Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Hi and thank you in advance to any one who replies....

My husband is moving to KL in the next couple of months from Dubai we will follow at the end of our school year which is July 2013. When I say we I mean my son who will be going into year 9 and a daughter who is going to be in year 7 by then. We are a British family who have been living in the Middle East (Bahrain and Dubai) for the past 6 years.

Just the usual questions ie mostly about schools really. We would like to follow the British cirriculum as this is what the kids know.

1. Anyone got kids at the British cirriculum schools? What do you think of it? Pros and cons...
2. Where do you live? I would like to live close to the school. Hubby travelling a large amount too so would like security and be close to a grocery store.
3. My son does swimming, daughter does gymnastics and we all like golf so are keen to know about clubs for these.
4. Driving....I have both a British and Dubai license but I drive cause I have to and ain't the most confident...how are the roads, directions, other drivers etc
5. I have a small dog who is a bichon and wondered about renting with a dog and what is the reception like towards dogs etc

Re: Moving to KL - Question and Schools etc
 

Hi and a big welcome to BE.

I hope you enjoy being part of our little community.

I've moved your post to the Malaysia forum for you. We've got loads of great members who post in this section and I'm sure some of them will be along soon to share their experiences etc.

The best of luck with your move.

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Hi Ben and welcome to the forum. I'm not in KL so can only answer question 4. I've seen KL traffic :( and I've seen Dubai traffic :( I don't think you'll have problems. The driving can be a bit mad. Some parts of KL have 'orrible traffic jams... err much like Dubai. Mind you, it's some years since I visited Dubai, so maybe traffic situation has improved?

We've got quite a lot of folks on this board living in KL and I'm sure they'll be along later to answer your other questions. all the best :thumbup:

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Hi Ben5

Hopefully I can help with some of your questions. There are a selection of British Curriculum schools here; IMO, the key ones to look at are Alice Smith, Garden International and BSKL. There are lots of other posts on schools so you can delve further into previous posts using the search functions. I'll give you a quick run down of our experiences:

My son is at Alice Smith (junior school), excellent school with a very good reputation. The senior campus is a little further out of town and most of the kids get a bus to and from there every day. If you want to live in KL and do the buses you could look at places like Bangsar, Seputeh, Damansara Heights, Sri Hartamas and Mont Kiara. If you want to live close to the school which is further out of town (and possibly a bigger commute for your husband depending on where he is based) you can look at areas around Mines Resort City. I dont know a lot about these areas so hopefully someone will be along to help you on that. Our experiences with the school have all been extremely positive, we love it :-)

If you have a dog and you want security, you will be limited to a gated/guarded housing development, since most condo's dont allow dogs. Again there are quite a few of these to choose from in the areas I have outlined above, particularly, Sri Hartamas, Damansara Heights, Seputeh. These areas also give you access to Garden School which is in Mont Kiara. With schools, I would recommend visiting them before making a final decision.

Not sure what driving is like in Dubai but it can be a little crazy here at first, but you do get used to it. If you are used to craziness it will be a walk in the park for you :) I'm driving like a local these days ;) Not sure it is a good thing...

Swimming is certainly pushed at our school and the facilities are great. They can also compete in the intra school comps etc. Gymnastics - not sure. My little ones go to a local gymnastic class at Flykidz but they are 2 and 6. They may offer classes for older children too.

Golf: The KLGCC is in Bukit Kiara, members only I think, so check out their website for details. The Royal Selangor course is on the other side of KLCC from us; again, should have a website. Probably a lot more available out of town but I'm not a golfer so unable to assist here.

Wishing you lots of luck with your move!

ajw

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Many thanks for all your help

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Hi,
if you drive in dubai you will be fine here. We lived in Saudi for a couple of years and used to pop over to dubai so no worries on that front.

Where will your husband be travelling to? if it is singapore or somewhere that firefly flies to you may want to consider living in the Tropicana/Kota damansara area (look on iproperty.com.my and click on link houses or bungalows depending on your budget) as it is only ten mins to the subang airport, ten mins to the british school, there is a gymnastics club in kota damansara and tropicana golf and country club if you want private golf or seri kelab selangor which is a public course in the area too. Lots of grocery stores and shopping malls within a few mins drive as well.

with the little dog you need to look at 'landed properties' as they are not allowed in condos but are mostly welcome in links and bungalows.

