14000 Per month in KL for a young western family

Hi how about school fees - age of kid?  If a baby be careful of medical fees. They can be astronomical. Nursery here can be very bad. Best to look after at home.

Also studying in kl is often not worth it unless Nottingham uni or similar. Most master degrees here are not worth much (I presume masters as a year).

14k from savings is sufficient (as equal to a higher pee tax salary please note anyone else reading).

Hi
Thanks for the reply.

My son will be 2 years old so it does not have to be an exclusive $10,000 international school, just a play school or nursery he can go a couple of days a week to socialise with other kids and give mum a bit of a break. As long as it is clean and safe it's good. and we will also have a baby.

Nottingham is correct they have a very good reputation.

Please try to put example numbers to costs "astronomical" may mean different things to different people.

We have access to some contingency funds but it is important we understand potential scenarios.

Thanks

J

Appendicitis 30,000 rm (with complications).

Heart attack 80,0000 rm plus

One night in hospital with a few tests 2 000 rm. With a sick baby it can get pricey.

Btw these were charged to local friends not expats who can get charged more. These locals negotiated original price down.

Make sure you have good Malaysian insurance. AXA is best value.travel insurance wont cover you studying.

Nottingham is same degree as back in UK so good choice. For other readers place like Monash issue a local (considered inferior) standard degree.

14k a month is enough - considering you are not saving for retirement / travel etc you can spend less. What other readers often forget is that when working you need to treat part of your salary as deferred to old age.

Nursery will depend on where you choose to live. If you have to get to Nottingham, its a bit out in the sticks and you would probably not want to live near there. There is no public transport nearby and people either drive or take the train and then a shuttle bus which the university provides, and that bus takes about 30 mins to do the journey. So you may want to consider hiring a car. That will cost about RM1-1.5k per month. Driving say from BB or Sentral will only take about 20 mins. I strongly recommend you live in an expat area and, if necessary, pay a little more in rent to do so (your budget can withstand that). There are a lot of nursery places in English language when there are expats in the offing.

Hiring a live in or out maid may be helpful. They cost about RM1250 per month but be careful that they have immigration in order otherwise you can get into some serious schtuck.

Health insurance - best Tokio Marine's Health Insurance , the Premier Medic Partner product. For RM20 you can cover yourself for anywhere outside Malaysia as well. Just be aware that annual limits, maximums, and lifetime limits are quite low with Malaysian products. But probably sufficient for your purposes.

Hi there!!
We are an expat family of 4 too:
- 3,500RM housing, you may be able to find a 3 bed apartment. Pls be sure your company will cover the advance for your flat (minimum 3 months downpayment, warranty + advance payment).
- Nursery is minimum 1,200RM/month + uniforms + cost of meals + bus cost if needed (bus costs around 800RM for 3 months). For you just to have an idea: International school primary 1st year is 60,000 a year in KL!! If you want your child to socialize, pls know that preschool in Malaysia are very pushy and are not so much about fun!! It is very academic: my son had to start writing when he was 3y, he had to sit most of the day, and learn the alphabet! So in the end we took him out of there and he attended preschool at an international school (much more expensive though...). Asians do not have the same idea than us on preschool or education in general. I suggest you find a playgroup for your child to socialize on an Expat.com (moderated: no free ads please)
- 2,000RM Food budget is a bit low. If you intend to eat local food OK but I am not sure you want to feed your young kids pesticides (average nr of pesticides found in malaysian vegetables/fruits: 3!/Ministry of Agriculture), the same for chicken and antibiotics. You put your local chicken in the oven then after 1hr only half is left! Yogurts and milk + baby food are all imported and SUPER EXPENSIVE (5-9RM for 1 pot of yogurt and 15RM for an Australian organic one!!). A liter of fresh milk is 8RM, sandwich bread is 5RM, a dozen of eggs 10RM, 2 beef steaks 60RM, one slice of salmon 35RM... I also thought it would be much cheaper when we moved here but reality is different. Fresh fish is hard to find too.
- 400RM electricity is fair for a 3bed appt if you only use the aircon at night.
- Phone/cable TV 300RM - OK, but pls be aware Astro and Maxis or phone companies will ask you for a big down payment (only applicable to foreigners). I have a monthly plan of 30RM and had to make a down payment of 1,500RM! 500RM deposit for Astro too.
- Cars are expensive. Minimum 3,000RM/month for a rental (medium size Honda city or toyota innova).
- Taxis are a pain. When it rains, no cab, on Fridays and rush hours no cab, you will have sometimes to book a luxury blue cab (which is a normal cab in other countries). My office is located 3km from our place. I pay 13-15RM in morning or 21-24RM blue cab.
- Transportation: buses come and go on a non-schedule basis, so you just wait and see if a bus is coming. To be avoided if you have an appointment.
- Please make sure your company covers all medical expenses as medical treatments can be expensive. For a vaccination, cost with a consultation could easily be minimum 150-250RM or any consultation with medication will also cost that price. International clinics tend to bill more (200-300RM for a consultation). Dental visit/cleaning about 200-250RM. Hospital and surgery are of course very expensive.
- Legal cleaners (from cleaning company) cost 20-25RM an hour.
Of course, you also need to add a budget for unplanned events or extra costs.
Good luck

We would be self funding so no company to pay anything!

