toria

Hi all,

we emigrated to NZ 3 years from the UK. Out of the blue I have been offered a job in KL.

We are thinking about it, although the whole idea of living in KL has never been on our radar before!! But hey, we've never been ones to give up on adventures!

Can you help me;-

I have been offered $5000 kiwi dollars a month, about 10,000RM - is that a normal salary. I am a leadership / management trainer and would be running programmes for clients such as Shall, BP, HSBC etc. They said they will also cover accommodation on top and private school fees for the children.

We are a family of 4 (2 little ones age 5 and 2) - can we live ok on 10,000 RM a month? OK for us = 2 cars, 1 holiday pa, eat out a couple of times a week, clothes shopping etc, sports clubs, health spa membership etc. My pargtner would not be working....

Any other info you can give would be FAB!!!!!! What's it like to live there with 2 young kids?

Thanks very much, Vic

ex reg

I'm not sure that with two kids I'd look on it as an adventure.
It's not a two week holiday.

What will you do after your contract there is over, will it lead into something worthwhile later on.

RM10,000pm is about GBP1800pm so while you'll be able to live on it I doubt there'll be much in the bank at the end of it.
Housing quality can vary quite a bit and with two kids I expect you'll want somewhere secure.
Before you decide one way or the other get all the details of your package, salary, bonuses, housing allowance and how it can be used, car allowance, medical provision for all the family, holiday flights etc.

I'm sure there will be other ex pats living on your level of package but are they happy with it, some people make wrong choices but can't admit it.

Living in KL with kids can be done without too many difficulties but money makes it that much easier and IMO your salary will be well below average for an ex pat..

ally gud

hiya, maybe try go to the expatkl.com because there is alot of information about living and working in malaysia. All the list of things you wanted to know might get an answer there. Btw, the people who run the expatkl.com is also a foreigner and hes a brit. All the best in your move in malaysia!

FrankB

The only thing what I know is that I declined a job in KL some years ago because of my 2 years old daughter at this time ... I got an offer to work on a contract for Petronas including using all their benefits in terms of housing, school and something like that ... but in 2000 a white skin child at this age was worth US$ 50.000 on the local market.

Don't get me wrong but you should be aware about security for your family.

Regarding the other question, salary seems to low for a comfortable life in KL as housing would kill you to my mind.

good luck!

ally gud

I dont know about white kids sold for US 500000 something to who? sound silly! i can understand if someone is rich. I do know that in China, some poor family will sell their kids for rated money and male kids cost higher than female. The worlds isnt nice to live no matter where! no country is perfect or safe! So, it is fate and destiny to what happen to our lives. What we can do is alway be careful and protect ourself at all times!

toria

thank you for the replies, very useful and has put me off completely!

Just a note to clarify though, I did say that housing would be covered, so 10,00 per month was just for food and bills. Is this still a low income then?

my package that has been offered is

housing allowance for a secure gated property
school fees
flights back for 4 of us
medical insurance for the family

so the 10,000 is cash to sepnd on food etc...... and living! Still too low? please advise
thanks, Vic

Kooky.

Vic, I would say if you are going to make/save money, don't bother. If you are going for an adventure and some Asia experience for a couple of years, go for it. Your children are young enough to be moved around.

As to how it is to live there with two kids, sorry I can't help. I used to live in Singapore and have only visited KL but I do like it - I think it's like Singapore's grubby little brother. Traffic however is a nightmare.

Your partner will be a trailing spouse? Has he been one before? I hope he plays golf, otherwise it's easy to go mental or at least get into gin in a big way. Trust me, I know.

ally gud

My sister travel to Langkawi for 2 weeks for her honeymoon and she had her 3course meal at a nearby beach restaurant cost around RM 30 for 2 persons
(£5) and i went to west borneo for a week holiday. I try the local street stall and i order seafoods and rice and it cost me about RM 60 for 3 persons (£10) not bad at all. I not so sure on KL but i do have a friend that done a homestay in east malaysia for 3 month. It might be cheaper than in KL. But i dont think 10K cant survive like you say food and transportation etc. if you are cooking most time shouldnt be a problem. Best of luck!

galba

I lived in KL for 2 years and have just moved to Australia. I have 4 kids under 8 years and the youngest was born in KL. I LOVED it there and there are thousands of expats - the international schools are bulging at the seams! As for $50,000 for a white skin child - what a load of drivel! I've lived in Indonesia and Malaysia and have never felt unsafe at a personal level - in fact I've felt more unsafe in London! The facilities are great, the schools were good and the food was brilliant. I made loads of friends and so did the kids.

Money - for an expat RM10,000 is very low. I paid my maid RM1,600 a month and she lived and ate for free and there was only 1 of her! Of course, you would need to look at the entire package. What is your housing allowance like? Which international schools are they willing to pay for? Fees are around RM45,000 a year for Alice Smith and ISKL.

If you need further info - PM me

Galba

tohca1

I believe with your package you'd be able to live very comfortably, even with 2 kids. Don't listen to all the rumors. While Malaysia is not the safest place in the world, it's one of the more pleasant places to live. People are very friendly and helpful here.

Cheers!

Kooky.

I would hope nobody took Frank too seriously re. the market price for a white child.

I agree with the PP that Malaysia is not the safest place in the world, but in KL you just need to have your wits about you as you would in almost every other city in the world. (Singapore being atypical but even there it's Low Crime not No Crime )

I didn't walk round unlit areas of Leeds at night waving my handbag around, don't do it in Sydney and so wouldn't do it in KL.

toria

Thank you for all your replies!
I have now gone back to the employer and turned him down due to the slary being too low. he has asked me to state what sort of salary I would be looking for and re consider.......

all sounds too good to be true, but I think I'll give it a go!

I am a management trainer. i write and deliver leadership programmes for organisations varying in size from 20 staff to 10,000! In the Uk I was an employee in this role earning about 45,000 pounds a year and here in NZ I earn $85,000 per year.

What should I ask him for in KL????? Help!!

Vic

ex reg

It all depends on how keen you are.

I'd add 50% on to a UK salary and make sure the overall package suited me, kids schooling, annual discretionary bonus, Chinese New Year bonus of one month salary,
accommodation, kids schooling, both to the standard you require, medical cover for the whole family, annual return flights to UK allowance and in your case every other year to be business class with the allowance to be used as you see fit, i.e. you might decide not to return to UK one year but use the allowance for a local or other holiday, car or car allowance, you might ask for a utilities allowance etc etc.

Anyway as I say it all depends on how keen you are in the first place but it is easier to compromise having set out your stall than to add to it later.