benlsmith11

Hello all,

Slightly nervy start to our new year as the reality of myself and my wife moving to KL in March from St Albans, is now ..... very real!

I have been reading lots of past posts on the site which have been really useful, we are very excited about the experience ahead but our nervousness is about moving from a big social group in the UK.

This is our first expat move and so appreciate this is probably the most common concern, but what do people consider the best way to meet like minded people? I have read several different opinions on the ease of making friends in KL but we are looking at the Bangsar area, are both fairly sociable and active people and so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also if anyone else is in a similar experience just let us know and we can do some joint exploring / drinking / eating / sport etc

Cheers

Ben

JKLMAL14

Hi Ben,

We are not going until August but nice to have more people in a similar situation! Hope we can all share our research and experiences!

bakedbean

Hi Ben. I don't think you'll have any problems socially in Bangsar. There are plenty of expats I believe, and you'll also find locals very friendly and sociable too. Don't worry.

Just search around for whatever interests you. If you like going to pubs, you'll find plenty. I understand that meetup.com is a good place to find others. It really depends on what you like.

nicola s

Hi Ben, I have not moved out yet, but I had this worry too. Luckily my husband is doing all the donkey work and has met up with quite a few people already and has enjoyed quite a variety of things so far, he has found 10 pin bowling he is going golfing this weekend and when I take the kids out at Easter he is looking at finding a boat for going fishing His industry seems to be quite small so he has been lucky to meet up with people he knows and has met new friends already so you should be fine, I think because everyone is in the same boat missing their family and friends but also willing to see new places and try new things then they have a few things in common already x

girlnextdoor

Hi all,
Generally socializing is easy in KL. Local are nice and mostly speak English.
There are some areas - Bangsar, Changkat Bukit Bintang, Damansara, Subang Jaya.

Bangsar is good - it has 2 malls which would have pretty much everything you need.
a) Bangsar Shopping Center (BSC) - it has a grocery shop you can find most of ur things- its called Jason's. http://jasonsfoodhall.com.my/
b) In the same mall, there is nice eateries as well - La Bodega for Spanish, WIP for Fusion + Asian, C) CHillis - Tex mex d) Chinoz - Fusion Asian e) English Pub called Dragons and something.

In Changkat Bukit Bintang - its the expat street with lots of selection of eateries and social get together. The few that we go to :-
a) The Ceylon bar - cheap beers RM 10, fresh and good quality, quiz nite on Tues and all EPL games on every Fri + Sat
b) Havana - for happy hour, nice dinner and party time - they have a disco upstairs which is good! Everyday of the week - there is dance classes and get together as well
c) No Black Tie - for jazz lovers, daily performances
d) Magnificent Fish & Chips - Best Sunday roast, Fish & CHips etc - the English spread
e)Racks - great pork selection, good sunday pork roast and the English staple. Great for happy hour too!

Social clubs a plenty - football on Sat/Sun, golf, hash and bootcamp !

Not sure what else to share - but feel free to ask

nicola s

Ben when you settle in will you give us an update on how you find Bangsar im starting to narrow down areas for where we will live and this is one of the places we are considering , good luck with the move

benlsmith11

Hi Nicola,

No problem, we are currently in our temporary accommodation in Mont Kiara and have been pretty impressed with it so far - although the traffic into town is a bit of a nightmare and no direct rail route where we are.

We are actually on a full day of house searching tomorrow so I will update you afterwards.

Hope the prep is going well?

Ben

nicola s

thanks Ben, im keen to hear about the different areas and next month and July will be focusing on house searching properly, the process is at the stage of clearing the house and giving lots of stuff away I spoke to my boss about handing my notice in and its all getting very real Hope you see some lovely houses and find your ideal one

ruby_tuesday

Mont' Kiara is a great area. We've been here since November and I wouldn't consider moving anywhere else in K.L.

The traffic here in Mont Kiara is a nightmare and it's set to get worse as they've closed off an exit and entry into it off the highway.

Jalan Kiara 3, which is where we live, is always gridlocked due to build up of 'Drop offs' for Garden school and rush hour-the same goes for 'Pick up' from the school at 12.30 and 2.30pm. Then again the afternoon/early evening rush hour home.

Have you tried the Street Market at Plaza Mont Kiara on a Thursday yet? It has a nice mixture of food, fruit and veg, cheap toys and clothes. Brilliant if you have smaller kids as you can look at the Koi in the little water way, pick up a treat and tire their little legs off before bed time!

benlsmith11

Hi Nicola, how is the planning going? We have settled in really well and had our house search days last week so i thought it would share my views as promised.....

I think both Bangsar and Mont Kiara are brilliant area's for expats and neither would be a disappointment. With that said our preference in the end was for Mont Kiara.... Even with the traffic problems for us it just ticked more of the boxes, we actually saw more expats there than bangsar (of course could be just timing), the condos were slightly more modern with a little more value for money (mainly the shared facilities were better due to cost and availability of space in bangsar), there was less noise (although i think building noise is prevalent anywhere at anytime), it is further out of the city (little bit more of a suburb feel) and probably most important closer to work. Ultimately though we just got more of that 'feel' for the place than anywhere else.

As i mentioned though, don't be put off bangsar, it was also a great location, much closer to the city, better views because of the hill, better transport links without a car, good local amenities/malls etc etc.

Don't think you could too far wrong with either choice and also probably worth looking at Desa Park City? The only thing about all of those 3 locations is that they are expat areas through and through, so if you wanted more of a true local experience, maybe consider alternatives.

All the best with the planning and move!

PS. You mentioned your husband was playing golf and i am a pretty keen golfer (not good!) so would be keen for a round if he is ever at a loose end?

Ben

nicola s

Ben thanks so much for giving that information, someone else mentioned Desa Park City, it is just out dog we are bringing with us so only really got travel to work and a house that accepts dogs as our requirement. I love the idea of a community based lifestyle so hope we find it I guess as its my husband who would be travelling daily it will be how much time he can cope with every day. I will say to him about golf,he would like the chance to get out on the course with you I think, we live right beside some beautiful courses here (2 within walking distance) and because of work and busy lifestyle the last few years hardly ever got to use his clubs. He has been to two courses while he has been out and enjoyed them. I met a lovely American couple who live in Bangsar last time I was out and will try to meet up with them at Easter. I am so glad you have settled in an area you like it helps make things easier if you find your home

nicola s

Hi Ben, this trip has meant we have ruled out the Tropicana resort despite all it had to offer and the beautiful houses it was too much of a commute. We have also ruled out Bangsar too.
So the 3 areas for July to look at are Ampang (looking at Beverly heights) still considering Desa Park and Mont Kiara.

I have started to really like the condo my husband has and they have bigger apartments, but still not ideal for our dog.
hope you are still enjoying everything