I dont recognise much of the info about food. The quality of the fresh produce that I buy in a low cost supermarket is second to none. Far better than I was able to buy in the UK. The cost of fertilizers would make it impossible for the small suppliers to compete. It just the perfect growing conditions that produce natural clean crops. I could understand if you were talking about produce from Australia or China (which I would suggest you avoid). The meat is also great quality - but then I shop at a small Giant supermarket in the city and its a bigger problem with the international chains like Tesco, etc. that push large suppliers into bad habits. The range of food is great. There is natural food even in small supermarkets. I buy some ecological sugar free soy milk flavoured with coffee, chocolate or just natural. It is truly amazing. Anyone who goes to the expat magnet food shops will find more problems that sticking to where locals shop. There are ones in Bangsar and in Ampang and they just take the foreigners as fools buy charging silly prices.  Would you pay RM30 for a bell pepper (£7) I've seen it. So shop wise, use markets, and keep away from these types of outlets. You dont need the heavy foods from Europe in this part of the world, so locally inspired food (which is often quite healthy) is perfect for the climactic conditions. Sorry to disagree.

I don't know where Emicoti got these prices from???!
A man is coming to study not to roll in luxury! Graduates earn 3k here and 5k if it's oil company.
You can get a full time live out maid RM1600-1800 per month wt all paperwork done by her. There are part time cleaner companies that charge 15per hour. We spend 1300 for a family of 4 for food, I do normal groceries at Tesco online, buy fruits from the local stalls near Mont Kiara, and get things that are not locally produced at Village Grocer(it has foods from all around the world!)
Local chicken is rm4 per kg if you want one free of antibiotic etc it's rm16 per Chicken.
You can register wt Tesco online and check food prices there. Yogurts are not of UK quality but you can find decent alternatives.
Eating out eg TGI Fridays you'd spend around rm200.
You'd be better off buying a car than renting, if it's indeed 3k/month. 14k considering you are not saving for future and EPF is a good budget!!
RM3500 you can get at least 1200 sf apartment depending what condo, this is true even for Mont Kiara.
International schools are expensive but your kids are small so no problem. There is Child Discovery House nursery that is well recommended by expats. Child Delivery in one of the best hospitals is 7-10k if it C-section with private room, a lot cheaper for natural birth.

Thanks for the info. So it seems to me 14000 a month (with proper health insurance) should be a reasonable amount for a young family who are prepared to live on a moderate budget, without undue hardship. My only real concern is the cost of the birth. Does anyone have any experience with maternity insurance. I saw Prudential appear to have a policy which covers complications. I am confident we can cover a standard birth or a C-Section but I would like to have the deep pockets of an insurance company for worst case scenarios. If I quit my job I belive it may be impossible to get cover for this on a new policy. Any ideas?

Hi should you need of maid for family ( cleaning and baby sitting etc )
you can email me at [email protected] and the requesting the fees too.

Thanks
Pam

Hi should you need of maid for family ( cleaning and baby sitting etc )
you can email me at [email protected] and the requesting the fees too.

Thanks
Pam

Hi, 

I am a mother of 3 children, 2 studied in Monash University, Bandar Sunway and the youngest now studying in Heriot-Watt University in Putrajaya.  I am not from KL so I will share what we pay for my children.  Frankly, if you scout around or google, you will not spend so much (RM14000).  It depends on which university you choose and the location you stay. There are foreign and local universities and fees defer. 

Housing:  You can get a decent apartment for RM1800 fully furnished at The Arc, Cyberjaya. If studying in
Putrajaya or Cyberjaya.   In Bandar Sunway, try a little bit outskirt (within 3 kms) to Monash, you can stay at
Suriamas , Indahvilla, Residensi Laguna for around RM2000.  Just google and find. They are many without
agent's fees.
Food:  Cook yourself and eat out occassionally.  Buy groceries at Giant, Tesco, Aeonbig or Econsave.
Wet markets , you are able to get fresher fish, chicken and meat.
Bills. 400 RM  reasonable.
Phones and internet 300 RM  -  Prepaid cards.  Check on those giving free calls to same lines.  I found one
so cheap but have not used  yet.  Postpaid RM8.00 + min internet RM5.00 per month.  Digi - I use less than
RM20.00 for prepaid.
Medical insurance for a family of 4 ??? RM.     I get from AIA. I can enquire for you if interested.
Nursery / play school a few days a week ??? RM300 or less for 5 days / week around 2 - 3 hrs per day.
Cleaner a few days a week ??? RM30.00 for 4 hours use (in JB).  I got an Indonesia girl.
Car - buy a 2nd hand one.  There are many between RM12000 - RM15000.00.  Since you are staying
for a year.
If need more advise, can message me at [email protected].

