The biggest advantage of immigrating to Malaysia is the cost of living. The various fruits and ingredients sold in the market are cheaper than in South Korea. And utility bills are much cheaper than in South Korea. And compared to the fine dusty sky in South Korea, the air in Malaysia is still clear. Moreover, if you like the variety of food, your stay in Malaysia will be much more enjoyable.
Table of Contents
1. How much do you sepnd on living expenses?
2. How much are utility bills?
3. How often do you see blue skies?
4. Is Malaysian food tasty?
5. Are houses affordable?
How much do you spend on living expenses?
The biggest advantage of living in Malaysia is the cost of living. If you eat at a restaurant in a shopping mall, you can get a meal at a low price. The food court where small restaurants in the shopping center are gathered is called the Hawker Center.
A meal at a hawker center in Selangor state costs between 6.50 ringgit (about USD 1.40) and 8 ringgit (about USD 1.70). If you order a drink with your food, you usually have to add 2 ringgit (about USD 0.40) to 3 ringgit (about USD 0.64).
Of course, if you go to a Korean restaurant or a Malaysian restaurant, the prices suddenly go up. You must pay the food price including service charge and GST (VAT in South Korea). A typical restaurant charges 6% GST and 10% service charge.
For example, if you eat fish noodles that cost 20 ringgit (about USD 4.30) at a restaurant in a shopping mall, you will have to pay 23.20 ringgit (about USD 4.95) including GST and service charge.
When it comes to restaurants, whether in South Korea or Malaysia, the prices go up significantly as you go upscale. A simple way to identify restaurants that pay GST and service charges in Malaysia is air conditioners and shopping malls.
So, if you have a ceiling fan running instead of an air conditioner and you sell food at a street store instead of a shopping mall, you likely won't have to pay additional taxes on the food.
These days, due to the COVID-19 virus, delivery food has increased a lot in Malaysia, but more than anything, Malaysians are increasingly eating home-cooked meals. Food at restaurants and cafeterias is cheap, but especially if you buy ingredients from the market or supermarket and cook your own food, the cost of food goes up significantly.
Above all, vegetables are cheap. And there are many vegetables that are not found in South Korea. Ladies Fingers, a vegetable that resembles peppers, is my favorite Malaysian vegetable. It is a commonly used ingredient in Malaysian curry dishes.
And among them, fruits are cheaper than in South Korea. Even Korean apples and Korean pears sold in Malaysia are much cheaper than in South Korea. Korean fruits include apples, pears, and persimmons.
Andong apples from South Korea were selling for USD 0.70 per piece in a local supermart. Korean apples are more expensive than imported apples from other countries. The New Zealand apples I usually buy cost about USD 0.40 per apple.
And you can buy many fruits sold locally at low prices. You can buy bananas, watermelons, mangoes, pineapples, and mangosteens cheaply. Among local fruits, durian is expensive. And you can only eat durian during the harvest season. Musang King, the most famous and expensive durian, costs approximately 60 ringgit (about USD 12.80) per 1 kg.
How much are utiliy bills?
Water, electricity and gas costs are low in Malaysia. Since there is no gas company like City Gas Corporation, you have to order gas cylinders directly or go to a gas station and buy gas cylinders separately.
If you buy gas at a gas station, you have to give them an empty gas bottle, bring a new gas bottle, and connect the gas bottle and hose at home, but it is cheaper. And if you have gas delivered, you have to pay an additional delivery fee.
A 12kg gas cylinder sold at gas stations costs 22.80 ringgit (about USD 4.90). One gas tank can be used for almost 3 months. Of course, if you look carefully, you can find gas bottles that sell cheaper than gas stations.
In terms of electricity bills, there is a slight difference between the condo I lived in before and the house I live in now. The electricity bill for the house I live in now is low.
Always have 4 lights and 3-4 ceiling fans on from morning to evening. I also use the oven to make bread and cakes 3-4 times a week. And I rarely turn on the air conditioner during the day. However, if it is really hot, I turn on the air conditioner (2 horsepower) for about 2 hours about twice a week.
The time to use the air conditioner is at night. I turn on the air conditioner (1.5 horsepower) in the evening and turn it off in the morning. I usually set it to 19-20 degrees, but sometimes I wake up at night because it's cold.
Among the electricity bills, there is no TV license fee regardless of whether you have a TV or not. In a house, my electricity bill was less than USD 15.20, and when I lived in a condo, I paid between USD 19 and USD 21.
Regarding the water bill, the monthly water bill is about 10 ringgit (about USD 2.10). Water use is no different from other homes. I used it in the kitchen for cooking and washing dishes, and in the bathroom for showering.
In Seoul, people always neglected heating and cooling to save on electricity and water bills. And when I was staying at a boarding house in Seoul, I also saw people wearing thick clothes inside the house in the winter.
So in Malaysia, I just do whatever I want and live my life. If it's hot, I just turn on the air conditioner. So, because I didn't worry about saving money, my life satisfaction increased.
How often do you see blue skies?
In Seoul, the number of days with clear skies is decreasing due to fine dust and yellow dust. Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, was not a city with clean air due to smog-like haze, but the air was better than before.
In the case of state of Selangor where I stay, it is close to the state border with Kuala Lumpur. However, because it is far from the city center, the air is clean. And even though I live in a house, I have a clear view and can see all the way to the mountains in the distance. The only tall buildings are condos standing far away.
Even 15 years ago, I didn't think the air in Malaysia was that clean compared to South Korea, but now that the sky in South Korea is hazy, the air in Malaysia has gotten relatively better.
