The cost of property in Malaysia
Over the past few months we have had the opportunity to travel around Malaysia to look for a new home. Its quite astonishing what you can get for your money here, for example:
1. A detached 5000sqft house on a Golf Course with free golf club and leisure facilites can cost from just 1million RM. This amount would buy you a dream home on CNBC's 2008 best golf resort in Asia.
(A search on the internet using the terms 'Tiara Golf Club' or 'Meru Valley Golf Club' will bring you more information)
2. A brand new luxury 2000sqft condo near the sea in Penang with 5 star hotel facilities will cost you from 700,000rm, there are very few places around the world where you can live by the sea on a luxury property for this amount of money.
The cost of living
Many things in Malaysia are subsidised by the government equating to low prices, including fuel, public ransport and food etc
The famous 'Hawker' stalls provide a delicious variety of foods which can cost from just 6rm for two people.
What's it like living in Malaysia
We are often asked by people 'what's it like' living in Malaysia under the MM2H program, as you can imagine trying to sum up living in a foreign country in a few words is very difficult. Like all countries there are good and bad, however Malaysia offers far more of the good things than the bad. Malaysia is a multicultural society predominantly made up of Bumiputra, Chinese, Indians. The country has a modern infrastructure and a democratically elected government, most people you meet in Malaysia are multi-lingual and you should find little difficulty conversing with someone in English. Travel around the country is very easy with well built highways taking you from Thailand down to Singapore, these roads are subsidised by 'Toll' payments. Speed limits are strictly imposed and if you get stopped by the Police and issued a summons, its because you didn't follow the rules!
The main areas chosen by Expats to stay are the capital Kuala Lumpur, followed by Penang, Melaka (Malacca), Ipoh and so on. Kuala Lumpur is a hive of activity, with many modern high rises occupied by multi-nationals, outstanding shopping malls with everything from the worlds best designer brands down to small stalls. Kuala Lumpur has a incredible amount of Eateries, Restaurants, Clubs etc but remember all this means more people, and more people mean a higher crime rate than most other areas of the country, more traffic, noise and pollution. Compared to most other major capital cities around the world, Kuala Lumpur is on par facility-wise and has a much lower cost of living, Penang on the other hand is very different, and small Island off the West Cost of Pennisular Malaysia where the poulation is split almost equally between Chinese and Malays and the pace of life is less hectic. As a former British Colony Penang has many historic buildings, and is less developed than Kuala Lumpur. It does still have modern shopping malls, thousands of places to eat and socialise and probably most importantly - the beaches.
The weather here is hot - for some new MM2H applicants is can be a shock until you become aclimatised.
The Malaysia My Second Home program (MM2H) was setup to lure retirees from around the world to come and live in Malaysia. When it comes to retirement one of the main considerations is 'Can I afford the quality of life I have always wanted now that I am retired' the simple answer is Yes you can! Malaysia has a very low cost of living to the point that most peple are shocked by what they pay for things here. Making friends is easy, and you will never be short of things to do, whether its socialising, exploring, travel or sporting activites. Satellite TV is available at a low cost as is Internet Broadband, medical insurance is cheap and the hospitals in Malaysia rank among the very best.
Don't take our opinion on this, if you are considering joining the MM2H program book a holiday to Malaysia, spend 3/4 days in Kuala Lumpur and a week in Penang.
Regards
MM2H.net
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