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Hi ben5 . I have just joined the forum and was searching for threads about moving to kl - I'm in a similar position as we are moving to kl ( from dubai) this summer.
Similar age kids - little dog. Etc.
just wondered if you had made a choice about schools and area to live
I have been looking at a map of kl and have to say find it extremely confusing to even work out what is where.
Was hoping to tap into your experience - as well as any advice from seasoned kl residents
What do they call condos ? Is it compounds?
I know cars are incredibly expensive . But with kids is it realistic not to own one? It would feel strange not to have a car! :-)
Did you find out about getting your dog into kl? Who did you use?
I am really looking forward to a new adventure after 6 years in dubai - which I will miss though!

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Hi Lulla just to say Welcome to the forum. I'm not in KL so will leave mostly for our KL residents to answer you. Just somewhat confused... I've been to Dubai. They have condos there :confused:

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Hi and thank you for the welcome!
Was trying to clarify about condos.
In dubai we have villas , town houses and what we call apartments. Maybe someone calls them condos?
Basically I'm trying to work out suitable accommodation given that we have a small dog and my husband's company will only allow gated / security protected accommodation . I know that apartments do not allow dogs. Villas in a gated community would be perfect but probably expensive. So I was tryin to clarify what exactly is called a condo in kl. would the term include gated housing with, say, two storey linked townhouses where one migh have a tiny garden?
Or are condos strictly apartments ( that would not allow dogs even if there are some communal green areas? ) cheers.

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

I think the vocabulary is much the same in Malaysia. You'll find houses, some in gated communities, some not. You'll find condos and apartments.

Strictly speaking, dogs are not allowed in condos, but you'll find that the rules are not adhered to. We see dogs being carried into our condo on a daily basis. Those in KL may be able to advise better. Happy planning :)

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Thanks very much - if I don 't get other replies here I will start a new thread with specific questions . Cheers

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Okey dokey. You might also like to browse through the Malaysia forum for other threads. There's been tons of threads about schooling. There's a search box up on the top right. If you search for "school" you should get all the threads pop up.

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Hi,

Condos are basically fancy apartments that have pools, gyms, play grounds and occasionally little shops or spas. I think the problem you may have moving with the little dog is that you need a 'landed' address to get a license but whether they check at immigration or not I am not sure.

If you go on google maps and type in international schools in Kuala Lumpur it will put little red dots on them. Basically, British school is in Bandar Utama/kota damansara/damansara indah area (west of the city), SriKDU international (based on british system) is in Kota Damansara, Mont Kiara School(American) and Garden International (British) are in Mont Kiara (big expat area - lots of condos higher rent) and then there is the International school of KL which is in Ampang (East of the city) and then the Alice Smith secondary school (British) is south of the city in the equine park area I believe.

Now if you go on to iproperty.com.my and type in the different neighbourhoods you will be able to see a mix of villas/bungalows, link/terraced houses and condos.

As for the car, you'll need one unless you don't mind waiting around for taxis, the schools aren't on the main train lines. You can get in touch with the british women's association and watch it's newsletter for classifieds and buy a second hand one from an exiting expat or buy new from a dealer (loans are easy to come by and rates are low).

Hope that helps.

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

Belated thanks !
Looks like our options for British curriculum schools are
Alice, garden and British school.

A few questions..
.
Which are the main two or three furniture stores in the city? Was hoping to have a quick look online before we arrive.

Are tailoring services widely available and reasonably priced? Such as alterations and copying of garments?

Golf- do many people tend to be members of golf clubs or mostly pay and play?

In the absence of a beach - do people still spend much time outdoors? Parks for example? Are there particularly popular outdoor pastimes? I realise it depends on preferences but for example in dubai - where I live just now, beach, camping, parks are popular - just wondered what were the favourites in kl.

Thanks in advance

Re: Moving to KL - Question about Schools etc
 

If you are looking for somewhere dog friendly, in the vicinity of a British School, you should look at Desa ParkCity.