Been offered a position in KL (from the UK)

I love KL, a wonderful city with very clean toilets, something you're very likely to need a lot if you take malaria tablets.

Don't take them, rather use anti mosquito creams to keep the little devils away from you and a spray can of mozzie killer to give your gaff a quick squirt with to kill any that have found their way into your house.

Cars are a pain and you have to find parking. The best way to explore Malaysia is take buses and stay in cheap hotels. The very expensive hotels are lovely but the cheap places have staff that aren't scared to offer opinions and give you local guidance, that including telling you the bits to avoid.
I always stay in cheap places when alone.

Buy a rucksack and make a sleeping bag out of a thin cotton sheet 1 m wide and 2.5 times your height. Cold isn't a problem but it'll keep insects off you.
Simply fold the sheet in half long way and get a sewing job done. You put insect repellent on the open side and you get a good night's sleep without so much as an insect coming near you.

Bukit Bintang is not necessarily more expensive to live than other places. There are lots of lower priced condos around that area. Just let any agent know your budget and they will show you places that are lower priced. If you prefer to share, be careful as I've read about some sharers getting into difficulties.

A car is nice to have, but if you plan to travel around the country there are inexpensive buses that go to most destinations. I had a family when I lived there and a car was useful for that. But if living in Bukit Bintang as a single person, I think it's better to not have a car.

Hi everyone,

Just to inform you that some posts have been removed from this thread. The OP has kindly accepted to change his username, so let us continue with sharing relevant infos.

Have a nice day,
Bhavna

If you would like to flat share, then take a look at www.ibilik.my and search on Bukit Bintang. There is a new railway system opening on 17th July, which will have a stop at Bukit Bintang and reach out into several interesting suburbs. So it may increase your area in which to find accommodation. The monorail goes through BB, but there are really not many places on it worth looking at, except perhaps Bukit Nanas area. Living in a condo sort of negates the feeling of loneliness because its like a small community and people meet up in the gym, around the pool, etc. It's quite social especially in BB, because a lot of young professionals like to live there, because of the excellent facilities in the area. Rentals for a whole unit start at about RM2.5k and a master room with private bath is about RM1.5k. I've lived in BB for 7 years and like it a lot (I'm retired). But if you want something quieter and cheaper (because you pay for the social environment in BB), then choose another location. If you want to flatshare, then this guy has properties in downtown BB -  Anselm Richter - [email protected]

Should I take vaccinations before I fly out?

Absolutely, yes.
Get everything the doctor suggests, that info will come from his computer. If they don't recommend tetanus, make sure you're up to date on it anyway.

5. Accommodation - my research tells me I'm better off finding a place in Bukit Bintang close to work due to the traffic congestion.

Yes.
Traffic can be pretty bad so living close to work will make life easier.
That area also has excellent shopping and restaurants so plenty of places to wander if you don't fancy the four walls.

I'm not too keen on living alone as I've tried it before and I get too lonely and depressed. How and where can I find a houseshare, preferably with non-alcoholic/smoking people?

Malaysia is about 60% Muslim so non drinking is easy to find. Non smoking could be harder.
Expats tend to be well paid so your gaff might be out of reach for locals. As for dating, it's easy to find lovely girls as long as you stay away from the bars.  You might find some places are Muslim only, Chinese only or Indian only - separation of the races is pretty common when it comes to local accomodation - something I found out through bitter experience.

Most people don't bother with Malaria as it is only endemic in a couple of places in East Malaysia and most of the surrounding countries don't have a problem unless you go extremely off piste. I would consider getting your hepatitis shots though - a couple are communicable. It's not possible to vaccinate against dengue fever, which is probably the most likely thing you may get. Definitely agree with tetanus as a minimum.

But to be honest, nothing is going to happen to you that the modern hospitals over here can't fix and the shots a damned expensive and make you feel ill (malaria prophylaxis is terrible). Do get international health insurance for at least 30 days (normally annual policies sold in the UK only cover that length of time). But your employer by law has to provide health coverage as part of your package. You could ask about the insurance (it's usually hospitalization cover only) to see the limits and excesses. If you get dengue you may need to spend a couple of days in hospital. The most likely other cause of need for assistance is to do with orthopaedics - injuries from falling down curbs, potholes, missing drain covers, etc. plus accidents when hiring motor bikes......

