Why Retire in Malaysia?
#33
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2011
Location: Sydney
Posts: 65
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
Our family previously considered Penang as a retirement option & spent several weeks there as a test run. Unfortunately, a few things put us off:
(1) The rapid overdevelopment/poor planning/traffic congestion (we stayed with friends on 23/F on that extremely busy road between BatuF & city & even then could not escape the grinding traffic noise !!),
(2) The relentless overbearing heat between about 9 AM & 5 PM most days,
(3) We found the building standards rather poor & general maintenance lacking. Also, in terms of buying, we were pretty scared off by the number of vacant units (perhaps 20%) !!
On the other hand, its a very cheap place to live for people with moderate retirement funds & the local people appeared very kind.
Claudia
(1) The rapid overdevelopment/poor planning/traffic congestion (we stayed with friends on 23/F on that extremely busy road between BatuF & city & even then could not escape the grinding traffic noise !!),
(2) The relentless overbearing heat between about 9 AM & 5 PM most days,
(3) We found the building standards rather poor & general maintenance lacking. Also, in terms of buying, we were pretty scared off by the number of vacant units (perhaps 20%) !!
On the other hand, its a very cheap place to live for people with moderate retirement funds & the local people appeared very kind.
Claudia
Sure Malaysia offers a rather attractive policy,Make Malaysia Your Second Home Scheme,but just wondering were there other factors, that enticed you to Malaysia,and not to(for Brits)to say Malta or Spain or Bali for Aussies?
One more question. Do you see yourself spending your twilight years in Malaysia? If so how do you see that will pan out?(age care,if required) Or are you more the type that spends UK winters in the Tropics and back home for the summers,with the intention of doing so while fit enough,but long term intend to reside in UK when/if too feeble to travel?
One more question. Do you see yourself spending your twilight years in Malaysia? If so how do you see that will pan out?(age care,if required) Or are you more the type that spends UK winters in the Tropics and back home for the summers,with the intention of doing so while fit enough,but long term intend to reside in UK when/if too feeble to travel?
#34
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Perth
Posts: 6,775
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
Our family previously considered Penang as a retirement option & spent several weeks there as a test run. Unfortunately, a few things put us off:
(1) The rapid overdevelopment/poor planning/traffic congestion (we stayed with friends on 23/F on that extremely busy road between BatuF & city & even then could not escape the grinding traffic noise !!),
(2) The relentless overbearing heat between about 9 AM & 5 PM most days,
(3) We found the building standards rather poor & general maintenance lacking. Also, in terms of buying, we were pretty scared off by the number of vacant units (perhaps 20%) !!
On the other hand, its a very cheap place to live for people with moderate retirement funds & the local people appeared very kind.
Claudia
(1) The rapid overdevelopment/poor planning/traffic congestion (we stayed with friends on 23/F on that extremely busy road between BatuF & city & even then could not escape the grinding traffic noise !!),
(2) The relentless overbearing heat between about 9 AM & 5 PM most days,
(3) We found the building standards rather poor & general maintenance lacking. Also, in terms of buying, we were pretty scared off by the number of vacant units (perhaps 20%) !!
On the other hand, its a very cheap place to live for people with moderate retirement funds & the local people appeared very kind.
Claudia
Point 3 find interesting. Sounds like Spain with so many units vacant.
Wasn't aware of the numbers involved. Would certainly go in with eyes open if was to purchase.
#35
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
There's a lot of local money sloshing around and the local Chinese quite often buy units for investment, do nothing with them, then sell on later, sometimes much later. I am told that sometimes they hold for years. This is a low-tax country and easy to save money. Difficult to compare with a high-tax country like the UK for example. We always found it very difficult to save money there when you have to give half of your hard earned money back to the goverment
#36
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
here here. The less you give to the taxman the better. I imagine Thailand to be similar and working and supporting a family of four I still manage to save far more than I would in the UK living a similar lifestyle. The main reason being property. I've never owned a property in the UK for the simple reason that I couldn't afford one. I've bought land and built a nice house here for minimal cost. The pound was a lot better then but still. The other thing is rents. To stay in a similar house in the suburbs of London which is what I am comparing Bangkok to would cost about 8-10 times as much as in THailand, but unfortunately I wouldn't be earning 8-10 times as much. I save more here.
