Salary for expat

So currently you earn just under RM10k per month. COL in Malaysia is about 30% higher than in India (higher in Mumbai) so that would be your first consideration.

No tax breaks, in fact the opposite - 25% flat rate deduction for first 182 days until qualified as tax resident (overpayment normally repayable according to prevailing rules). Sales-based jobs tend to be able to achieve higher salaries because of the financial benefits they bring which are measurable.

A salary guide is available here: http://www.academia.edu/9843873/Kelly_S … lary_guide

"KL" covers a wide geographical area and COL is similar but housing rental varies considerably. You would pay about RM1.5k as minimum in a provincial area where you need car transport, and the sky is the limit for the maximum, higher rentals in popular expat areas. It would cost about RM3k per month to live in an expat area. Groceries and bills will be max. RM2k unless you use a lot of air con.

The two biggest cost items are education and housing. Car prices are very high and car rentals can also be quite high as well, but again there is a wide range.

A rule of thumb is to live near to your workplace, because heavy traffic causes commuting nightmares.

Hay ,
Thanks a lot for such a quick and detailed reply.  If chosen to live in expat area, how far it is from Jalan Astaka ??
Secondly given an option between 15-20 k, is it enough ???

Hi I would say 30% plus from India to KL seems low in reality. 15 to 20 k is a good figure. Start at 20 and aim for 18.