Contemplating leaving London for KL, MY...
 

Hello All.

I hope you are well. Don't know really where to start so here goes...

1) Myself, my wife and daughter are contemplating leaving the rat-race of London and relocating to KL, Malaysia. It’s not something that was decided overnight. We have been seriously discussing a move and researching the possibility for over a year.

2) My wife is a Malaysian National so in terms of work permits/visas etc, I don't think that that will be an issue unless anyone can suggest otherwise.

3) We have a support circle with regards to her family here so settling in would be a lot easier than going to a country where we know no one.

4) The Malaysian government are running an incentive scheme to bring back Malaysians to the country so there are a few tangible benefits (a lower tax rate being one of them).

5) The weather and life style are an obvious benefit (London is freezing, wet, windy and cold and it seems as if the summer only lasts a weekend in June!). It’s lovely to see our daughter running around in a vest and shorts, without a care rather than being wrapped up, indoors and in her pyjamas at 6PM. We know it can get mentally hot here so have factored that in.

6) We are currently in KL on holiday as well as carrying out reconnaissance with regards to the how’s and where’s questions…


At present, we are very lucky to have really well paid jobs in London.

1) We are both graduate professionals earning approx £108,000 joint income.

2) My wife is a Business Analyst/Product Manager. I am an IT Security Professional and we both work in the IT field. I will be a qualified CISSP by the end of the year.

The fundamental questions are as follows;

1) Obviously, we are not going to move out here for a drop in salary as that would be crazy. In saying that, are we being realistic about the salary that we would be expecting if we came over on ‘local’ terms?

2) Is there a market for the roles that we are currently doing in London? The fields that myself and my wife work in are fairly niche sectors.

3) In terms of childcare, what is the quality of the International Schooling? Does it match the UK schooling system? Is it a better standard? The education and happiness of our daughter is the top priority.

4) How does the ex-pat method of migration work? Is it a case that you have to work for a multi-national company in London and somehow engineer a move? Or are there other ways?

Apologies for the length of this post and so many questions but it is a case that if we don’t do this in the next 6/12/18 months, then we will never do it and will more than likely regret when we look back. My own gut feel is that we will never achieve the salary that we are getting in London but I hope that the experiences of ex-pats on this site who are living in KL can advise.
Many thanks.

Sun.

PS – its lovely in Bangsar… but I still don’t get Nasi Lemak for breakfast! :unsure:

Re: Contemplating leaving London for KL, MY...
 

Hi Sun and a warm :welcome: to the forum.

I am retired in Penang so cannot help you much with your questions. I'm sure that some KL residents of working age will be along soon to help you out.

In the meantime, there are quite a few existing threads on here about schooling in KL. You might want to have a browse through this forum and possibly tag on to some threads. There is a Search Button up on the top right, so if you put something in like School, the relevant threads should pop up.

All the best with your plans :thumbup:

Re: Contemplating leaving London for KL, MY...
 

In answer to your Q1.

I'd say forget worrying about drop in salary.
Think more about standard of living.

Re: Contemplating leaving London for KL, MY...
 

Agree with you. And as the OP is in Malaysia just now surely he should be able to get answers to many of his questions?

Re: Contemplating leaving London for KL, MY...
 

By approaching people in the street?

He's simply asking for some advice from people who've been there and done it. Thought that's what this forum was all about:confused:

Regarding expat migration. Try and approach some agencies dealing in your sort of work. Also use Linked In - lots of jobs advertised on there - and make sure your profile on there is up to date.

Re: Contemplating leaving London for KL, MY...
 

I think your gut feeling is correct. Bear in mind that it is all relative. If you are trying to maximise income you may need to consider spreading the net wider such as Singapore or HK. We are in a similar position but older. My wife lives in our home in Sabah and I live and work in Japan, but will retire to Malaysia when I can afford to do so. Salaries are rocketing in Aus, so I am told.
Your CISSP Certificate should be very useful. Cyber Security is the current buzz word on all new important development projects.

Re: Contemplating leaving London for KL, MY...
 

Hi Sun and welcome. My wife & I moved out here (Melaka) last week. I was a SAP consultant (now retired) and I would have thought that a salary around 15-20K / month realistic for that kind of work, would probably have to be in and around KL for that, although perhaps have to go contracting. However, as mentioned above, don't get too hung up about rates.

I would think you could live fairly comfortable even on the low end. But hey, life is what you make it, and it will be an adventure one way or the other! Good luck.

Re: Contemplating leaving London for KL, MY...
 

Just wondering if Sun made any decisions? (Being the nosey person that I am)

Re: Contemplating leaving London for KL, MY...
 

me too, update please :-)