Greetings to all

We are Rob and Diane (Rodi)

To make our long story short: We are former members of Scott's MM2H forum and we've been told this is the place to be so here we are.

In late April, we sold our house in the San Francisco Bay Area and simultaneously applied for the MM2H visa as soon as I turned 50, also in late April. I was laid off from my financial services job a long time ago so we decided to try early retirement. Diane is a registered nurse, age 43, and she worked right up until the end. She is Canadian, of Chinese descent, speaks Cantonese and also has dual citizenship in the USA.

We've chosen Penang on a leap of faith and have only visited Borneo but have done extensive research and think we'll like it enough to live there.

Currently staying with relatives in Canada, we booked a plane ticket to KL on July 1st where we have an appointment with our banker to open an account, despite having no address. (We have a premier account at HSBC which allows us to do this).

On July 3rd, we fly to Penang where we've booked a 10 day stay at Copthorne Orchid while we search for a place to live. We only have one property agent contact so far and we've never met her.

So basically, we're seeking immediate help with a property agent refrarral and we're attempting to gain a network of friends or contacts that would be willing to meet us during the first half of July for some good old fashioned newbie help. We love expats and non-expats and are also looking for good meet ups.

Our entire story is on a blog but I know I'm not allowed to talk about that on this forum so that covers the basics for now.

If anyone can help us with reliable property agents, we'd very much appreciate an offline email or a reply comment. Our first choice is apartment complexes where other expats live in Tanjung Tokong or Tanjung Bungah. We have no car and don't plan on buying one for awhile. We will also consider Miami Green.

We expect to get our conditional approval in late July and will travel to KL at that time to finalize. Meanwhile, we need all the help we can get so if you're interested in helping and meeting new friends, please get in touch.

Best to all
Rob and Diane

Copthorne Orchid is sort of mid priced and we stay there or next door when up in Penang on holiday.

I'd say 10 days might be a bit short to finalise accommodation unless you've done a lot of work over the internet.

Anyway good luck.
I'm sure you'll get helpful advice on here.

Hi
Thanks for the reply. We have a couple of solid agents so hopefully that's enough time. If not I guess we'll extend the hotel time

Hi Rob and Diane and welcome to the forum

We are already corresponding by email so I think you should be OK with the property agent I mentioned, but see how it goes. You can do a lot of groundwork, get ideas of places you might want to rent, on the internet, then get the agent to take you around.

Yes you will be hitting the ground running when you arrive but there are PLENTY of rental units available. I think it's doable.

You haven't been to Penang before. You may hate it but just treat it as a temporary move. See if you like it here. If you don't, then you've got all the time in the world to check out other places around Malaysia. Enjoy

Re the Blog, it's quite OK to put a link in your Signature, if you wish, just don't mention it within the actual posts. Anyway, I'm sure you're busy with other things right now.

Hope the move goes well, and maybe we'll see you when you're here.

Hi Rodi

Unfortunately I read your post only today and my suggestion might be a bit late. I’m semi retired expat and live in Penang for more than 25 years. I do have a webpage which I’m not allowed to publish here (my semi retired occupation), but it is easy to find if you google retire malaysia and look for info - it is usually on the first google.co.uk page. There is plenty of information about Penang and daily living here. You might want to contact me after you read it or after an agent showed you for several hours apartments which did not meet your requested specifications.

Anyhow I’m always free for a beer and a chat in the evening - my office is near Copthorne.

Hope to meet you
Karl

Kebi, you can edit your profile to include your homepage URL - it is designed for those members who have a profession.

Rod, if you make one more post then other members will be able to pm you (send private messages).

++IVV

Thanks IVV. Good that you became a moderator and know alls this things

Hi Karl. You can also put your site, blog, business, whatever as your "signature" on here. Have fun working it out

Thanks a lot BB, I will try to figure it out after the afternoon sermon is finished

Thanks
Does this reply count? If not I'll find another thread topic

Hi Karl


Diane and I would be very interested in meeting you for a beer send chat some time during the week beginning July 6th. We will have had two days of viewings on the first two days we arrive from our other agent and would welcome some alternate opinions.


Can you please pm us so we can email you privately once we arrive at Copthorne? I think I can now receive pm messages.


Thanks
Rob and Diane

Hi. Only joined yesterday myself and just read your thread today.
Just wondering how you've got on and where you've settled?
If you're still looking to meet people send me a pm. We are in Tanjung tokong and also looking for local friends.

Hello


First off, we are very interested in meeting new friends as we so far only have our neighbors (who we love) and have found it difficult to make some of the local meet ups on InterNations and the like as something always comes up


We are totally settled and would be happy to share. We live in the Bayu Ferringhi, a high rise condo unit in the beginning part of Batu Ferrenghi. It's 1,777 sq ft; 3 bedroom, 2 bath: has an infinity pool overlooking the sea, 24 hour security, a small gym, washer and dryer (unusual for Asia) and a high heating induction oven as well as wet and dry kitchens.


We highly recommend our property agent but don't want to give her contact details here so pls email me privately at <snip> if you are interested and I will share her contact information. She is the best agent on the island and will be with you beginning to end as well as after you sign the lease. We signed a one year lease for RM 3,200 and an option to renew after one year. The unit is furnished (as Asian definitions go: ask for whatever you want and see what they will give you). We stayed at Four Points for seven nights and three nights at Holiday Inn and that's all it took to get into our unit.


We looked at a handful of places in Tanjung Bungah and Tanjung Tokong but preferred the quietness of this place despite not having a car. The bus stops right outside, is cheap and runs often and we take Uber home if we have lots of stuff or are just very tired. Also very cheap if using USD given the plummet of the MYR lately. The views are excellent: We live on the 9th floor but it's up on a hill so it feels higher. We go to the wet market by the bus depot in Bungah for some supplies and Cold Storage for ,it's everything else. We only cook once or twice a week because it's cheaper to eat out. Our town has ample things to eat if we don't wanna take the bus and is walking distance. (We walk a lot even in the heat).

Anyway, hope to get together soon