Asia My Second Home
Thanks to everyone who hv shared their passion and dreams about retiring in a foreign country be it due to lower cost of living or the desire to explore the world. I am fascisnated by the stories about Estonia and South America here, and I hope to contribute my own experience in Asia. I am Asian American with ties in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. Been here for over 25 years, America is really a great nation and I am very proud to be here. My wife and I are planning to FIRE within 5 years or sooner. Based on our calculation, we should eb able to net US$60,000 per year from our residue incomes from rental properties and fixed income instruments. I am 43+ and my wife touching 50's this year. No kids, with 2 dogs, and painfullly had to put one to sleep day before yesterday after 9 1/2 years with us. Thus found the FIRE forum and enjoyed reading every bit of it.
Based on $60,000, we have been exploring the may options we have to live and enjoy. We could probably live comfortably in California with $60,000 but inflation will pretty much catch up in the next 10 years and quality of life will decrease with less buying power. We hv visited several countries in the past and below are our observations:-
Malaysia- A multi-racial country which offers excellent variety of food, friendly and warm people. Almost everyone speaks a little English. Living expenses are quite reasonable. A couple can live quite comfortably in a secured 2 room condominium in Kuala Lumpur for US$600 and another US$200 for electircity, dsl and cable TV with air-con and swimming pool within the condo complex. Eating out is very affordable. If you enjoy local food, it's about $3 per head with lots of variety and convenience. Western food with wine would probably set you back about US$20 per person in a nice restaurant. Or you can get all kinds of western food at the cold storage and food supermarkets such as Tesco. There are lots to do and see in Kuala Lumpur, and one can explore the local scenes or go to other states easily by bus or train. Malaysia offers a 10 year visa on a second home program for those who choose to retire if you meet theri requirements. But if not, you can do a visa run every 90 days to Singapore which is very close. For US$24000 to US$36000 a year, a couple can enjoy a very comfortable life with all the amenties, dining out, and travel a bit. Hotels are quite reasonable averaging about US$50 per night. Malaysia also offers a hub other Asian destinations. Their low-cost carrier which rivals Southwest is AirAsia and one can fly to Bangkok, Chiangmai, Vietnam, China and all over South East Asia for peanuts. An exmaple is if you are flexible with your schedule, a round trip from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok is as low as US$100 Go check out your desired destinations at
Welcome to AirAsia.com...now everyone can fly... Now Everyone Can Fly. Currently there are many UK retirees in Malaysia. A dutch choose a small town by the seaside to live and created a nice website called
Pulau Pangkor, a perfect holiday destination on the best island in Malaysia to live. There are many options from small town to big city like Kuala Lumpur.
Weather: It's about 85F with rainy seasons towards the year end.
Safety: As anywhere else, always practice caution. Bag snatchers and petty theft are rampant in crowded areas such as bus and railway stations.
Otherwise its a pretty safe place.
Foreigners generally are well respected and treated with courtesy by Malaysians. Do not get involve in discussion about local politics, or religious bashing of Islam, adn you will be doing fine in Malaysia. It's a muslim country but it tolerates pretty much everything else. All muslims are prohibited from consuming pork, visiting massage parlors, casinos or indulge in alcoholic drinks and go for prayers in the mosque on Friday. However, everyone else such as the chinese, Indian and expats can do whatever they like, and alcoholic beverages are sold openly, and one can forgive a sin and done it over a glass of beer if you like anywhere in Malaysia.
Chiangmai: This is one place in Thailand which offers a mild climate and a nice winter with rainy days towards the end of the year. As long as you do not say, let's hit the beach upon landing in Chiangmai, you will eb fine cos there's no beach except some rivers which you do not want to swim in.
We choose Chiangmai due to the number of expats here, low cost of living with all the western amenities such as dsl, cable TV, western food and lots of Thai food around for peanuts. And wine is readily available. Massage is another luxury we can enjoy inexpensively. And for those who are single, this is another place where a man can get the company of a lady half his age as gf if he likes. So there's something for everyone in Chiangmai. Having said that, this is more of a family oriented city with great weather, affordable accomodation and peaceful environment. There is a large expat community in Chiangmai mostly Brits. With a budget of US$36,000, a couple can live King and Queen here. A high end condo with furnishings and maid service would run about $20000 baht a month which is about US$600. All the dsl, cable and service included.
The bummer about Chiangmai, and Thailand as whole now is their visa policy. It used to be pretty lenient and easy, and anyone with a social security check can live pretty confortably in Chiangmai. These days, the government is trying to attract retirees who have a higher purchasing power and raise the stakes for those who dont. The usual visa runs to the Burmese border is no longer an option for many, thus having to return to ones home country makes it expensive for those who couldnt afford it annually or every 6 months. I may be wrong, but that's what I heard lately.
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