LMR

That perrenial chestnut. Apologies for posting what has been done a million times before, I've had a nosy through past thread but nothing quite anwers my particular enquiry.

There is a very good chance my family and I will be moving to KL later this year or very early in the new year. It will be me, my husband and my 1 year old daughter.

Obviously, I'm looking for advice on areas that are nice to live in, but more specifically I'd love to hear thoughts on downtown apartment condo living vs suburban villa living.

I lived in KL for three months last year (about 5 mins away from KLCC) and very much liked downtown life, being near the action and close to amenities. However, it was just myself and my husband at the time so I'd be very interested in hearing from people with families and their views on that particular style of living.

If the move comes off we'd be in KL for up to 5 years and whilst it is sometimes unavaoidable I'd like to lessen the chances of us having to move house a number of times whilst we're there by approaching the move slightly more methodically now we have the smallest member of our family to consider. In addition my husband works very long hours and will be working downtown in KL itself so we're also considering city life to take the pressure off the commute for him.

However, we're flexible and very open to what seasoned KL veterens have to say about it. If there is nothing else I've learnt from a decade of expatdom is that there is nothing more useful than hearing it from those living it!

Thanks

bakedbean

I'm a little bit hesitant saying this as I'm not living in KL, but I saw a thread on another place with someone with young kids, and the feeling was that condo life might be more secure and safer. KL is a big city, and like a lot of cities, there are crime issues. Some say it is getting worse there. I honestly don't know.

Hopefully someone from KL will post on here soon and give you the real picture.

natk

We lived in the KLCC area throughout our time there. It was fun, convenient and well, a tad noisy.

I'd say go for a high end condo in the area - traffic and the commute are just not worth living in the suburbs. Although you may save a ton of money out there but i guess that depends on you.

Anyway, condos are safe. Landed property is a no no unless you have 4 guards round the clock.

redbean

I am intrigued to hear that condos offer more security than landed properties. I thought it would be harder to monitor movements of people as there are so many condos in a block.

PaulAUS

Hi All,

I am currently based in Melbourne and am weighing up the possibility of moving my family to KL for work. Obviously I would like some advice / guidance on the matter, particularly given I have a young family (22 month old daughter and 8 month old son).

I have researched the company I may potentially be working for and everything seems good there - however I would like some advice on how to best approach the situation. At present I am very keen to pursue the opportunity - however I want to be sure that the decision I make will be suitable to my family (they are supportive but largely unaware of what to expect).

What sort of work conditions can I expect as an expat? Very general I know but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Strider24

Hi PaulAUS,
You have posed a hard question. For men, work is fun, the work environment invigorating and challenging. Its your wife who will go though a culture shock after the first 3-6 months novelty has worn off. This you (your wife) either gets through, settles and enjoys life here or starts to absolutely hate it. You can't pick what the reaction will be, but this is the major thing to watch out for. There are support groups for wives who can't cope, but that's not always the answer

If your wife is good with languages, then she probably will have fun learning Malay and maybe a bit of Cantonese. The kids will love it and grow up learning multi languages along with local kids, who typically speak 2 or 3.

Its a like a hot Melbourne day all year. The only difference is its also sometimes wet!! Some women miss the seasons.

On the other side, KL is big and modern, with excellent shopping and a fair public transport system. I would suggest you budget for an Amah having a young family unless your wife is super capable.

Note I don't mention much about you, as you will have a ball, great work, great food, and constant fun.

SGPDiver

Hi LMR,

The forums were a great help to us on our move so hopefully you'll find the same.

Generally KL is like any other major metropolis, with good and bad points, however from our experiences so far and using practical common sense wth regard to credit cards, valuables and general conduct; we like it and feel safe We were particularly warned about mopeds snatching women's bags as they walk along with pavement, however common sense by carrying your bagged zipped up and away from the road, or between you and your partner if out together, seems to fully address this. We have met one person who it happened to only and they admitted it was their fault for being very careless. Food, shopping and recreational facilities are all great, transport is very reasonable and so is entertainment.

With regard to your choice of property and area, this purely depends on budget, if you both intend to have your own cars and your overall wishes i.e. live in the Golden Traingle area or move further out to Mont Kiara, Damansara or Bangsar, which are the main expat areas. The main problem is building sites and not living on top of them.

Condo living is what we have opted for. Amenities are usually superb with 24/7 security, covered parking, pool, childrens pool, gym being the most basic. Dependent on which condo you opt for you can also find tennis, squash, badmington courts, spa, shop, restaurant/cafe, with some even hosting a few visiting market stalls once or twice a week.

There are also low rise developments and town houses with gardens. There are some nice condos with low rise duplex apartments for families slightly further out, however the garden aspect we viewed with caution, as you have the obvious concern over mosquitos

We looked at over 70 different properties, as we too are staying for in excess of 3 years. We have experienced a lot of rubbish, both properties and agents, as well as the good. If you want to see our exhaustive notes and photos, you are more than welcome! Happy to chat if that helps. Give me an indication of budget, wishes etc and I'll try and help more.

The good news is renting is straight forward, there is a lot of property out there also at the moment which means you can get some very good deals.

My email is [email protected].

Good luck whatever and we actually enjoyed the search, as you will be amazed at how bad the bad are and how good the good are, with one town house even having the added extra of a dead rat in the bath. Do specify modern clean bathrooms at all costs, otherwise they are horrendous.

kml100

It's true, KL's crime level is getting worse. I was brought up in this city but has been away for the past 10 years. I wonder what's causing this as I see the city is prospering.

How about Bangsar area for landed property? Lotsa expat families there as I recall.