Note: I'm 32, single. I love the outdoors, football, cycling, hiking, scuba diving, and motoring.

Outdoors in KL is just a city but once you're out hiking is easy.
Places around Ipoh and Malacca have great open countryside to wander around and it's clean and safe to walk (not at night in some places).
I know bugger all about football but diving places are all over Asia, just take a peek at the adverts or have a quick google,
Air Asia and other 'bus company' airlines have very good services that'll get you anywhere in the region pretty quickly. Take sandwiches - the on board food is atrocious.

This is an article about the new train line showing the stops - if you want to rent outside of BB.
http://www.expatgo.com/my/2017/06/14/ph … 17th-july/

Here are a couple of expat football groups in KL

https://www.facebook.com/groups/6683464778/?fref=nfhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/1411105862472742/

WanderLife wrote:

Hi All

I hope you are all in good health.

This is my first post. My apologies if I was meant to introduce myself elsewhere, but I hope this is the first of many posts to receive and share knowledge and information.

I've been stuck in my bubble in the UK for my entire life but I've decided to take a plunge.

I have been offered a position for a company in Bukit Bintang, KL. I've been there before on holiday and have done a lot of research and reading online about KL in general. It's not meant to be a full expat position but more a "local expat". I know Bukit Bintang is more expensive to live in but I've accounted for that in my offer, and it's still cheaper than living in the UK.. I can sometimes overthink and overplan things, but I have a few questions that I'd appreciate your responses for (apologies for the listed question format):

1. Being in love with travel, I'm a little surprised by the 15 days of annual leave offered. However, it seems that might be normal: Is this true?

2. I also understand that there are many more public holidays (nearly double the UK i think), which will balance things out a little. Whilst I'm here, I'm very keen to explore Malaysia and surrounding countries in the region during my time off. Additionally, I'd like to visit my parents and siblings who'd be scattered in different places in UK, Middle East, and Asia. Time is more important to me than money (within certain limits of course), and I like to strike a good balance (or maximise) between the two.I noticed some public holidays fall on the saturday or sunday, which are already days off as weekends:  Do you get the next weekday off if the holidays falls on the weekend?



6. I may purchase a car for weekday evenings, weekends and regional travel. I have a clean UK and motorcycle licence. My international driving licence expired around a couple of months ago. I could purchase another one here for a small fee. Would I need to pass a driving test in Malaysia to be able to own and drive car?



Thanks!

1. 15 days working days or calendar days? 20 working days annual vacation is the norm.
2. With 3 religions to contend with, there are lots and lots of national holidays and quite a few of them coincide with the week ends. If the national holiday falls on Sunday in states which observe Saturday and Sunday as the week end (Kuala Lumpur does), then Monday is declared as an "in lieu" holiday. For national holidays that fall on Saturday, some companies will give Friday as "in lieu" but others may not.
6. You can get Malaysian driving license based on your UK license without giving a test.

You would need to contact DVLA to get your licence authenticated -  Certificate of Entitlement (D737). https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-m … d-vehicles

The whole .gov section may be of interest.

Driving license can be authenticated through the British Embassy in Kuala Lumpur also.

safety81 wrote:

Driving license can be authenticated through the British Embassy in Kuala Lumpur also.

No this is not the case any more - the process has changed. There is effectively only an advisory and trade section of the British High Commission in KL these days. There is no consular section. Even for visas into the UK, they are handled in the Philippines now. The DVLA letter is the only accepted document.

The same process of authentication by the issuing authority is now required for all various national driving licences. The Indian HC, for example, details its process on their website.

In addition, it was mentioned on another thread (https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=172084) that the DVLA letter needs to be authenticated by the  Legalisation Office, Corporate Services Centre, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Milton Keynes. To be honest, I have never heard about this ever before..... But the .gov link does talk about driving on an International Licence, obtained in the UK.

Thanks for providing the updated work process.