how much... (II)

Housing...

You need a roof over your head.. unless you are from the city, you have to look for a place to stay when you relocate... and this exercise is not an easy nor a cheap one..

Unless you have friends who are gonna be your housemates or you are willing to share (the house) with total strangers, you would need to pay between MYR$ 700 - MYR$ 1,000 per month (excluding utilities charges) for a flat/house not in a prime area (of KL and Penang) which is most likely furnished partially.. Utility bills are often not included in the rental and has to be paid by the tenants. Use more, pay more.. pure and simple.. Water bills are often less than MYR$ 10 a month, while electricity bills are the ones to take note of.. and not forgetting, there might be sewage charges (depending on your area and number of toilets you have) too.. if you do cook, you might have to get gas or buy an induction cooker..

flats in Macao.. not much different fr those in the cities..

Distance to office, either located downtown or in some commercial district, is usually inversely proportional to the rental cost. Also, cheaper rental would often mean higher transportation cost (petrol and parking).. Driving to work is almost a given fact in this country.

Other than distance, another criteria for consideration will be the security and amenities available nearby. Since you can't depend on the police force in this country to provide security and safety, you would need to choose the area (housing estate) to live in carefully. You definitely don't want to stay in some shady neighborhood and tempt fate.. And for amenities, it will be good to have eateries and grocery shops within 10 min drive, as it is quite impossible to expect having such conveniences within walking distance.

Although, it is good to find a place that is fully furnished but that (most probably) would indicate a higher rental.. For a partially furnished place, you would need to buy some stuffs on your own.. maybe a washing machine (average top-load one would cost between MYR$ 900 - 1,500), a fridge (under MYR$ 1,000), a bed frame & mattresses (depending if you want a King/Queen/Single-size bed frame & mattresses, price varies from MYR$ 500 - MYR$ 2,000), a fan/air cooler (under MYR$ 200), a microwave oven (under MYR$ 1,000), a stove/induction cooker (under MYR$ 200), an iron (under MYR$ 100), a kettle (under MYR$ 50), a work table and chair (under MYR$ 400) and many other small appliances.. All these are one-time purchases which you should keep in mind when looking at a partially furnished flat/house.

Rental contracts are usually for 1 year.. unlike in Singapore, rental contracts here (usually) do not have to be stamped by lawyers.. it is often a signed agreement witnessed by the owner and the tenant(s).. a deposit is required most of the time and it is usually 1 - 2 months' rental.. so you should take that into consideration when house searching..


Thus the initial deposit of the house might set you back between MYR$ 700 - $2,000.. then you might need to buy some furniture and/or electrical appliances which could cost you between MYR$ 1,000 - $4,000, depending on what you need/want.. and finally the actual rental (between MYR$ 700 - $1,000) plus utilities (under MYR$ 100)...

If you are native to the city, then you could stay with your parents, thus saving on rental and utilities, although you might, still need to or expected to, give a token sum to your parents each month, or at the very least during festivities like Chinese New Year, parents' birthdays and Mother's/Father's Day.. these are things you cannot avoid, unless your family is rich, which will then mean that you won't have to worry about money in the first place..

To help you decide, you should ask yourself several questions.. will you be spending a lot of time at home or will you be out most of the time? do you want to have housemates or you prefer to have more privacy? does noise bother you or you are immune to it? will you be cooking much or not at all? how far is "far" and how far is acceptable when you travel to work? All these will help you choose the flat/house you will want to rent..

And buying a property would be a totally new ball game...  one that shouldn't be taken lightly as it is gonna tie you down, to your job and to this country.. so unless you are very sure that you are gonna stay in the city or country for good, don't place yourself in a financially vulnerable position..

Next, transportation cost...



Disclaimer: I am not an economist nor am I (formally) trained in finance.. The figures above are my own estimation which are based on data gleaned from my family/friends and the Internet. I am just stating my observation, experience and thoughts, as I had lived in 3 different Asian countries/cities in the past 20 years...