Average Salary required for KL Malaysia

Your question is difficult to answer as no idea what type of job you have been offered.  In general I would say take a look at this Kelly Guide to Salary Levels in Malaysia to get an idea of what level of salary to expect for the kind of job you have been offered.

http://www.kellyservices.com.my/uploade … y_Services(1)/4-Resource_Center/Malaysia%20salary%20guide%20ebook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow ugc">Salary Guide - Malaysia

Basically you need the same in Malaysia as USA is quite cheap to live in. KL is very expensive overall don't listen to all the "Asia is cheap nonsense"

A "lavish" lifestyle would be 30k RM a month that teachers earn at the best school in Malaysia. If teachers  earn 20-30k a month in good schools use that as a bench mark! You wouldn't want to earn less!

Lavish I would define as 40k a month RM

Shahidp, i would say to your question around RM12-15,000 a month expenses. Myself, im careful and spend about RM2,000 a month for all expenses, including medical and dental care but i dont have a lavish lifestyle so in a sense I have nothing to spend on. I sold my car, eat common foods, dont go to bars, dont have kids. If you are married with kids in school, increase your budget to maybe RM22-25,000  a month. I know a family earning RM12,000 month with kids and they are dirt poor and can barely eat. They were written about recently in the newspaper.

But for bare expenses in general, just make every category of spending a RM1500 figure. Thats the quick, down and dirty way.
Food 1500
House 1500
Medical 1500
Bars 1500
Clothes 1500
Car 1500
Each kid 1500

YES, the figures are not exact but as a rule of thumb they work to get a general estimate. It used to be, not long ago, one could say each category was RM500 but Malaysia and all of SE Asia is undergoing huge inflation. Soon its RM3000 per category and people WILL starve. Dont use me as a guide, over time i have learned to live very cheap and most people dont and wont live my way.

AND, im not talking about working in a high position in oil which come with high allowances like RM20,000 a month for a luxury condo rental, free car, etc etc.

Where can one live for 1500 rm in kl as an expat? Ok maybe outskirts in a rented house (unfurnished) as houses very cheap to rent compared to condos. But higher travel costs especially in time wasted as traffic very bad.

A friend newly arrived from New York  complains endlessly about how expensive KL is! And she gets hardship allowance and free accommodation! colleagues feel cheated as they were told can live lavishly. They barely survive on what some on this forum think are high. For a single person 15k is a total minimum salary and the employment pass limit should be raised to the talent pass min of 12k per month. A couple needs 18k and extra 5k per child for a decent living standard.

My local Malaysian business friends do laugh when I ask if 15k a month is a lot. Some I know spend that on going out lol (rounds of a 1000 rm are not unusual). If you want to live like a Burmese refugee can live off a lot less. But who wants to live on a lower standard of living than back home????

What is a lavish lifestyle...some can spend 10k monthly and think they are living a lavish lifestyle while others can spend 100k.

So if you think 75k usd while in new york offer you a lavish lifestyle..then I can confirm for 12k rm monthly would offer you the same....

There is though a tendancy that expats spend more money while here than when in home countries by going/living in more luxury places ...you dont go dining out 3 times a day in NY??? Well here you might end up doing that here. Hence u can spend a lot of money...

To conclude...you need to define "lavish" lifestyle???

You must ne joking. 75k USD per annum vs 12k rm per month? KL is very expensive and usa cheap. And service so much better and working life? Usa far better. Ask any expat you don't come to Malaysia for the working life. Actually with all the pollution and over expansion of kl I would say kl has lost its advantage over other Asian capitals.

What is more expensive in kl compares to NY?? The condos...you get luxury in kl for 5000rm..in NY 5000rm will get you a way below avg 2 beds in bad area!!! Food are cheaper.....everyone talks about alcohol is expensive in while the facts are you can open a bottle all included with service for 350rm, you are not getting close to that in NY.

Possibly buying a car can be cheaper in NY compares to malaysia...though the maintenance are much cheaper here compares to NY.

Not to mention eating local food in KL..it is free..what you pay here for  local dishes is what you would be tipping the waiter in NY :-)

Bear in mind the creater of this thread is single..so no schools needed.

You are way out of date. Cars in kl second most expensive in world. Usa dirt cheap. Rents are  cheaper here but property bubble is causing catch up. Food though is often cheaper in usa. Chinese food is cheaper in New York than here for example. And often better. Clothes and electronic good are cheaper. Way cheaper.

Overall kl same price. I am actually better off financially in UK or USA. UK especially after allowing for "hidden" costs of health care etc. If you have kids Malaysian secondary schools cost more than a good mba per year! So with kids usa far cheaper. UK even cheaper to live. Anyone with two kids needs to earn a lot more in kl than uk or usa.

And what really sucks in USA or uk I cam go online and buy what I want. In Malaysia after a lot of failed deliveries I can only say Malaysian distribution is worst in the world! No quality of service and a "cant do cant be bothered service attitude" with the lowest common denominator taken as quality. That costs money as well as I can buy almost anything cheaper and better in UK or usa.

But why on earth would you want to come to a country that has the same problems as your homeland, when you could live the American Dream?  My advice would be stay where you are and dont look back.