Mainland Malaysia would be a better choice. People are very nice, mostly !

[RummyBoy]

Originally Posted by F-U-Jimmy

Penang has great food but is now full of tourists and expensive. Mainland Malaysia would be a better choice. People are very nice, mostly !

Sure but apart from food, what is so good about Penang?

[DWB]

Originally Posted by RummyBoy

Sure but apart from food, what is so good about Penang?

It has charm, a lot of it. Has everything you may need as a foreigner too. Then again, so does KL. The heat... it's South East Asia, you can't escape it. Humidity too. Unless you want to live in a mountainous region somewhere (Vietnam & Thailand have some nice mountain cities), it's going to be hot and humid most of the time.

Unless you're wanting to get off the beaten path, KL really has it all. Food, nightlife, shopping, urban living, hospitals, and so on. Penang is nice, but it's slow paced, and from what I've found the internet sucks balls there. But they do have some killer condos on the ocean.

Both KL and Penang have plenty of tail, locals and imports.

Cost of living will be a little more than a lot of SE Asia, but petrol is really cheap. Everyone has a car too, so there is a lot of traffic. Not as bad as Jakarta or Bangkok rush hour, but it can get bad.

The locals are friendly. Many religions living together. But be warned, there is also a rapidly growing Muslim population there, as well is extremism. Just a week ago or so, someone set off a bomb in a disco in KL. It's also a VERY conservative country.

Probably a great place to raise a family and retire so long as the Muslims don't get too out of control in the coming years.

[xXXtesy10]

Originally Posted by 420

Pizza man lives there but its middle of the night so he's sleeping.

[Tasty1]

I like Malaysia, just travel around when you go on holiday.
Kuala Lumpur is great, travel to Cameron Highlands, Langkawi, Penang.
I went to Malaysian Borneo also, that is nice for nature, but nothing else.

Don't stay in 1 place if you are there, cause than you can just go to any beach holiday destination in Asia.

Don't forget to go to Malacca when you are in KL and stay there for 2 or 3 days.
I just took a cab to bring me there.

[lock]

No spitting, No drugs, clean environment, 50/50 Christian Muslim, is about what i know.

[Chosen]

Originally Posted by lock

50/50 Christian Muslim

LoL

[Coup]

You're gonna get Ebola.

[Chosen]

From KL you can also visit Putrajaya and return in 1 day.
Same goes with Batu_Caves.

[Barry-xlovecam]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornogr..._Asia#Malaysia

Malaysia

In Malaysia, it is illegal to sell or possess[22] pornography. Possessing pornographic material is subject to prosecution with fine up to RM10,000. Internet pornography-viewing is not a crime under the Multimedia Act.

Have a nice trip ...

[MrTrollkien]

The Islamic judges are expected to follow the Shafi'i legal school of Islam, which is the main madh'hab of Malaysia. The jurisdiction of Syariah courts is limited to Muslims in matters such as marriage, inheritance, divorce, apostasy, religious conversion, and custody among others. No other criminal or civil offences are under the jurisdiction of the Shariah courts, which have a similar hierarchy to the Civil Courts. Despite being the supreme courts of the land, the Civil Courts do not hear matters related to Islamic practices.

[RandyRandy]

Originally Posted by RummyBoy

How's the life out there?

Did you get my reply to your PM? It was kind of lengthy. If you're passing through let me know - I'll point you in the right directions if I can.

Originally Posted by DWB

The locals are friendly. Many religions living together. But be warned, there is also a rapidly growing Muslim population there, as well is extremism. Just a week ago or so, someone set off a bomb in a disco in KL. It's also a VERY conservative country.

Probably a great place to raise a family and retire so long as the Muslims don't get too out of control in the coming years.

The Muslims control the goverment, but the Chinese control the private money. And everyone pisses on the Indians - although they have no problem celebrating Indian holidays like Deepavalli this Wednesday.

I haven't really seen much extremism because I'm in KL - it gets VERY conservative outside the city. Plenty of non-Halal places in KL and Penang, not so much elsewhere.

For what it's worth, it was two hand grenades (one didn't detonate as the grenades were over 20 years old) under parked cars - and it was attributed to a rival gang problem.

[RummyBoy]

Originally Posted by RandyRandy

Did you get my reply to your PM? It was kind of lengthy. If you're passing through let me know - I'll point you in the right directions if I can.

I didn't get it...... I guess if it was lengthy, it would have been rejected as the PM here accept very little amount of text. How about the property and living experience? Are property prices reasonable? What about digital nomad getting a visa?

[RandyRandy]

Rentals are very reasonable - but buying property is very expensive - at least in KL. I'm in a one bedroom condo in a luxury building in Bangsar - a very affluent neighborhood of KL. It's fully furnished, central air and all utilities, cable, internet included and I'm paying $1,000 a month. To buy the same apartment it's about $250,000. Makes no sense but that's par for the course here. I'm moving into a 4 bedroom house next year with pool, garage, etc and the rental is about the same - of course it's unfurnished and nothing's included - to buy it's in the $400,000 range.

