Moving to KL

AIS is not really convenient from Damansara or Bangsar and about 35 mins by road with a very early start. If you want to live nearer KLCC then there are other options. But plan ahead, where would you be after the 2 years in KL? You need to choose a curriculum that you can carry on with. It is less likely you will find yourself close to an Australian school than say a UK curriculum. Although at 5 I guess it does not matter much.

The best school closest to KLCC and Bangsar is Alice Smith. At this stage, I would suggest prioritising your living location so that is convenient for you DH to get to work. He would probably prefer to use public transport i.e. the LRT which stops at the Twin Towers. Otherwise he will have to endure the traffic nightmare in the city centre. This can be quite bad from Bangsar and Damansara and indeed Mont Kiara at some times of the day.

If he is prepared to travel 35 mins each way on the LRT or Kommuter line, then you can live closer to AIS. Its more suburban out there with greenery.

Exactly, we have Australian PR and Canadian immigration option too. So in 3 years either Australia or Canada. My son is in a really good American school here, but I found ISKL exorbitantly expensive. You said there are other options around KLCC. I 'd love to know multicultural friendly areas to live in that are safe, family friendly and have good Amenities to offer too. Reviews on the school if you can please.

Everywhere in Malaysia is mulitcultural by the sheer essence of the racial make up of the country. But do expect to run into some racist problems as a family if you choose to live away from the expat communities, two of which you have identified already. As you may know Pakistanis are part of the Foreign Worker community in Malaysia and they tend to open up shops to serve their countrymen. They would be dotted around the cities with probably more located in Port Klang. Not sure how much specialties they import, as I think they mainly just buy local produce and sell it on. There are some restaurants that have opened too.

Hi there,

The Aus School is extremely far from those places you are interested in living.  But if your child is taking the school bus am sure its fine. I wouldn't suggest you drive there and back everyday as the traffic is terrible.

The most convenient international areas closest to AIS are Bukit Gita Bayu and Country Heights. There is also Blu Water. The facilities are at The Mines.

There is a list of the busing routes that AIS run under FAQs and Bangsar and Damansara are among them. However, I certainly would not advise putting a 5 year old child on a school bus.

You would both need to have cars if you live in Damansara and Bangsar and need to get to other places such as KLCC and AIS. Even in Bangsar you need a car to get around as most of the accommodation is up quite steep hills and walking is not really an option. Living in Bangsar is convenient for the LRT and it is only 6 stops to KLCC. But it would be quite a walk to the LRT station in Bangsar as most of the condos are not close by. The nearest to the station is Gaya. So Bangsar is a mixed blessing. You are close to things but still need a car or take a taxi. The same can be said about Damansara and Mont Kiara. Unfortunately the transportation is not very connected. But you can always take a taxi when the roads are clear. Travelling south to AIS from Damansara and Bangsar is against the rush hour traffic.

The only reason to choose to live in Bangsar is if you are interested in over-priced Shopping. There are two Malls available and there is some nighlife at each, more around Bangsar Village. It is a predominantly Chinese area but some expats live there. Less so lately as it is quite an old area and people have moved out to more modern accommodation and surroundings in the past 5-6 years.

If your work is in klcc much better u stay ampang coz just 5 to minutes drive and they have manny expat around ampang side they have a nice condo there try Sri hening condo or the new condo embassy view they have next mall there easy to buy your grocery cold storage about the school for your kids manny kids there take school bus,they safe also..goodluck

Alice Smith School is the closest to Bangsar and KLCC but I think you will probably find the fees expensive once again. The British International School is close to Damansara and the fees are more reasonable. The schooling set up here is quite different from the middle east, with often the majority of the student being Malaysians, since the government abolished the quota system. There are also far fewer expat families coming to live and work in Malaysia these days compared to even 2-3 years ago. Cost of education may be one of the issues and also the perception of failing security and spiralling cost of living, which involves a certain amount of exploitation of foreigners.

The question of taking the bus is not one about safety it is more about bullying and your child experiencing the behaviour of older kids, which you may not want to happen. I am a veteran of the school bus arrangement at ages 5-7 in this part of the world, so I speak from experience about what happens. I have also had school age children while living in Australia. Put it this way, I am not sure self-discipline is a particularly large concern in the style of upbringing.

Thanks for all the help Ladies!! Much appreciated, I think it's better I go there first and finalize this, I am just hyperventilating hearing about all the traffic there and the distances one has to travel to and from work and schools. Hopefully will sort things out more when he does get a placement in the school. As for the foreign treatment, I think it's almost everywhere, you are not in your country and you have to face some of that, even a little bit. I am a little worried about the bus but I have a baby, not sure the pick and drop is going to be such a good idea, will probably think of hiring some help. Much to be sorted and I want my farewell to be pleasant, need to freak out less.

Am not sure about other peoples experiences with the school bus system. Our girls are at a reputable int school. The buses are new, up to date, with seat belts and they have a bus "auntie" to ensure the children stay seated and they are quite strict and children have their same allotted seat everyday. Try not to worry too much. When you get here and find your feet you'll be in a much better position to decide.

International School Kuala Lumpur is the best. Located at Ampang and easy access to KLCC via highway called AKLEH direct to the KLCC basement parking.

I would say that the idea of having an 'auntie' (dont you just begin to hate that term as it is used all the time in Malaysia) on school transport is an excellent idea and it would be a first question to ask whether the journeys are supervised by the Australian International School in the same manner as Fiona's childrens' journeys.

There are also some excellent resources that offer small groups in some pre-schools for kids up to the age of 7 which are an alternative to "big school" in Malaysia. In fact your son's current school might fall under that type of offering here in Malaysia. One of the issues I have is that most of the "big schools" are enormous and there is very little segregation between the primary and secondary sections. Having a separate campus for primary levels is practiced by Alice Smith School and a few others.

It may be an old fashioned viewpoint, but I think kids are better served by being in smaller groups in peaceful surroundings than getting introduced too early to main stream educational realities.