Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur?

[Worldforagirl]

Hello all,

My partner has been offered the chance to transfer to either KL or Bangkok and I'd love to hear your opinions on which you prefer and why. We've been to both before but only as backpackers. We now have a 4 year old and a 2 year old so our priorities are a little different!!!

I'm interested in your opinions about (well everything really!):
Schools and preschools
Best family expat areas (playgroups, activities, community etc)
Safety/ best hospitals etc
Value for money
What expats get up to at the weekends
Home help

And really any other great local information that you can share.

Thank you for your input- it's proving a very hard decision to make!

Can’t help too much as I lived in Singapore; I used to volunteer at ANZA (the Australian & New Zealand Association) and we would sometime liaise with MANZA - the Malaysian Australian & New Zealand Association (open to all nationalities).

Their website is a bit limited but there are links to expat schools in the KL area and I know that the Alice Smith school has been established for a very long time and popular with British families.

Http:www.manza.org

I don’t think you can go too far wrong with either city, I’ve known expats who’ve enjoyed living in Bangkok and KL. However, Malaysia used to be a British colony and English is widely spoken and understood, with English language media. I have driven up from Singapore to KL and enjoyed the Cameron Highlands - the old colonial hill station with tea plantations eg. “Boh Tea’ which you can visit....lovely to get out of the heat, they grow produce which won’t grow in the hotter temps (eg. Lettuce, cucumbers and you see marigolds and roses in the gardens....so nice to see and a little bit of England in the tropics lol! Apparently Bahasa Malaysian is a very easy language to learn and they use the same script that we do, unlike in Thailand and I understand that Thai is quite difficult to learn.

Most Asian countries drive on the left like in the UK, although the Malaysian drivers are a bit manic. However, in Bangkok the traffic is insane, gridlock in the peak hours and the expats I knew actually were provided with company cars and drivers.

Btw; not sure if it is still there but there was a Debenhams department store in KL in shopping mall. OTOH in the red light area (Patpong) in Bangkok I saw a small ‘Boots’ (doing 3 for 2 offers) but I guess they did a roaring trade selling condoms to Western guys lol!

Forgot to add; there are lots of things to do for trips in the region eg. Malacca (Melaka) is a World Heritage small city and a good place to go for a weekend trip.

You could even take the train to either Bangkok or to Singapore (or could take a long distance coach or even fly) although the train is fun (check out www.seat61.com).

You could have getaways to the beach resorts in Langkawi, Penang or off the east coast to the islands of Pulau Tillman (from Mersing port, leave your car there and take the boat).

There is a big theme park at the Genting Highlands (yes, casinos there too and the Genting company operates them in the UK too, but they are Malaysian Chinese owners).

You could fly to the part of Malaysia on the island of Borneo....eg. Sabah or Sarawak....see the orang utans...

You might also want to ask questions in the forums at http:www.britishexpats.com

Good luck.....so exciting....I am now in the US and I’d go back to south east Asia in a heartbeat!

Out of the 2 I would choose KL, even if its not perfect by a long way, KL has a lot going for it. I drove all over Malaysia (lived there) and yes it can be a tad scary at time, indicating left then going right, pushing in the front of traffic lights, pulling out without warning etc, but you do learn to cope. Bangkok on the other hand is really bad to drive in (although not lived there a regular visitor).

Cannot comment on schools from my own perspective but friends were very happy with the international schools and what was provided.

Hospitals in KL are good, had a couple of operations and was very happy with the service and care and trusted the Doctors with medication and so on (unlike where I am now). Plenty of people travel to KL (esp Gleneagles) for MOT check ups.

Plenty of places to visit from KL as the poster above has stated, but dont expect to much from some facilities, and of course rubbish, which folk think is of no concern of theirs. And of course you can pop down to Singapore for a weekend!

Housing is a little on the high side of course dependant on where you live, plenty of nightlife, restaurants and bars and clubs to join.

Good shopping (yes Debenhams is still in Starhill Mall) and you can get plenty of western groceries in the likes of cold storage, other supermarkets like Giant, Carrforr are fine.

Dont know if there still is but the gangs of motorbike thieves around who snatch bags, jewellery , just like many other places have your whits about you.

All I can think at the moment, if you have any other questions will try and help!

Have you visited them before? They are very different cities. I preferred Bangkok as a tourist but it's busy, smelly
and relentlessly humid. KL is less of an onslaught on the senses and more 'civilised' in terms of infrastructure- roads etc - but I didn't enjoy being there as much.

And as far as learning Bahasa is concerned, its a dying language as my Malaysian neighbours would say, you really dont need to learn it as most people want to speak English to you, I started but when I spoke to people the reply's were always in English. Of course learning a few words, the usual, hello, thank you and so on are really all you need.

Also thinking of clothing and dressing, KL is more conservative than Bangkok, but of course you will see lots of the young Chinese Malay girls with shorts on etc but would not recommend a western women to wear more revealing clothing, unless you want to be stared at and at times touched.

Although I love Bangkok, I find KL not as harsh.

Thank you all for your great in-depth responses. I see a definite trend!!!

I'd be really interested to know which city, KL or Bangkok, you think is more polluted. (DH has adult onset asthma. I know big Asian cities aren't ideal for him but they are where the jobs are!!) Statistics seem to point to Bangkok being the more polluted of the two... Do either cities have leafier, less polluted areas to live in etc? What are your personal opinions?

Thanks again for all your help

Agree with all of the above.

KL is easy living. The biggest downside for me is the terms of my visa means I can't work - it's driving me mad but you may not want that. There's enough to do to keep you occupied if you can't.

Driving is a bit bonkers but not as bonkers as elsewhere in the region and Bahasa is a dead easy language to pick up. You don't need it in the big cities but we have found it useful in the kampung (also the Malaysian population will reach 70% shortly and it is increasingly 'claimed' as part of the national discourse of 'Malay' (and by that I mean Muslim) self-identification) but I digress. You can get around in English.

I feel safe here and it doesn't feel as seedy as BKK.

People seem happy with schools (I can't speak from experience), and healthcare is good.

We normally get the 'haze' but didn't in 2017. I don't know if that affects BKK or not. We are in a valley which means it's rains. A lot. It's rained pretty much every day since Christmas, but it is the tropics!

Regional travel is great from both hubs, and we do have an AirAsia hub here for short hops.

I think, KL is relatively small and sedate compared to BKK and easy enough to get around. And from neighborhood to neighborhood. Expats are concentrated across a few areas which are well served by shops and malls etc, and apart from the going mad bit I'm quite happy here! It is by no means the hardest place we have lived.

I've lived in KL for 14 years and agree with most of the above.

It's a pretty easy place to live with young kids, (we moved when my kids were 2, 6 and 9)
Schools are good - Alice Smith School extremely popular with Brits, but there is Garden International and British school as well.

In order for life to be "'easy", make sure the package offered includes:

Housing: rents are coming down and there is a lot of availability so you can bargain hard. (despite what agents say) 8-10K for a family place in an expat area like Bansar or Mont Kiara, less if you don't mind going further out.

Schooling - You need RM70K per year, per child, plus registration fees.

Medical- full coverage with an international company such as BUPA.

Flights home for family - once per year,

Happy to answer any specific questions.

Another vote for KL. Cleaner, better infrastructure, English speaking.

Thank you everyone. Found out today my partner's package is much better in KL than Bangkok! So it's a done deal now!

Thank you all for the great advice. Now just got to decide on best neighborhood/ apartment complexes for two preschoolers!!