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-   -   Moving to KL in February! (https://britishexpats.com/forum/malaysia-148/moving-kl-february-738114/)

Parfait Nov 7th 2011 11:58 am

Moving to KL in February!
 
Thanks for Jerseygirl's pointer, I thought I would say hello here as well in the Malaysia Forum-

My husband is to head off the new office in KL and I am moving my consulting business with me - both of us are decades away from retirement:)

I have started a 'to-do list' for this move, so far I have -
  • Banking (current account/savings account/credit card)
  • Communication (mobile phone/landline/broadband)
  • Transportation (IDP)

Obviously these are to be researched before the trip so I also have started making a list of things to do for the actual move:
  • Rent house out in London
  • Packing&Shipping company to choose
  • Mail redirection
  • Flights

...

I have read a few posts in this area, but any thoughts to add are more than welcome, after all, everyone would have been through these stages themselves!:p

Thank you!
Parfait

____________________________________________



Today, 10:26 am #1
Parfait
New Member

Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1


Moving to KL in February!
Hello everyone!

My husband and I are moving to KL in February…I stumbled across this site and found it to be an excellent source…with many very supportive and devoted members

We have just come back to London from a trip to Asia, it seems that we are officially celebrating Christmas in town (well I know the Christmas merchandise started clumping the shops back in August!); thinking about it yes, we will be waving goodbye soon after the holiday season this year!

Looking forward to meeting/speaking to everyone.

Parfait

Today, 12:38 pm #2
Jerseygirl

Moderator



Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 53,072


Re: Moving to KL in February!
Hello Parfait and welcome to BE.

It sounds like you are going to have an exciting New Year. Have you secured jobs in KL or are you retiring to the Far East? I'll give you a few useful links to help you find your feet around the forums. If you have any questions about KL please post them in the Malaysia Forum. The people who post in that forum will do their best to help you.

To help guide you around the forums we have a team of concierges...the concierges for the Far East Forums are bakedbean and nonthaburi...they will be pleased to help you find your way around the site.

If you have any problems or concerns please contact a moderator. We do not have a dedicated mod for the FE forums...therefore if you need assistance please contact a mod from this list....the moderators' names are printed in bold print.

Please give me a shout if you need any help.
__________________
You can take the girl out of Yorkshire but you can't take Yorkshire out of the girl.

Saw it. Wanted it. Had a fit. Got it.
Please God give me patience and do it now.

ajw Nov 8th 2011 3:43 am

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
Hi

Congrats on the move. KL is a fantastic place to live. A lots of expats here never want to leave! You didnt mention children so I assume you do not have any or will not be bringing any which means you dont have to make any decisions on schooling etc.

On your other points:
Banking. Quite a few people from the UK go with Hsbc here because they can link accounts from the UK. We went with Maybank, the largest bank in Malaysia. They have fantastic internet banking, meaning you dont have to go to the post office to pay your bills each month because their system allows you to pay utilities online.

Telco. Maxis is the largest mobile company and probably has the best coverage. We use TM Unifi for our Voip landline and internet. 149rm per month. It wont be as fast as your connection in London but its OK.

Driving. I drive myself which I prefer. We bought car number one through a guy called Peter Fong in Bangsar who deals with all the expats in KL. He also arranges your insurance for you and sorts out your road tax each year. He'll buy the car back from you when its time to go also. Car number two we are buying new from a dealer. Google Peter Fong, City Motors if you want more details.

Good luck with it all

Ajw

Parfait Nov 8th 2011 7:53 am

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
Thank you ajw!

I know that people rave about the food out there, how about the market for gourmet teas and coffees?? Do we need to bring an annual supply of Fortnum & Mason (and alike)?

Also I assume a lot of you have rented your houses out back in the UK? Any tips please?

A friend of mine recommended PJ section 14 as an ideal place to live, Istara he mentioned, what do you all think? Also I hear that there is no council tax, and maintenance fees are to be paid by landlords? So the rent will be the only outlay per month...what would RM 2,500 get you in KL?

Thanks!
P

ajw Nov 8th 2011 8:15 am

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
Hi Parfait

Where you live will depend on where you work etc. I dont know much about section 14 except that its rather further out in the 'burbs than your 'usual' expat would live. You will find most of us based around Bangsar, Damansara Heights, Sri Hartamas, Mont Kiara. You will also pay more for these areas as they are much closer to the centre of town. Of course, you may wish to live purely amongst Malaysians rather than expats, in which case that part of KL should fit the bill!

Your landlord will pay the council tax and you will pay for the utilities which are cheap, certainly compared to a lot of places. We have a clause in our lease that we pay for repairs coming to under 200rm and the landlord will pay anything osver and beyond that. However, some people do not have that clause in their lease so push for that if u can. If you are leasing a house, think about garden, pool maintenace and any security costs. Not all of these things are included. We live in a condo and the security is very tight which suits us. There is a fair bit of pity crime in KL and house breakins are reasonably common.