#37
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
I was doing some searches on the more popular threads in Malaysia sub-forum by both postings and viewings, and the ones relating to retirement come high up the list. Unfortunately most of the threads are quite old and closed up now. This one still a little bit live, so thought I'd revive it and give a shameless bump
If anyone is interested in the Malaysian MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) visa, which can be used for retirement purposes, though not exclusively, you can look at the government website here.
http://www.mm2h.gov.my/
And if anyone would like to talk about their experiences in retiring in Malaysia, then pipe up here. Don't be shy. Tell us what you think.
I think it's a brilliant scheme. The fact that it falls under the Ministry of Tourism tells you that they are really looking for folks to invest here.
If anyone is interested in the Malaysian MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) visa, which can be used for retirement purposes, though not exclusively, you can look at the government website here.
http://www.mm2h.gov.my/
And if anyone would like to talk about their experiences in retiring in Malaysia, then pipe up here. Don't be shy. Tell us what you think.
I think it's a brilliant scheme. The fact that it falls under the Ministry of Tourism tells you that they are really looking for folks to invest here.
#38
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Perth
Posts: 6,775
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
I was doing some searches on the more popular threads in Malaysia sub-forum by both postings and viewings, and the ones relating to retirement come high up the list. Unfortunately most of the threads are quite old and closed up now. This one still a little bit live, so thought I'd revive it and give a shameless bump
If anyone is interested in the Malaysian MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) visa, which can be used for retirement purposes, though not exclusively, you can look at the government website here.
http://www.mm2h.gov.my/
And if anyone would like to talk about their experiences in retiring in Malaysia, then pipe up here. Don't be shy. Tell us what you think.
I think it's a brilliant scheme. The fact that it falls under the Ministry of Tourism tells you that they are really looking for folks to invest here.
If anyone is interested in the Malaysian MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) visa, which can be used for retirement purposes, though not exclusively, you can look at the government website here.
http://www.mm2h.gov.my/
And if anyone would like to talk about their experiences in retiring in Malaysia, then pipe up here. Don't be shy. Tell us what you think.
I think it's a brilliant scheme. The fact that it falls under the Ministry of Tourism tells you that they are really looking for folks to invest here.
I have a feeling they the Malaysian Tourist are not getting the message over to enough people. Perhaps they have no wish for many tens of thousands to decide to relocate to there owing to the possible social disrubtion which may result. Who can blame them?
I guess folk on the spot would be better able to ascertain if they notice any change in numbers coming in. Especially in Penang.
#39
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
I think Malaysian Tourism promotes the scheme pretty well. I think they do some roadshows in different places, don't they?
I think the problem for folks in UK and mainland Europe (and some other places) is whether they can now afford the MM2H visa. Exchange rates have really changed. The Ringgit is still quite strong, isn't it? But everyone knows that the Euro is going down the tube and Sterling none to healthy either. Just the way the world is currently.
I think for those considering getting MM2H, really worth thinking about getting it while you're still working (and maybe a bigger income coming in, rather than actually waiting till retirement time).
Just "on the ground" report from Penang, I'm still hearing of folks getting the visa. Some British friends just got theirs and now planning the move to Penang later this year I think. Got another couple of Aussie friends who are about to apply for the visa.
We've just moved into a new condo and our neighbours, next door but one, are also MM2Hers from Japan - nice couple - and owner/occupiers like us.
I think the problem for folks in UK and mainland Europe (and some other places) is whether they can now afford the MM2H visa. Exchange rates have really changed. The Ringgit is still quite strong, isn't it? But everyone knows that the Euro is going down the tube and Sterling none to healthy either. Just the way the world is currently.
