SimonG29

Hi all,

A quick intro...I'm Simon and a 29 year old single british lad from Brighton, the reason i'm on here is to see if anyone knows of any Expat meet ups or general bars or places I should go when I come over.

Thing is...I've recently been offered a new job role by my company who are looking to open up an office in Asia, after much research and deliberating KL is screaming out as number one at present. I will be looking at other cities such as Singapore/Bangkok but from what I've read and looked into KL is looking the best bet.

I'm travelling over next week to check the city out, look at property and get a general feel for the place.

Is anyone from the UK free for a beer around (13th/14th/15th/16th) or know of bars and places I should go on my recon mission so I pick the brains of those that have taken the leap and set up in KL. I'm going to be checking out the city centre and Bangsar as places to live and open up the office.

Quick few starters for 10 if possible.

1. Nightlife in KL any good?
2. Any regular expat meetups?
3. Cheap to play golf? (research shows its expensive)
4. Best condo's? (been looking into Vipod, St Mary residence) budget upto 7000 a month.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again one very excited and nervous Brit!

bakedbean

Hi Simon, just to say to the forum. I'm not based in KL so cannot help you with your questions. You may like to browse through some existing topics on here, and do make use of the search box (top left). Happy planning.

SimonG29

Thanks Baked!

Also, the best expat hangouts if anyone could help on that too?!

Thanks again

roystevenung

Hi Simon, a warm welcome to BE and Malaysia.

I am a local Chinese residing at Penang.

1. I don't think you'll have problems finding nightlife in KL, look up the Bukit Bintang. But please, stay safe and go in groups if possible.

2. Penang yes, hopefully some expats at KL could share some intel on this.

3. Golf is never cheap in Malaysia. If memory serves me right, there are several exclusive golf courses in the PJ area.

4. With regards to your condo, is it anywhere near to your office?

Otherwise you may also need to ask on transport availability in your vicinity unless you are planning to drive?

Hammeraway

Hi Simon,

In KL City Centre you can try the Bukit Bintang area lots of bars and resturants and traffic. I am not too familiar with this area but there are many apartments around KLCC.
If you want an office or apartment slightly out of the city centre (10mins when no traffic) I would suggest you look at the Mont Kiara area. Some new shopping/living developments are now starting to get lively - Mont Kiara has one of the best international schools so lots of kids around so you may want to aviod it but check out Solaris, Publica, Plaza Damas/Sri Hartamas which are all close by and have big expat comunities, bars, resturants etc and less kids. I live in Sri Hartamas and have no complaints about the area.
I used to live in Bangsar and the new Bangsar Shopping Centre has some good resturants but Bangsar is not as lively as it used to be - lots more competition around now.
Local food is great and very cheap - I normally pay ~5RM for lunch (1GBP) with a drink!
Western food can be a little expensive but the biggest issue is "beer is expensive" so it is alwyas best to eat local and then drink more beer!
Living in Malaysia is very easy as it tends to follow the UK rules and regulations - driving is reasonably easy (with a GPS), you just need to be carefull especially with motorcycles but it is much easier than most Asian cities and by Asian standards KL is a very small city!

Golf is genearlly expensive especially at the weekend and very, very, very hot!!

I have had no problems with safety/security, you just need to remember it is a city like anywhere else so don't do anything stupid and you should be OK.

Another area you could try, with lots of expats is Ampang but I am not familiar with it..
There are also a few expat magazines that organise monthly gatherings etc but I've never tried them and I'm sure you will meet lots of people once you arrive.

I have been here 5+ years and plan to stay a few more so I highly recommend Kuala Lumpur and I am sure you will love it here!!

roystevenung

gobbledonk

Simon, I'm assuming you read my post re alcohol prices. I'm going to give these bars a shot in 2014 - Jalan P Ramlee is just too expensive.

http://www.timeoutkl.com/nightlife/a...intang/tagarea

My experience with many of the nightlife-related sites - particularly blogs - is that they can become outdated very quickly. Bars close, new bars open and - more importantly - bars often go out of fashion very quickly. The only site I really place much faith in is based in Jakarta, but that isnt much use to the OP



Good luck.

SimonG29

Thank you very much for your help with my questions!

4. I'll be working from home so being around other expats is paramount I guess, I was thinking of being based bang in the middle of the city, that was there is lots to do.....possibly in a condo which has a club house/bar.

Thanks again

SimonG29

Thanks for all your help and advice, its very much appreciated!

SimonG29

I've also been researching the best location for a bit of everything. What are people's thoughts on the area near KL Sentral station?

There is a condo called Suasana Sentral Lofts, it looks nice, close to the central transport links, close to Bangsar and not too far from lake gardens.

benlsmith11

Hi Simon,

Just tried to PM you, but it wouldn't work for some reason .... currently live in St.Albans with my wife and we are moving out to KL in late Feb / Early March. Would be keen to hear how you get on as we are looking at similar area's to live and I am also a pretty keen (keen... not good!) golfer, so if you go for KL and fancy a round and a couple of beers with another new expat when we arrive that would be great.

Cheers,

Ben

Hammeraway

Hi Simon,
I personally dont know too much about the Sentral Station area but it is growing with lots of new buildings so should be reasonably lively. I just checked with a local friend who used to live in Mutiara Residency in Senral area. His comments are Suasana Loft is definitely amazing and is perfect for expats. Bad points might be just avoid going to Brickfields at night but just for dinner it's fine. He also said Sentral/Brickfields area is good as you are close to the city and have good transport links.
I suggest you check it out when you are here but as I am sure KLCC also has some very nice condos!!
If you want to try a good British pub while you are here try "Sids Pub" a bit out of the city centre Address: 10, Jalan Medan Setia 2, Damansara Heights 50480. check out the web site http://www.sidspubs.com/outlets.html but it was voted the Best British Overseas Pub 2012-13 by The Telegraph.
Cheers!!

roystevenung

Anywhere near KL Sentral is good if you are without any car. KL Sentral is quite strategically placed.

If you need to do your shopping, just hop on the train and it'll take you directly to Mid-Valley or Pasar Seni (walking distance to Pudu Bus Station).

You can also hop on the LRT at KL Sentral which takes you directly to KL International Airport.

roystevenung

Hi Ben, welcome to BE forum.

You need to post (3 post or was it 5? getting old here ) in order for the PM to work.

SimonG29

Thanks again for all the posts and suggestions....my final final question is:

I'm going to be working for a British based company and opening up my own office in KL and the company will be putting together an expat package.

Does anyone currently work for a british company and know the currant rate of tax I would have to pay?