00maggie

Hi there I'm new to this board. Looks like my family (hubby, 4year old and 2 year old) will be moving to kl in the new year. My 4year old (if accepted) will go to Alice smith school. I'm just a bit nervous about driving and currently looking at living in the damansara heights or Ampang hilir or seputeh areas. Is driving really that scary/ lots of traffic in kl? Am I crazy to think about living and these areas and driving her to school each day myself, is it even possible? I heard Ampang is v difficult to get in/ out of every day. What would be the best area to live in for the school, my husband will work in klcc. Thanks!

InVinoVeritas

Hi Maggie - it might help to give some idea what kind of driving you are used to at the moment.

00maggie

Hi - city driving in London though I am v lucky at the moment I can walk most places. I guess I'm wondering if driving in kl is common amongst expats

ex reg

Just take taxis for a month or so to find out the ways you want and thenyou'll be ok.
Watch out for motorcyclists all the time.

JC3

Hi Maggie,

Hi,

I do not live in KL, but have found driving there easy enough after living and driving in London, especially in the Ampang area. Heavy traffic in rush hour though.

The Malaysian driving test is not as stringent as the UK one, and in general the standard of driving is not as high, and drivers are less considerate of others compared to the UK.

I think you have little to worry about. Just watch out for motorbikes doing unexpected things, such as jumping the lights, or overtaking you at speed on the inside even though you are indicating to turn left. After a month the unexpected becomes the expected.

Do use Sat Nav, or a mobile phone app like ‘Waze’ to help you navigate or get home - KL is an ongoing building site and the highways can be hard to navigate at first.

Look out if you come to Penang. Driving in Georgetown is very difficult for newbies, and some Penangites consider the island to be a personal racetrack!

Good luck with your move.

JC3

bakedbean

Welcome to the forum Maggie I think that JC3 has just about covered everything that you need to know. Rules do not apply to bikes of course.

00maggie

Thanks so much, no doubt I'll have more questions. Now to research where to live...

InVinoVeritas

I've driven a lot in London and a fair bit in Malaysia and whilst neither give me a problem, each require a rather different approach. In London most people respect the rules and are are quite intolerant of those who don't. In Malaysia, no-one really respects the rules but, on the other hand, don't really expect others to do so either.

An example of this is changing lane - in London you have to choose your lane and you have to stick with it even if takes you in the wrong direction. In Malaysia you can change lanes as often as you want and even straddle lanes if you are uncertain.

In London other road users will hoot, make rude gestures and even get out of their car if you make a misjudgement - if they're on a bike they may even give a kick to the side of your car. In Malaysia this just doesn't happen.

However, in Malaysia you do have to be careful to do everything in slow motion - so change lanes slowly, park slowly, stop and start slowly as others may not be paying very much attention to the lights changing or lanes merging.

The really best part of driving in Malaysia is that you can park extremely cheaply compared with London where if you're lucky enough to find somewhere to park it will cost you the price of a meal for 4 in Malaysia.

Maz01

Hi Maggie

Ampang to Alice Smith will be a lengthy drive each day. Damanasara, Bangsar or Mont Kiara are all closer, with good links to the school. There are also a good number of other families living around these areas with kids on the same school.

The driving is not as crazy as it looks, but you need to be aware of the bikes. It just takes awareness so I'm sure you'll be fine :-)

Good luck with the move

00maggie

Thanks everyone. Think I will concentrate the home search around the damansara and seputeh regions then