I think for those considering getting MM2H, really worth thinking about getting it while you're still working (and maybe a bigger income coming in, rather than actually waiting till retirement time).
Just "on the ground" report from Penang, I'm still hearing of folks getting the visa. Some British friends just got theirs and now planning the move to Penang later this year I think. Got another couple of Aussie friends who are about to apply for the visa.
We've just moved into a new condo and our neighbours, next door but one, are also MM2Hers from Japan - nice couple - and owner/occupiers like us.
#40
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Perth
Posts: 6,775
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
I think Malaysian Tourism promotes the scheme pretty well. I think they do some roadshows in different places, don't they?
I think the problem for folks in UK and mainland Europe (and some other places) is whether they can now afford the MM2H visa. Exchange rates have really changed. The Ringgit is still quite strong, isn't it? But everyone knows that the Euro is going down the tube and Sterling none to healthy either. Just the way the world is currently.
I think for those considering getting MM2H, really worth thinking about getting it while you're still working (and maybe a bigger income coming in, rather than actually waiting till retirement time).
Just "on the ground" report from Penang, I'm still hearing of folks getting the visa. Some British friends just got theirs and now planning the move to Penang later this year I think. Got another couple of Aussie friends who are about to apply for the visa.
We've just moved into a new condo and our neighbours, next door but one, are also MM2Hers from Japan - nice couple - and owner/occupiers like us.
I think the problem for folks in UK and mainland Europe (and some other places) is whether they can now afford the MM2H visa. Exchange rates have really changed. The Ringgit is still quite strong, isn't it? But everyone knows that the Euro is going down the tube and Sterling none to healthy either. Just the way the world is currently.
I think for those considering getting MM2H, really worth thinking about getting it while you're still working (and maybe a bigger income coming in, rather than actually waiting till retirement time).
Just "on the ground" report from Penang, I'm still hearing of folks getting the visa. Some British friends just got theirs and now planning the move to Penang later this year I think. Got another couple of Aussie friends who are about to apply for the visa.
We've just moved into a new condo and our neighbours, next door but one, are also MM2Hers from Japan - nice couple - and owner/occupiers like us.
#41
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2011
Location: Malaysia / Thailand
Posts: 302
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
I suppose you also can't judge the appeal / take-up from forums either. Of those applying I suspect only a very, very small percentage join the forums and I suspect the vast majority of those will 'lurk' only (nothing wrong with that - it's just how they go). MM2H release their own stats but, not being that concerned, I never bother to check.
#42
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
You can check the statistics here
http://www.mm2h.gov.my/statistic.php
They're not bang up to date. Currently goes up to March 2011. (There's a typo on the page as well stating that it's 2010 at the bottom.)
There's an analysis from 1996 to 2006 (including the original Silver Hair Programme) and another analysis from 2002 to date (when it's been the MM2H Scheme).
For this year (3 months data) the Top 10 (guys n gals) is:
1. Iran (92)
2. PR China (70)
3. Japan (63)
4. Bangladesh (61)
5. British (49)
6. Pakistan (24)
7. Australia (21)
8. Rep of Korea (17)
9. Singapore (15)
10. USA (11)
and Others (77)
In previous years they haven't split out Australia. This is the first time mentioned and no big surprise with the strong Aussie Dollar and many Australian friends tell me they're feeling the pinch back in homeland. Have quite a lot of Japanese living in the condo I'm in, so not surprised about Japan being so high up too.
http://www.mm2h.gov.my/statistic.php
They're not bang up to date. Currently goes up to March 2011. (There's a typo on the page as well stating that it's 2010 at the bottom.)
There's an analysis from 1996 to 2006 (including the original Silver Hair Programme) and another analysis from 2002 to date (when it's been the MM2H Scheme).
