!!! Anyone been, lived in KL (Kaula lampur)?

[mint]

once again we are ready to move to another Country which happens to be KL or Barcelona. Our eventual goal is to live on a warm land with excellent education for children and a good life style i.e to afford a live in nanny/maid inorder to pursue my career as a physical instructor and designer. It has been financially hard for us to hire a nanny for our 2 in Toronto and the winters here are brutal (can't see ourselves shoveling the drive through 5 months of snow. Any words of wisdom!!! experiences one may like to share

I have never lived in Malaysia, but I do live in Singapore. From the people I know in KL, they love living there - there is a good expat community of all sorts of nationalaties (if that is important to you) and International schools, good hospitals etc. Also, quality of living etc is good - housing is affordable and can either opt for condo style living or houses, (even with swimming pools I understand!). Golf courses are good (so my golfing friends say, although it's not my thing!). Good places to drive to for weekends, and easy to get around the region to visit other places. I've only ever been there for work, and it's become a very modern city, at least on the surface. For a few years posting, I imagine KL would be great, and affordable nanny/maid is definitely possible.

Re Barcelona - I've never been there, but hear it is wonderful for a holiday don't know what it would be like to live. HTH

I don't think you could go too wrong for a few years in KL. I live in Hong Kong and love going there for shopping holidays food etc. I also lived in Singapore and Thailand for many years and we used to love driving through Malaysia. I have quite a few friends that have lived there recently and say the schools are great and seem to have a pretty good international community to mix in. Good luck. Have you looked at the expat asia sites?

Mint, check out www.expatasia.com.my it will give you a fairly broad picture of life in KL.

I'm in Indonesia, Mint, which has lots of ties with Malaysia. On the subject of a live in nanny/maid, it can be a bit of a minefield. People have a different perspective to childcare than in the UK/US. You will need to define very precisely what you expect your nanny to do and draw up clear and comprehensive guidelines about the things your children can/can't do. I have heard stories here of toddlers being allowed to play with carving knives or wander around in the street because the nanny's remit didn't specifically say the child wasn't allowed to do these things!! Because of this very few people give their nanny sole care of their child, it's more of a mother's help type situation.

In Indonesia personal recommendation is regarded as the best way to find staff. Expat organisations have lists of staff looking for new jobs because their present employers are moving on and you can get references etc. Agencies can be unscrupulous, some being set up as a means to gain access to your home and relieve you of money and goods. We have also found that when taking on staff, you also take on such things as their healthcare and their families. You may find yourself financing a wedding you're not invited to or paying for someone's childbirth costs or six months of TB treatment or for mending the roof of their house!

As I say, these are the sort of things that occur in Indonesia. I don't know if it's the same for Malaysia but suspect it probably is. Good luck in your new life!

thanx for all your inputs, it is so needed..checking the expat link as I read your valuable comments.These days the highlight of our conversation with friends is 'where to live'(driving ourselves and our dear ones crazy)since we hope that our next move is 'the' big move i.e for the next ten years.There are so many places out there, scary now that we have to decide for more permenance. one of the thing we noticed with people we have been talikng to about KL that they see KL as a place to be in for 2/3 years rather then a permanent abode for foreigners....any reason!
We would eventually look at buying a property, set up a business if possible. My husbands suggestion is to go out there for a month...my theory is one never get to see true colours
Suedonim...thanks for your insight, incredible!! sounds a little like the mexican way.

Tilba it doesnt seem there to be a site under expatasia.com.... searches are coming back zero? could it be a different name????

Hi Mint, I live in Kuala Lumpur; it has LOTS of plus points. Good climate, largely English-speaking population (you don't really need to learn Bahasa Malaysia) a great cultural mix (two-thirds Malay Muslim, one-quarter Chinese and the rest mainly of Indian descent). The cost of living is very cheap (compared to England), medical care is good and there are plenty of lovals who have lived/studied abroad. Its true that there are a lot of expats who come for 2-3 years, but there are also many who stay a lifetime. I've been here 3 years so far, had both of my kids here and find it a very pleasant place to be. My two reservations are 1: Its a long way from England (14 hours by air) 2: I found it a bit quiet when I moved here from Beijing as its quite a small place (3 million people in and around KL). If you've got any more questions, you could e-mail me direct on [email protected]

This week had been busy with guests and with the little ones...coming from an Asian bg we are constantly bombarded with guests (a tradition) been on the net researching KL..thanx for everyones input.Though there is no info on Property investment and buisness opportunities for foreigners. If we are to move there we would like to buy a place then renting..any thoughts and also how are the govt policies on setting up a buisness i.e do we need to have a local partner??

Been there, lived in Kuching (on Borneo, an hours flight away) for just over a year in 2001/2002. Any help?

No - but I know somone who has!

One of my most favourite holidays!
Shopping was good, the nightlife was great and the locals were friendly. We considered moving there, but DH didn't get the job.
I would have loved being able to shop in the Petronas towers!

KL is a great city. I've visited regularly over the years and lived there for short periods, though as a visitor, not an expat. I imagine it would be a great place to be an expat - good climate, interesting culture, brilliant food, excellent shopping, lots of mod cons but still plenty of realness. My father recently moved back from Malaysia and had a good expat community around him. Also, over several years he has taken friends from the UK over to Malaysia, many of whom had never been outside Europe - they all loved it and went back several times. It's a great combination of modernity with plenty of otherness.
KL is a fantastic base for travelling around Malaysia, to Malacca, Singapore, Penang and islands both east & west coast. (You could take your children to the rainforest and the cave networks down in East Malaysia. Also a great base for travelling around the region.

Do you get the picture that I'm jealous??

I lived there for a year when DSs were 5 and 4, and we loved it. I was heartbroken to come home and I'd go again in a minute. The school was great (garden international school) and we had a great life. Eating out was so cheap and we had some fab holidays to Penang and Langkawi. I'm insanely jealous of you getting the opportunity to live there. But I thoroughly recommend it. CAT me if you need more info.