Newbie to kl

Hello there

Welcome to Kuala Lumpur, I am working in an international preschool in Bangsar, if you are looking for a preschool for your 3 year old and also classes for your 7 year old

Bangsar indeed is a cool place to hang out and also meeting other expats. And it's also easy accessible with the light rail if you're coming from cap square. But it's really depending on the busy traffics in Kuala Lumpur, sometimes it might be a hassle for traveling in light rail or even by car.

It's recommended to have a car in Kuala Lumpur, so maybe you can consider yourself to get a car and go around

Are you looking for places to live near cap square? Or Bangsar?

Sandra

Hi it is good to have you in kl

Well there are certain things to choose from. First of all kl is a wonderful place to stay. But u need to look at this criteria

Budget
Area
Transport
Convience

Bungsar is a nice place to stay but depending on your budget
U must know which part of bungsar. Expensive though it is convienent
For nearby areas. For that you need transport. There is a good train system, taxis and buses but nothing like ur own transport

Whatever it is you will enjoy the culture food and more importantly the people here
Welcome

Bangsar used to be considered the expat capital of KL, but this is no longer the case and there are more Malaysians living there, both wealthy and not. If you think about it, a place that looks wealthy, also attracts crime. Bag snatching is frequent. There are more modern suburbs now, that are popular with expats, as they have better condos and general facilities. The rental prices are higher in Bangsar than those areas in many cases and some of the condition the properties are in would not be acceptable to many people. Most condos are also up steep slopes so walking access is not good and anyway, once you get out you would probably not want to walk up the busy main road, where many residential houses have been turned into businesses.

There are two shopping centres for which you will probably need a car to access them. Bangsar is located on a very busy main through road and traffic jams are legendary, especially around the shopping Malls at weekends - Bangsar village is as busy as Sungai Wang at the weekend.

You will almost certainly still need to have a car, as most of the condos are a long way from the light railway line - and there is no designated car park at LRT Bangsar so you would probably be relient on paying upwards of RM20 per day to park to use the train. During rush hour and in bad weather, the drive from Bangsar to the city can take up to 45 minutes.

There are no international schools in Bangsar, so appropriate education for a 7 year old without delaying his/her integration into a new set of school friends, would also need to be found and budgeted for. There are bussing arrangements from Bangsar to a number of schools.  So it would be sensible to look at some schooling requirements first, before settling on Bangsar and ignoring other options for a child to live close to their school and school friends.

Here is information about schools: http://schooladvisor.my/?p=schools (please note that private schools are not necessarily international schools i.e. they are mainly aimed at Malaysian students.

Capsquare is about a 12/15 minute walk away from getting off the train at LRT Dang Wangi and getting to the central area.

Welcome to KL.

Bangsar is quite a nice area with three nearby shopping malls, one being one of the largest malls in KL called Midvalley which is just 2 minutes drive away from Bangsar. However, Bangsar is only really suitable if you have a car so it is worth buying or leasing a car while you are here. Also there are many kindergartens there too. International schools are not in Bangsar but will pick up your kids daily. Mostly the expats in Bangsar send their children to one of the international schools in Mont Kiara. A downside of Bangsar is that the LRT is not very close so you need to take a taxi to get to it or be prepared for a long walk in the heat.

Good luck!

Thank you all so very much.  Bangsar doesnt sound as appealing anymore based on above.  Ampang or MK seems like better alternatives.

Mont Kiara has no train service, so to get to the Cap Square area for work, you would again need a car or take a taxi. Potentially you would also need a car for your wife and kids. Parts of Ampang are close to the LRT line (Gombak to Kelana Jaya) which stops at Dang Wangi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelana_Jaya_LineKelana Jaya LRT Line

Masjid Jamek is another station, which is also on the LRT line as well as the Ampang Line. You can also walk quite easily from MJ to Cap Square. However, when you mention Ampang as a place to live, some of the areas are also closer to the LRT line mentioned above e.g. Setiawangsa and the area around The Great Eastern Mall. Ampang Station on the LRT line is more in KLCC than in Ampang, being at one end of the KLCC Park which has Suria Mall and the Twin Towers at the other end. There are some condominiums off Jalan Ampang close to the Towers, Park and Ampang station, that are not as expensive as those in KLCC, or are a little older - but it is a more urban area to some degree, although very convenient as well.

Your choice of schools would be different if you live in Ampang and you would need to decide on which curriculum you want your child to follow and see which schools offer it.