Malaysia's geopolitical location means that there is ocean on both sides of the Malay Peninsula, so there is little chance of pollutants flying in. However, Sumatra in Indonesia is an exception.
The Southeast Asian Haze that occurred in 2013 was devastating. In Sumatra, Indonesia, slash-and-burn farmers have burned down forests, causing large-scale forest fires.
Smoke from forest fires spread across the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. This resulted in a death in Malaysia. In particular, Singapore and the Malaysian state of Johor were the most serious.
The government banned outdoor activities during this period, and at this time, I was leaving my hotel in Johor and walking to a nearby restaurant 300 meters away. Because of the haze, I couldn't see at all. I could barely see my hands. Unlike fog, the haze was not white but dark gray.
When I was walking on the side of a road without a sidewalk, the headlights of cars would pass through the haze. By the time I arrived at the restaurant after barely walking 300 meters, I was in a cold sweat.
However, it is not uncommon for haze to occur. Generally, if it doesn't rain in Malaysia, you can expect clear skies.
The worst air quality in Malaysia is in and around Kuala Lumpur. Since I live near Kuala Lumpur, it is difficult to say that the air quality is good in Malaysia. And among Malaysian cities, Johor has the best air quality.
Is Malaysian food tasty?
Malaysian food is completely different from Korean food. And as Malaysia is a country where three ethnic groups live, the food is representative of fusion food, which is a mixture of the foods of the three ethnic groups and the foods of different ethnicities.
For example, I eat Indian bread and curry Roti Cania for breakfast, Nasi Lemak with Malay-style rice and simple ingredients for lunch, and Chinese chicken rice for dinner.
Unlike Chinese food, Malaysian food does not contain a lot of coriander. Malaysian food features too much chicken. Malay Muslims do not eat pork, and Buddhist Chinese do not eat beef. As a result, the proportion of chicken and lamb is high.
And because of the hot weather, there are a lot of foods fried with oil. In particular, foods eaten as snacks are mainly fried foods. And perhaps because of the weather, the drinks we make and sell contain a lot of sugar. For example, when ordering coconut juice, you must separately order no sugar. Sugar is often added to fresh fruit juice. So you better say 'kurang manis' which means less sweet.
The first time Korean food caught on was the influence of the drama Dae Jang Geum. Then little by little, Korean restaurants opened, and these days, you can easily see Korean BBQ thanks to the Korean Wave. There were four Korean BBQ places in the shopping center near where I stay.
One place recently closed and a Chinese dim sum restaurant came in its place. It is a relative assessment that Malaysian food is delicious, but it cannot be denied that it is diverse.
Are houses affordable?
Before I talk about buying a house, let's talk about buying clothes instead, it is difficult to find fashion and trends in Malaysia in my opinion, although it is clearly a trend. So sometimes it’s amazing to see Malaysians dressed up compared to the way South Korean people do. We South Korean are crazy for fashion. And most of Malaysian people wear just a T-shirts (or a polo-shirts), shorts and sandals.
In Malaysia, there is usually no need to dress up. Everyone wears comfortable clothes. Since I have a few t-shirts and shorts, I decided not to buy any new clothes in 2020 and 2021.
Nevertheless, I bought a new t-shirt for the 2020 and 2021 Lunar New Year. Chinese Malaysians have a tradition of buying and wearing new clothes during the Lunar New Year.
There are no seasons like spring, fall, or winter, so you don't need long sleeves or jackets. There are only two seasons in Malaysia: wet season and dry season. However, you must wear long sleeves to go to work. Additionally, it can be cold inside the office because the air conditioner is turned on hard.
Real estate prices in Malaysia are rising little by little. Additionally, a lower price limit has been set on the prices of real estate that foreigners can purchase. The floor price varies from state to state in Malaysia. In the case of Kuala Lumpur, the minimum price is 1,000,000 ringgit (about USD 213,000).
And Malaysians also have no problem buying real estate where foreigners live. It's just that prices are high, so local people look for cheaper properties.
Malaysians can purchase property with a loan of 90% of the property price and repayment over 20 years. Of course, banks' loan screening is strict. They even call the company of the person who applied for the loan and ask them every detail.
In the case of condos in Penang, foreigners can buy a condo for at least 800,000 ringgit (about USD 171,000). A condo in Johor costs 1,000,000 ringgit (about USD 213,000), the same as in Kuala Lumpur.
Minimum home purchase in state of Selangor limit for foreigners is higher than other states. It costs a whopping 2,000,000 ringgit (about USD 427,000). Real estate prices in Malaysia have been steadily rising since 2008.
However, the rate of price increase has been gradually decreasing since 2012, and real estate prices are moving upward very gently. It is expected that the rate of increase in real estate will fall further in 2021.
There are many houses for sale, but I suspect it may be difficult to pay the loan due to COVID-19 and the prolonged lockdown in Malaysia. The Malaysian government has introduced a policy of providing a 6-month grace period for loans.
Condos, where foreigners mainly live, have advantages in terms of safety and facilities compared to other real estate. The condo is equipped with a swimming pool and gym. Some may also have a BBQ, sauna, garden, jogging course, tennis court, badminton court, etc.
At my previous condo, I would go swimming and then spend time in the sauna. Swimming in the evening while looking at the stars is also very charming. After work, I went swimming in the evening to blow away the stress of the day.
Every place in the world has its pros and cons. In my personal opinion, this is a disadvantage of immigrating to Malaysia.
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