I've enjoyed my first 8 months - people are great, I get laid easily, through Tinder and bars really easy to meet girls. Looks like I'm going to be here long term - business is booming; opening out second shop next month. For visa, if you're from the US or Europe they give you 90 days - then you need to exit and can re-enter the same day if you want and they give you another 90 days. My partner has been doing "visa runs" like this for 5 years. I usually go somewhere nice for a couple or three days and come back with a fresh 90 days. I'm going to Phuket next week for 3 days - $100 round trip on Air Asia who has their hub in KL. Loads of cheap flights all over Asia.

It's very hot but I'll take it over NYC winters, especially last year. You could do worse than Malaysia - so far it's all right by me.

[Sly]

Originally Posted by RandyRandy

It's very hot but I'll take it over NYC winters, especially last year. You could do worse than Malaysia - so far it's all right by me.

How is the air quality? Pollution in general?

[RandyRandy]

Originally Posted by Sly

How is the air quality? Pollution in general?

Air quality can be bad. When I got here in February, there was a terrible "haze" for about three weeks. The Malaysians like to blame neighboring Indonesia's manufacturing for the smog, others say it comes from the burning of palm trees on the plantations in Malaysia. It went away for seven months, now it's back again. I don't know what causes it exactly, but it makes the humidity even denser. That, and everyone here smokes - no laws against it.

Also no laws against any type of discrimination. No law against sexual harassment.

Not a good walking city. In addition to the heat, the drivers have right on red, left on red and straight through the light on red. I've yet to see a policeman writing up a traffic infraction.

Plenty of pros and cons to living here, but so far it's worked for me and I see plenty of opportunity for growth in 2015.

[RummyBoy]

Originally Posted by RandyRandy

of course it's unfurnished and nothing's included - to buy it's in the $400,000 range.

You say its expensive but it's cheap compared with Singapore, no?
Do you think it would be a good investment to buy in KL right now?

Also, you say its hot but it seems like 35c is peak heat no?
Its not hot like Dubai or India peak seasons.

But how can you stay easily on a 90 day visa?

(1) Doesn't this stop you opening a bank account? What if you need one?
(2) It doesn't cause a problem getting rental accommodations?
(3) What are the cheap rental options there - do they have flat share?

[GAMEFINEST]

Great info here ..

[Sin Media]

Thailand is better for living IMAO

[RummyBoy]

Originally Posted by Sin Media

Thailand is better for living IMAO

Better for living?
You live longer there?

I personally love Thailand but I can't stand the English spoken accent of thais...... I just find it grating, I don't know why but its like scraping chalk with my finger nails.

As for Penang, is this a good show:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=afvBYEgi-ME

Anyone know, are there more foreigners in Penang or KL?

[DWB]

Originally Posted by RandyRandy

Air quality can be bad. When I got here in February, there was a terrible "haze" for about three weeks. The Malaysians like to blame neighboring Indonesia's manufacturing for the smog, others say it comes from the burning of palm trees on the plantations in Malaysia. It went away for seven months, now it's back again. I don't know what causes it exactly, but it makes the humidity even denser. That, and everyone here smokes - no laws against it.

That time of year much of SE Asia gets a haze, some worse than others, and it's due to farmers burning their fields to clear them out. It's a huge problem. There are fire maps you can watch when this happens, all of SE Asia is lit up, it's incredible. NOT the time to be in the area. It gets REALLY bad in some areas. There are a few different maps, but the link is one of them to watch when burning season comes.

One thing that is funny, every country blames the other for the haze, but everyone is equally as guilty. Many will burn at night so police don't see the smoke.

[DWB]

Originally Posted by RummyBoy

Anyone know, are there more foreigners in Penang or KL?

If by foreigners you mean white people, they are mostly in KL. That's where most of the non oil related jobs are.

[RandyRandy]

Originally Posted by RummyBoy

Anyone know, are there more foreigners in Penang or KL?

More foreigners living in KL, although many foreigners visit Penang. I was there a couple of times, most recently for a wedding. Nice place to stay for a few days, beach was ok, some decent resorts, a lot of good food places. People from there are fiercely loyal to it (as most people anywhere) and talk it up like it's heaven on earth. I could take it or leave it.

Originally Posted by RummyBoy

You say its expensive but it's cheap compared with Singapore, no?
Do you think it would be a good investment to buy in KL right now?

Absolutely cheap when compared to Singapore - on every level. As far as an investment, I do think KL is a rising star. They want to become a more international player and Malaysia has this plan called Wawasan (Vision) 2020 - where they become self-sufficient industrialized nation by then. Ambitious, and to me that shows they aren't an extremist government and don't want to go that way. Hey - if there weren't two "incidents" with Malaysian Airways this year, Malaysia would have continued to exist under the radar for most of the Western world.

In KL, there is new construction everywhere - a lot of high-end residences and a good investment in infrastructure ( expanding their rapid transit system) And SEA's first Nobu opened this month in KL - that should say something.

