Looking to move to KL from Germany.
Hi everyone.
I'm a student from Germany completing my last semester as an undergraduate. I'm interested in moving to KL, but I have a lot of questions. Please excuse me if my thoughts are all over the floor.
First, why exactly?
Currently, there is a big political and economic shift taking place all over the Western world and I'm not too happy with it. It's hard to see a future for myself where I can live a happy life. To add to this, the weather is incredibly depressing, always lingering around 0°C half of the year. That's why I want to have at least another experience in my life.
Why Malaysia?
My first idea was Singapore. Coming from a degree in finance, it only made sense. But after seeing the cost of living and the apartment sizes, it was hard to imagine myself there. Coming from a big city, I can understand these small apartments, but it's tough to imagine staying there for long. This is why I pivoted towards other countries with big capitals like Malaysia and Thailand, where there was an equally big city growth, but apartments are much more affordable. I still can't trust these awesome high-rise apartments that come fully furnished.
This is what brings me to my questions.
When you search for apartments in KL, you are instantly shown all these crazy flats for $600 USD that come fully furnished, with security, a parking lot, and often a swimming pool and a gym. Do they really exist? Are they as good as they seem? Or do they have a big issue nobody is talking about?
Assuming I want to rent one of these flats, how can I find a good one without even being there? I have heard of Setia SKY Residences, for example, but I find it hard to find comparable offers.
How hard is it to rent these flats? Is it possible to rent them "online" and only do the last bit of paperwork when I arrive?
Seeing all the emphasis on security makes me a bit worried. How safe is KL and what is the current political situation for a person living in Malaysia?
I know that monsoon time is quite a big deal there, but how bad is it? Are you unable to go outside for half of the year? Is the rain cold?
How is the job market in Malaysia? Ideally I wanna find a workplace before I even get there. But I'm worried that my salary, even with my undergrad degree and my English/German knowledge, won't be enough to support me financially. (I don't plan on making big spending)
How do healthcare and taxation function? I don't consider myself in bad shape, but if I get sick, is there an institution I can somewhat rely upon, or do I have to fund it myself? Speaking of taxation, how strict and hard is it to get all the bureaucratic stuff done?
I don't want to fully commit to living my entire life there. Currently, I would like to stay and work for about 1 year, so I can get a better understanding of living in KL. Is this something a lot of foreigners do and that's widely accepted?
How easy is it to find new friends there? Are people mostly open to foreigners?
Are there any other caveats I should look into?
TL;DR.: Big Asian cities that are currently experiencing rapid growth are often depicted to be heaven on earth. Affordable (when comparing prices to the equivalent of most Western countries) luxury, very modern infrastructure, a bustling city with a lot of friendly people, a warm climate, and so on. Is this the reality or are there massive drawbacks when moving to KL? Are there some aspects of life that come with living in a developing country I might not be aware of coming from a first-world country?
Thank you all a lot :]