You are here: Forum > Living in Asia > Indonesia > Everyday life > living in Malaysia vs. Indonesia
  Register and reply  

living in Malaysia vs. Indonesia


#1  2012-12-28 01:51:58

Veronica17
New member
From: Hong Kong
Registered: 2012-12-16
Posts: 4

living in Malaysia vs. Indonesia

Hell Ii will possibly me moving to Malaysia next year, and wanted some advice related to housing. What is a safe area to live?
Are there serviced apartments in Kuala Lumpur like in Hong Kong for expats?
Do they have a good public transport system?
Is Kuala lumpur a better place to live than Jakarta in Indonesia? I see a lot of negative news on Indonesia (flooding, cyclones, anti-christians attacks) and it concerns me, somif I could choose I would prefer Kuala Lumpur.

Thank you very much for your advice.




 
 
 
 
 

  • Offline

#2  2013-01-01 18:44:42

Chuzai Living
New member
Chuzai Living
From: Jakarta
Registered: 2010-05-06
Posts: 7

Re: living in Malaysia vs. Indonesia

I have only visited Kuala Lumpur, so I can only write from a visitor's perspective, but it looks like it's easier to live in KL than in Jakarta.  I love living in Jakarta though.  Jakarta is a vibrant city with many interesting aspects of a city life, but compared to Kuala Lumpur, life is more difficult.  KL is more developed, cleaner, has better public transportation, easier to travel to other cities and countries, and so forth.  There are a lot of negative media coverage about Indonesia unfortunately, but I think it sounds worse than it actually is sometimes.  I would recommend looking at the safety aspect of life in both cities as a woman.  I have never lived in KL, so I can't really compare, but KL seems pretty safe to me.  I find Jakarta pretty safe despite the reputations.  I hope you'll hear from more people.  Good luck!   

Veronica17 wrote:

Hell Ii will possibly me moving to Malaysia next year, and wanted some advice related to housing. What is a safe area to live?
Are there serviced apartments in Kuala Lumpur like in Hong Kong for expats?
Do they have a good public transport system?
Is Kuala lumpur a better place to live than Jakarta in Indonesia? I see a lot of negative news on Indonesia (flooding, cyclones, anti-christians attacks) and it concerns me, somif I could choose I would prefer Kuala Lumpur.

Thank you very much for your advice.




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  • Offline

#3  2013-01-08 00:56:41

wiradikusuma
Member
wiradikusuma
From: Kuala Lumpur
Registered: 2009-12-17
Posts: 11

Re: living in Malaysia vs. Indonesia

Hi Veronica17,

I'm an Indonesian software engineer working and living in KL for 3 years. Here's what I think (mostly about KL):

Foreigners tend to cluster by country of origin, e.g many Japanese are in Mont Kiara, but in general expats in KL stay in Bangsar, Month Kiara, Damansara, MidValley. Not coincidentally, those places are quite expensive. And yes, there are many services apartments here, and not only in those areas. In Indonesia, living in high rise buildings (i.e. apartments) is not as common as in here.

Malaysians are more used to seeing/interacting with foreigners, so you won't get that stare where people think you're alien.

Public transport in (greater) KL is better in terms of quality, but (greater) Jakarta wins hand down for coverage. Taxis are very picky and in certain areas they don't want to use meter esp. if you're foreigner. Most locals own a car though, and many of my foreigner friends end up having one. I happen to stay just next to a train station.

There are more fanatics/busy body in Jakarta because those people are not educated and unemployed. But most of the time foreigners don't deal with them.

In general, KL is a better place esp. for foreigners to stay. Jakarta is a nice place if you stay in expat-friendly places, e.g. Kemang in South Jakarta.

Last edited by wiradikusuma (2013-01-08 00:57:32)




 
 
 

  • Offline

#4  2013-01-09 02:01:34

Veronica17
New member
From: Hong Kong
Registered: 2012-12-16
Posts: 4

Re: living in Malaysia vs. Indonesia

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO BOTH OF YOU for taking the time to respond to my questions. Your input is very important for me. This is VERY helpful.
Best of luck to you!

Veronica




 
 
 
 
 

  • Offline
Like this topic? Share it with your friends!


Expatriate health insurance Indonesia

Free advice and quotation service to choose an expat health insurance in Indonesia.
>> Click here

Moving to Indonesia

A few tips from professionals about moving to Indonesia.
>> Click here

Expat banking Indonesia

Discover the benefits of expat banking for people living and working abroad.
>> Click here

Businesses and services in Indonesia

Find the professionals in Indonesia in the Expat blog directory.
>> Click here

Luggage shipping Indonesia

Useful information about luggage shipping to Indonesia.
>> Click here

Travel insurance Indonesia

Don't worry and travel happy across Indonesia.
>> Click here

To
Subject *
Message *
   You are here: Forum > Living in Asia > Indonesia > Everyday life > living in Malaysia vs. Indonesia