Also, you say its hot but it seems like 35c is peak heat no?
Its not hot like Dubai or India peak seasons.

I've seen 39c - but it's not as hot as Dubai or India. The only reason I mention the het (and humidity) is because in another thread on Panama, many people were complaining how hot and humid it gets there when considering retirement there. It does get hot, but not as bad as KL. For the record, the heat isn't a bad enough factor for me in either place.

But how can you stay easily on a 90 day visa?

(1) Doesn't this stop you opening a bank account? What if you need one?
(2) It doesn't cause a problem getting rental accommodations?
(3) What are the cheap rental options there - do they have flat share?

My partner has been here for 5 years - all on a 90 day visa. He just got married to a local, so he's now getting a spousal visa, but that didn't stop him (or me) from getting a rental or bank account. You won't be able to get an account at the local banks, but I got one at HSBC. They asked for the last six months of my American bank account statements and that was it. Some banks won't even consider an American because of FACTA - they don't want to do the paperwork.

As far as cheap accommodations - you can get as cheap as you want. Most of my workers live 4-5 to a bedroom in nice neighborhoods @ 150rm per month (US$50) But assuming you don't want to live in a house with 20-25 Bangladeshis, of course there are great apartments that you can share with 1,2,3 others. bartender friend here lives in a crazy spectacular condo on the 40th floor - awesome amenities. He's sharing with three others in a 4 bedroom/4 bathroom furnished apartment for about 1,500rm a month (US$500) and that includes everything. You could easily find furnished apartments to share for less.

If you want a neighborhood that's affluent and has a lot of foreigners, then you look at Bangsar, Mont Kiara or Damansara. You can find a lot of deals here: www.mudah.my Mudah.my is Malaysia's version of Craigslist, very useful.

Smog? What smog?

[RummyBoy]

Anyone know about the place of JOHOR in Malaysia?

I understand you can live there just 30 minutes drive away from Singapore.

But what is the living like actually within JOHOR?
Is it a fun and funky place?
Note that I lived in London (UK) for like 1/3 of a century.

[RandyRandy]

A quick Malaysian monarchy primer. There are nine Sultans throughout Malaysia. They take turns being the head Monarch on a rotating basis about every 5 years.

The Sultan of Johor had lunch in my place about a month ago. I don't know him personally, but I do know one of his nephews on a social basis - and we have businesses in the same neighborhood. Johor really expanded after World War two and has become a hotspot for tourists looking for a break from the high prices from neighboring Singapore. There are several islands off the coast of Johor that have become very successful tourist destinations - with some great surfing and golf.

But there is a dark side. The family that rules Johor are considered the "gangsters" of Malaysian royalty. Stuff like this happens routinely and gets swept under the rug very quickly: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma...rawa-being-inv

And then there was an incident concerning a high stakes round of golf that ended with one of the foursome being literally clubbed to death on the 16th hole by one of the Sultan's "crew". The story goes that they finished holes 17 and 18 as a threesome, leaving the remaining duffer on the putting green at 16 like nothing happened. I'm guessing the players behind them just skipped that hole.

[TheSquealer]

Originally Posted by RandyRandy

A quick Malaysian monarchy primer. There are nine Sultans throughout Malaysia. They take turns being the head Monarch on a rotating basis about every 5 years.

The Sultan of Johor had lunch in my place about a month ago. I don't know him personally, but I do know one of his nephews on a social basis - and we have businesses in the same neighborhood. Johor really expanded after World War two and has become a hotspot for tourists looking for a break from the high prices from neighboring Singapore. There are several islands off the coast of Johor that have become very successful tourist destinations - with some great surfing and golf.

But there is a dark side. The family that rules Johor are considered the "gangsters" of Malaysian royalty. Stuff like this happens routinely and gets swept under the rug very quickly: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma...rawa-being-inv

And then there was an incident concerning a high stakes round of golf that ended with one of the foursome being literally clubbed to death on the 16th hole by one of the Sultan's "crew". The story goes that they finished holes 17 and 18 as a threesome, leaving the remaining duffer on the putting green at 16 like nothing happened. I'm guessing the players behind them just skipped that hole.

Was skimming articles on that site. Personally, i'd say that any place that trains their doctors to perform exorcisms to treat disease, can't be that bad. Thats a skill that western doctors don't even have.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma...-modern-medici

[last click]

we need some pics, I want to go to malaysia next summer!

[RummyBoy]

Originally Posted by RandyRandy

leaving the remaining duffer on the putting green at 16 like nothing happened. I'm guessing the players behind them just skipped that hole.

Well........ every game of golf is different and every golf course is also different.

Anyhow, those kind of events are still rare. But I guess you don't see much of an advantage to JOHOR being just 30 minute drive into Singapore when property in Johor is so much cheaper and better? What about the shopping places in Johor and the over all living experience there?

You think Penang is better than Johor even with that proximity benefit?
How about JOHOR vs KL ?