For this year (3 months data) the Top 10 (guys n gals) is:
1. Iran (92)
2. PR China (70)
3. Japan (63)
4. Bangladesh (61)
5. British (49)
6. Pakistan (24)
7. Australia (21)
8. Rep of Korea (17)
9. Singapore (15)
10. USA (11)
and Others (77)
In previous years they haven't split out Australia. This is the first time mentioned and no big surprise with the strong Aussie Dollar and many Australian friends tell me they're feeling the pinch back in homeland. Have quite a lot of Japanese living in the condo I'm in, so not surprised about Japan being so high up too.
Last edited by bakedbean; Sep 9th 2011 at 9:20 am. Reason: got Jimmy Savile's catchphrase wrong... :-/
#43
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Perth
Posts: 6,775
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
You can check the statistics here
http://www.mm2h.gov.my/statistic.php
They're not bang up to date. Currently goes up to March 2011. (There's a typo on the page as well stating that it's 2010 at the bottom.)
There's an analysis from 1996 to 2006 (including the original Silver Hair Programme) and another analysis from 2002 to date (when it's been the MM2H Scheme).
For this year (3 months data) the Top 10 (guys n gals) is:
1. Iran (92)
2. PR China (70)
3. Japan (63)
4. Bangladesh (61)
5. British (49)
6. Pakistan (24)
7. Australia (21)
8. Rep of Korea (17)
9. Singapore (15)
10. USA (11)
and Others (77)
In previous years they haven't split out Australia. This is the first time mentioned and no big surprise with the strong Aussie Dollar and many Australian friends tell me they're feeling the pinch back in homeland. Have quite a lot of Japanese living in the condo I'm in, so not surprised about Japan being so high up too.
http://www.mm2h.gov.my/statistic.php
They're not bang up to date. Currently goes up to March 2011. (There's a typo on the page as well stating that it's 2010 at the bottom.)
There's an analysis from 1996 to 2006 (including the original Silver Hair Programme) and another analysis from 2002 to date (when it's been the MM2H Scheme).
For this year (3 months data) the Top 10 (guys n gals) is:
1. Iran (92)
2. PR China (70)
3. Japan (63)
4. Bangladesh (61)
5. British (49)
6. Pakistan (24)
7. Australia (21)
8. Rep of Korea (17)
9. Singapore (15)
10. USA (11)
and Others (77)
In previous years they haven't split out Australia. This is the first time mentioned and no big surprise with the strong Aussie Dollar and many Australian friends tell me they're feeling the pinch back in homeland. Have quite a lot of Japanese living in the condo I'm in, so not surprised about Japan being so high up too.
Also no India mentioned.Would have thought Malaysia would have been popular there.
Doesn't surprise me though that there is no Continental European country listed as Malaysia doesn't seem to feature as a possible retirement place.
#44
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
Iran? Well you can't blame these guys. Must be a real hoot retiring in Iran
#45
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2010
Location: here, there and hopefully in Penang
Posts: 137
Re: Why Retire in Malaysia?
Hello!
Interesting thread.
Can I hijack this thread and ask if anyone thinks of retiring in Malaysia without his/her partner? Or, say if the other half has tried out living in Malaysia and find's it tough going for whatever reason and decided to go back to homeland, would you do the 3 months here and 3 months back in homeland?
From memory, I had a neighbour who used to do that. He left his family in Sydney whilst he continues to live and work in Malaysia and did fleeting and frequent trips back to visit family. I must say, that it appears to work for them.
Cheers
Interesting thread.
Can I hijack this thread and ask if anyone thinks of retiring in Malaysia without his/her partner? Or, say if the other half has tried out living in Malaysia and find's it tough going for whatever reason and decided to go back to homeland, would you do the 3 months here and 3 months back in homeland?
From memory, I had a neighbour who used to do that. He left his family in Sydney whilst he continues to live and work in Malaysia and did fleeting and frequent trips back to visit family. I must say, that it appears to work for them.
Cheers