Great info, but I would advise against buying a car because of the hassle involved and then you have the same again (and more) to sell it. At RM1200 per month everything included (bring any proof of no claims bonus) its well worth it and any problems (which you do get with cars at the suggested buying price and age) you get another vehicle.

Hi there,
You can always enrol your child in a play school of which there are plenty in the Klang Valley.
As a matter of fact my son is enrolled in gymboree which is a francise of playschools and for the whole year its approximately RM3k so its pretty worth it.
Rental wise,for a family of 4 the RM3500 rental will suffice,for that price you should be able to get a comfortable 3 bed room condominium or even a 4 room house.
As for food,RM2k is more than enough as you have an option to buy groceries from the various grocers or dine out.
Transportation wise,you have an option of buying an affordable used car which ranges from RM8 for a local car up to RM15k for a japanese car/suv (Honda CRV etc). I don't advice renting a car as its a waste of money which could be used for other necceties.
As for insurance & medical i would advice asking your current insurance company in USA if they have a branch in Malaysia and just extend the coverage to Malaysia and pay a slight premium.
Utilities wise,as in electric bills,water,phone,internet etc,RMk should be a generous enough amount (with change).
If you want to i can help you out in sourcing for accommodation,transportation etc if you like.
[moderated: please avoid posting your contact information on the forum]

All the best,
Miqayeel Bradley Low

Hi
I am a local and I think I can help you. Your housing can be around 2k Malaysian per month. Cleaners are about RM 80 per session which can be about 4 hours. You need to add transport into your expenses.
Frankly 14000 a month is over budgeted. You can survive with around 7000 a month.

Welcome to Malaysia. You will like it here although it is hot and sticky

manjin
[email protected]

Sorry didn't realise your child will be born here. Actually for a private hospital it wouldn't cost that much fee's wise. We opted for Metro Maternity Hospital,a private maternity hospital in Klang and for normal birth its circa RM3.5k and for C-sec its circa RM5k+.
They have a very good reputation and you can call them at +603-3341 2277 or visit their website at metro.com.my . I am sure they have  panel of insurance companies.
I am Malaysian but was brought up in the UK so if you want to make sure you don't get ripped off here by realty agents just drop me a line or call/message me on my mobile [moderated: please avoid posting your contact information on the forum]

Regards,
Miqayeel Bradley Low

Hello Miqayeel Bradley Low,

Can you please recommend this clinic in the Business Directory > Health in Kuala Lumpur.

Thank you,

Shaazia
Expat.com Team

[moderated: no free ads please]

What are you planning to study? Degree, Masters, Phd? Try Monash University, IMO one of the best university you can find here, but the fees can be really high.

Lavenderong wrote:

Hi, 

I am a mother of 3 children, 2 studied in Monash University, Bandar Sunway and the youngest now studying in Heriot-Watt University in Putrajaya.  I am not from KL so I will share what we pay for my children.  Frankly, if you scout around or google, you will not spend so much (RM14000).  It depends on which university you choose and the location you stay. There are foreign and local universities and fees defer. 

Housing:  You can get a decent apartment for RM1800 fully furnished at The Arc, Cyberjaya. If studying in
Putrajaya or Cyberjaya.   In Bandar Sunway, try a little bit outskirt (within 3 kms) to Monash, you can stay at
Suriamas , Indahvilla, Residensi Laguna for around RM2000.  Just google and find. They are many without
agent's fees.
Food:  Cook yourself and eat out occassionally.  Buy groceries at Giant, Tesco, Aeonbig or Econsave.
Wet markets , you are able to get fresher fish, chicken and meat.
Bills. 400 RM  reasonable.
Phones and internet 300 RM  -  Prepaid cards.  Check on those giving free calls to same lines.  I found one
so cheap but have not used  yet.  Postpaid RM8.00 + min internet RM5.00 per month.  Digi - I use less than
RM20.00 for prepaid.
Medical insurance for a family of 4 ??? RM.     I get from AIA. I can enquire for you if interested.
Nursery / play school a few days a week ??? RM300 or less for 5 days / week around 2 - 3 hrs per day.
Cleaner a few days a week ??? RM30.00 for 4 hours use (in JB).  I got an Indonesia girl.
Car - buy a 2nd hand one.  There are many between RM12000 - RM15000.00.  Since you are staying
for a year.
If need more advise, can message me at [email protected].

Indahvilla? Are you talking about the one near Sunway Pyramid mall? If so, I don't know how to believe in what you are saying because from what I have heard about the place, its not a place I would suggest for someone to stay. At least from what I heard from people who lived there 2 or 3 years ago. Not sure how different it is now, but I would suggest finding some other place.