Our home is in Melbourne and we do rent it out. We use a managing agent who takes care of everything for us and the house pays for it itself :-)

We buy coffee beans from a local place in Bangsar, they source the beans from Indonesia and roast them on site - fantastic!! Most things are available at a price here. You should be able to find high end teas at places like O Gourmet at Bangsar Shopping Centre. Expect to pay at lot more than at home so maybe think of bringing them with you.

Just saw your last question in relation to budget. I'm not really sure of rents outside our area but as a guide we pay 8000rm for 3000sf in Bangsar. Take a look at iproperty.com.my for rentals.

Dont forget to budget for your utility bills. We pay 300 for electricity, 15 for water, 30 for gas, 150 for internet and phone, 80 for Astro (sky). No doubt i've left something out!

ajw Nov 8th 2011 8:20 am

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
Forgot to mention, bring proof of your no claims bonus from your current car insurer. They are accpeted by Malaysian insurers and we have saved 50% on our premium this way!

bakedbean Nov 8th 2011 11:50 am

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
Hi. Re tea: well they grow the stuff north of KL in Cameron Highlands so I don't think you will go without ;)

Parfait Nov 8th 2011 11:59 am

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
Thank you both!

I think we are spoiled with the sheer choice of quality food ingredients and teas/coffees in London...do you get black or green tea there bakedbean?

ajw, thanks for the figures for budgeting purposes...I assume they are all monthly figures?

Thanks again!
P

bakedbean Nov 8th 2011 12:06 pm

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
Mmmm you can certainly get the black tea from Cameron highlands. Not sure about green.... Anyone?

Have to confess that I buy the imported Twinings Earl Gray myself. Lots of stuff available anyhow

Scrasey2 Nov 9th 2011 3:26 am

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
Yes, lots of green tea available. I prefer the Ahmed Tea London brand but they also sell Twinings amongst others.

There are also lots of other types of tea especially from BOH - they have tons to choose from like lychee with rose, lemon with mandarin etc.

I also buy Ahmed's Jasmine green tea and have just tried Jones lemon green tea which is very nice.

I have a cupboard full of different teas including plain old English Breakfast for hubby!

You definitely won't be short of choice here!

bobsimpson51 Dec 7th 2011 8:47 am

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
We moved here 2.5 years ago we are in a place called Kampung Warisan which is right oposite an LRT (tube) station 5 stops from KLCC, literally 6 - 7 minutes
Best regards,

Bob

LivKL Dec 14th 2011 4:04 pm

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
Hi Parfait

Sounds like I'm in a fairly similar situation to you... my husband and I are moving to KL at the end of Feb - he has a new job out there, so we're getting into all the detail of planning our move now. We've had two companies come over to do surveys to quote for shipping - Asian Tigers (who use Sterling in the UK), and Crown Relocation (they use Crown both sides).
Crown was super helpful, left me a folder with helpful prep info etc... Sterling seemed more flexible and said we could do both air and sea freight, and have 2 pick-up locations.
Luckily my husband's company is helping us out with shipping - but Sterling already quoted us for c. 22 cubic metres at c. £4k for the shipping and £1500k for 2 cubic metres via air (takes 7-10 days). We have a one-bed flat, so really not that much stuff.
Sterling said shipping times are always longer over xmas - in the new year it'll be about 4-6 according to Sterling (Crown said about the same... a little longer maybe). Both said it's only 12 weeks for Australia BUT I have heard people say it's way simpler to ship early and do without while still at home rather than ship late and try to cope at the other end...

Don't have much else useful right now but as our plans evolve I'll drop a note on BE in case I have any tips! Good luck with your preparations :)

bakedbean Dec 15th 2011 2:04 am

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
We shipped early when we moved from UK to Singapore. Pretty weird camping out in an empty house. We were told 4 to 6 weeks but container caught an earlier ship than we'd been told and made it in 4 weeks. Caused a bit of a problem at Singapore end as the container made it before we arrived. They don't like that.

Atilla Dec 15th 2011 5:16 am

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
I suspect you will find that most UK shippers will store your freight for you but not ship it until they see a copy of your visa. :o

UK_Guy Dec 16th 2011 12:37 pm

Re: Moving to KL in February!
 
There's some really great advise here on KL. I've started a thread about an offer that I hope to either accept or reject here http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=742046. I'd be very grateful for any advise about whether the offer is enough for a UK bachelor to live 'comfortably' on.

Sorry to hijack this thread with my ask for help. I shall retreat quietely now. :thumbsup:


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