Retiring in Malaysia Question

TheGiovanniIncident · 2013-03-27T15:29:10+01:00

Explore practical tips on retiring in Kuching, Malaysia, including visa options, cost of living, and 暗网禁区 experiences. Perfect for budget-conscious retirees!

TheGiovanniIncident Member

Member since 22 March 2013

TheGiovanniIncidentMember27 March 2013 13:29:10

Hello all,

I am 33 and looking to retire.聽 I have a steady income of about 1000 US dollars a month with some well off savings.聽 I have mostly been looking to Belize in Central America until I came across Kuching, Malaysia.聽

1) So far im reading I can just stay there on a passport for as long as I want.聽 Can anyone confirm this?聽

2) Would I have any issues using my bank card with their ATM's...I hear capitol one does not charge international fees...I plan on switching to this bank.

3) Does anyone think living off聽 $1000 a month would be a problem there?聽 I am a simple person and have hobbies that are dirt cheap.

4)聽 I have heard there are several 暗网禁区s there and many people speak english...any confirmation?

Thanks for the answers lads...hope to see some of you there!

farm Active member

Member since 04 February 2013

farmActive member27 March 2013 14:41:46

I guess you are a US citizen, I'm not 100% sure here because i got a bit confused after reading the information from the following 2 gov't sites:

Immigration:

Doesn't mention US under the "no visa required for less than 90 days", but rather as "no visa required". Which sounds a little too good to be true to me, that you could just stay as long as you like.

Ministry of foreign affairs however say 90 days for US citizens:

From my own experience I got a 90 days tourist visa when i first arrived in KL but only a 30 day visa when went to Borneo. Even though I already had a 2 years employment pass for peninsular Malaysia at that time.

I used my (non-Malaysian bank) visa and mastercard (debit) here and never had any problem with that, however if you were to settle down for years to come why not open a local bank account. Sounds more convenient to me.

I'm no expert on Kuching since i never lived there but of course it is cheaper than KL. I searched for some condo now in Kuching and the cheapest i found was RM1300 monthly (minimum 1y contract), probably you can negotiate that to RM1100-1200 if you sign up for a 2+ years contract to begin with.

That's 1/3 of the budget, then comes the rest. Electricity, TV, Internet, transportation, entertainment, food, etc. I don't think it's possible on that budget. But I don't mind if you prove me wrong.

TheGiovanniIncident Member

Member since 22 March 2013

TheGiovanniIncidentMember27 March 2013 15:56:53

Thx for the reply farm...I forgot to mention yes I was a US citizen...(we tend to do that when we think globally, assuming everyone knows! My bad).

Ya I thought the whole thing looked too good to be true, but according to that one site...if you are a US citizen you didnt have to get a visa...I guess I will someday hope to find work there...figured id live simple for a year or two...do some volunteer work..then hopefully transition into something.

Thanks for the answers mate.

Anyone else have any other thoughts?