Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Hi All

We are a British family currently living in Kuala Lumpur, we have been here for a year now and have found that having 3 children the school fees are crippling us! Although cost of living is cheaper than the UK we still find the cost of things to be the same or sometimes more expensive, for example imported food, cost of cars and rental of houses (although you get a lot more for your money!). We made the mistake of moving to Kuala Lumpur and not negotiating the right package, we do not get anything paid for apart from health insurance!! But unfortunately in my Husbands line of work his job does not necessarily offer a great expat package so we have to be very careful about where we decide to live.

Crime is on the up in Mont Kiara where we first lived, i was scared to walk down the street without having my bag snatched, and for fear of my kids being kidnapped, i was constantly hearing stories of houses and apartments being broken into, so we decided to move out of the city a bit to somewhere more rural, but this has meant we have isolated ourselves and we do not and cannot afford a car and my husband has an hour and a half commute to work there and back everyday!

A company in Perth has approached my Husband, so we are now looking at cost of living and trying to weigh up the pros and cons of moving to Perth. The plus side would be that schooling is free but i've heard everything else is expensive! Another pro would be that there a beach, KL is a city so the closest and nicest beach is still 3 to 4 hour drive away! Perth seems to have the best of both words city and beach and some lovely parks dotted about. We have been looking at Joondalup, can anyone comment on this place? It is a 30 minute commute from where this company is based.

If at all possible can anyone comment on the average cost of living per month for a family, just covering the basics food, bills, rent, and on average the price of buying a second hand car.

My Husband earns an average salary and he is the only bread winner so we are a middle class family.

The cons of moving to Perth so i've heard from speaking to other people, is the cost of living, the bugs, snakes and spiders!

We dont want to make the mistake of moving from KL to Perth and finding that financially we are worse off and that i am freaking out because of the creepy crawlies! The worst we have to deal with here is Lizards and i've only just got used to them!!

Personally i would rather live closer to the beach, as i would love to bring my kids up by the sea. I enjoy living in KL as there's lots going on but id rather not be in a city where there is no beach near by!

Any comments are much appreciated :thumbsup:

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Lots of questions.. first question back.. what sort of visa? Do you even qualify for a visa? If you're coming on a 457 temp visa then you will have to pay education costs for your kids.

The 'creepy crawlies' are massively overblown... yeah you might get the odd spider in your house, but its not a big deal.

As for the costs of things.. its a hugely subjective topic. What you buy and what I buy probably vary a lot... so I'll let the folks in Perth comment more on that.

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Just found this!!!

The Education Minister Peter Collier has revealed revenue raised from charging foreign workers to send their children to WA schools will go straight to Treasury coffers.

The August budget revealed plans to charge 457 visa workers a $4,000 annual fee for each child in public schools.

Following a public backlash, the policy was watered down and will now come into effect in 2015.

It includes plans to charge $4,000 for a family's first child enrolled in the state system, and $2,000 for subsequent children from the same family.

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Yes, its new to WA. I wasn't aware to had been pushed back to 2015 and I thought is was being implemented in the New Year.
NSW and the ACT have operated like that for many years. It's a simple revenue grab and does nothing for the schools involved.

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

My husband currently works in KL and is always mortified at the cost of things when he is home on leave. You will also find it MUCH quieter here, in fact you may even find it boring compared to KL. Rent is going to cost you $500 per week at minimum for anywhere decent, I spend $300 minimum per week on my groceries. My gas is usually around $180 per quarter. My electric (I have pool and aircon) is average $275 a month over the year. Clothes are expensive, eating out is extortionate in comparison to KL.

Why don't you take a couple of cheap air asia flights and come over for a week to take a look around. I think it would be worth your while.

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Per week I assume ...?

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Yes, my apologies, per week :) Edited OP.

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

I recently spent a few weeks in KL and, apart from eating out public transport and taxis, thought it was as expensive as Perth. I'm assuming rent and utilities cost less because most other stuff does not

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

It depends on what salary they offer compared to what you get now.

Oh, and KL, particularly on the outskirts has large populations of venomous snakes. Species include pit vipers, cobra and coral snake - one of the most dangerous in the world. Looking at the stats, it seems snake bite is higher than Perth.

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Thanks for this its really helpful!

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Thanks everyone for your replies. Can anyone comment on places to live in Joondalup?????????

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Don't know if anyone shared this link - http://www.streetadvisor.com.au/joon...tern-australia

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

And current properties available on realestate - http://www.realestate.com.au/rent/in...rrounding=true

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Perth is very expensive as others have said. You'd really have to crunch the figures to see if it is worth it.
I lived in KL but too long back to compare prices of today but on recent visits found KL no longer the cheap place it was it is certainly cheaper than Perth for most things.

In those days KL was voted one of the top ex pat destinations in Asia. It's grown beyond recognition but hardly as expensive as Perth to live.
Still great value eating out and clothes. I have looked at apartments to buy outside of KL and far better value than Perth.
Indeed you have the beach in Perth but for affordable property these days you'd need to live quite far out. Joondalup is far for me. Not a big fan,but make your own mind up that place. Perth is something like the ninth most expensive city to live so my advice would be to check it out first.
A lot is a rip off here.

Re: Possible move from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
 

Hi Rajus - We are also a British family who will be moving to Oz and also currently living in Mont Kiara, KL. I certainly wouldnt be worried about the creepy crawlies and snakes - ive seen a cobra in Bukit Kiara - in fact its a snake pit - we even had a snake around our condo the other month - and we live across from Publika - so they are everywhere!!!!!! We visited Perth last Christmas and it was really expensive. We are looking to move Brisbane way next July and although I am the sole worker in Malaysia I know that both of us will have to work in Oz to be comfortable. I am also with you on the crime rate too in KL, I also hate the traffic here - and although I have had a fab time in KL for four years I cant wait to move to Oz - I know ill be much safer outdoors, especially to enjoy my hobby of running. Take the plunge and enjoy!!!