Although I took a job in Korea 2 years ago (more than double Malaysian pay), I am in Malaysia a lot due to family, and thinking of coming back but what the hell with price rises and the economy.
Loads of shops are closed, Melaka is decimated shopping wise, but in KL on a Saturday night Mamaks were even empty and shut. Changkat was dead. I tried buying some medicines and after 8 pharmacies I know used to be well stocked I gave up. No stock - sign of a bad recession and credit crunch.
Tried to buy some trainers. No stock for the ones I want. Older designs on discount but again signs of a lack of restocking of major brands. Didn't see many people buying much and restaurants again almost empty.
And hardly saw any expats apart from obvious tourists. It was getting bad 2 years ago so made my decision to leave easy, but things are worse. And expensive.
Mamaks to coffee shops many times up 30 to 40% in 2 years. What was 10 RM is now 14 RM. And salaries on offer the same. Ouch.
So do consider carefully if offered a job in Malaysia while the economy is tanking and the RM weak.
Rapid inflation and economy tanking
So why not stay in South Korea. After living in KL got 12 years I really got a bit bored with it, but of course the food is good. I kind of like Seoul, and love the culture, food, people etc. I tihnk a change is good and I really like moving to different countries.
I didn't go back to Malaysia for around 5 or 6 months but back then it was still as it had always been. Still, I think for many nationals of certain countries it is still a good place to move to compared to where they come from.
Me, and my family, we miss the shopping and restaurants, but that's about all. And we are all very glad to have moved away from Malaysia. The occasional visit to take care of certain matters is enough for us.
Family is the main reason why I want to be back in Malaysia. But not with the current problems as I worked out I need at least 36,000 RM per month salary to save the same and live to the same standards even after allowing for less flights to Malaysia, slightly cheaper market food etc, and basically I won't get that easily in the current environment.
But you still see all those "Malaysia is cheap so we pay you less" scummy company job adverts and best people are aware of the issue!
Sounds like a good reason to continue living in other places. I believe that RM36,000 per month is more than a BC Country Director/Head of teaching earns.
And my target salary just went up 4% as the RM went down this month and recalculated it!
Seeing big problems in Indonesia as well. Another 1997 coming soon ?
interesting observation, but i wonder if it's more a sign of fewer expats/tourists in KL city centre... As a local PJ/TTDI girl, I have only ever been to Changkat like maybe 3x in my life (twice for joining expat friends for dinner!). It's not really where locals hang out, and I still don't understand why expats love to live in Bukit Bintang. Over in PJ, things seem pretty normal shopping-wise though I do agree that restaurants are charging more and more these days for even just a simple bowl of noodles, either because they think they can get away with it or costs are indeed much higher (minimum wages keep going up, but rental rates and raw material costs have been pretty flat the last few years). That said, if you earn expat wages, it's still quite cheap here in RM. Dinner at a good Japanese restaurant for two for 15-20USD is still hard to beat!
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