Anyone ever been to Malaysia?

[yatterman1]

I did some research and Malaysia actually allows foreigners to own land! I would like to hear from anyone who was been to Malaysia. Is there any xenophobia there? How easy is it to find work there? What percent of the population speaks english?

[ladislav]

Xenophobia against Americans is zero. Most people are very nice. Work is not easy to find but also not that hard. But it depends what job? There are teaching jobs there. Long term visas apparently require a sizable investment/work. Three months on arrival. Much more efficient, cleaner and less corrupt than the Philippines. Kind of like a big spread out Singapore.

But it is a Muslim country and is not poor. 30% of the population is Chinese ( ethnically and non Muslim). That is the main GF market.

Most ( some 70%) speak English.

There are also Christian Dayaks there who are open to courting. They live on Borneo.

Not a bad place but only some 10% of the Philippines in terms of datability.

Muslim girls are not courted by non Muslims. If you meet one and they like you, you will need to convert to Islam.

[yatterman1]

Xenophobia against Americans is zero. Most people are very nice. Work is not easy to find but also not that hard. But it depends what job? There are teaching jobs there. Long term visas apparently require a sizable investment/work. Three months on arrival. Much more efficient, cleaner and less corrupt than the Philippines. Kind of like a big spread out Singapore.

But it is a Muslim country and is not poor. 30% of the population is Chinese ( ethnically and non Muslim). That is the main GF market.

Most ( some 70%) speak English.

There are also Christian Dayaks there who are open to courting. They live on Borneo.

Not a bad place but only some 10% of the Philippines in terms of datability.

Muslim girls are not courted by non Muslims. If you meet one and they like you, you will need to convert to Islam.

Lack of datability is not a big issue to me because I am from the United States and never had any dating options to begin with, so I'm used to that. The ability to own land, find work, AND live cheaply is what's most important to me.

So how hard is it to become an ESL teacher there (with no degree)?

[ladislav]

So how hard is it to become an ESL teacher there (with no degree...

Frankly I really don't know. I have seen ads for ESL teachers but they required a degree. Why not become an online teacher and teach the Chinese and Russians? And then you can live wherever you want.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

I would visit there first if I were you. The women there seemed pretty indifferent to western men with a few exceptions. As Ladislav said, the Chinese there are the business class and there women seem to be ignored by the Malay and the Indian men there.

On the positive side, Kuala Lumpur is a more modern city than any you would visit in the USA. It has great parks and running trails, and crime seemed non-existent.

Everyone I spoke to spoke English in KL, so your ESL quest might be better served in the smaller towns.

[Winston]

So how hard is it to become an ESL teacher there (with no degree)?

You would probably be better off asking ESL questions on http://www.ESLcafe.com forums.

[momopi]

I did some research and Malaysia actually allows foreigners to own land! I would like to hear from anyone who was been to Malaysia. Is there any xenophobia there? How easy is it to find work there? What percent of the population speaks english?

If you drive from Singapore to Malaysia and up through JB (Johor Bahru), you'll find endless palm trees, then suddenly there would be a clearing with a bunch of new homes (~$40k USD) and giant ad boards targeting Singapore buyers. My friend's aunt bought some units there and it was troublesome, because if you don't have someone living there and looking after it, migrant workers from Indonesia would ransack the place before they return home.

Racism in Malaysia works like this: the Chinese thinks the Malay are lazy, and the Malays think Indonesian "guest workers" are all criminals waiting to rob Malays before they go home. Malay newspapers run stories about Indonesian maids putting her tampon in rice cookers to spite her employer. But they end up hiring an Indonesian maid anyway (LoL).

JB is like 45% Malay, 40% Chinese, 10% Indian, and 5% other. There are giant shopping malls built specifically to target Singapore customers driving across the bridge to shop. Singapore impose restrictions like, your car's gas tank must be 3/4 full before leaving, and if you're only allowed to bring back 1 pack of cigs for personal consumption without paying taxes. When I used to fly to SG a lot for work, my friends there would drag me along for cig runs -- everyone would bring back 1 pack of cigs, opened, with 1 cig missing from the pack (to show that it's for personal consumption).

KL is the capital city, and like in many countries around the world, the government invests heavily in the capital city's development, unlike the USA where our capital was, and still is, a swamp where sh*t floats to the top. Driving around KL is like driving around a city freeway in the US, except the cars look smaller and cheaper. If you want to rent cheap in KL, look for apartment buildings facing cemeteries. The Chinese won't rent them and the Malays think if the Chinese won't live there, it must suck and they won't rent there either. $200/mo for brand new apartment, no joke. If you want expensive, look for houses in Damansara Heights ($400k+) with hospitals within walking distance.

If you're flying into KL, go to the taxi desk and pre-pay your taxi fees. Taxi drivers that try to doge around this are looking to rip you off. When you depart the airport you will also find scammers from time to time. Just ignore them and walk toward the nearest security desk. Take a taxi to um... Mid Valley mega mall if this is your first visit, there's a hotel attached to the mall and it's about $40/day (or more these days). The mall has just about everything you need to buy. Note that pork and alcohol products are handled differently in stores because of local Muslim customs, so if you buy a pork bun, please DO NOT walk around the mall eating it in front of others. Yes it's offensive. They have Indian cashiers to handle pork products and they package them in different colored bags. Remember that you're in a Muslim country where Taxi's have signs that read "no kissing in Taxi" and couples making out in parks will be arrested and fined.

As a non-Malay you'd pay more for tickets at the local Zoo, bird park, etc. Visiting the KL Twin towers is free but you can only go up to the sky bridge level. Go early to pick up tickets. There's a nice park there too. Avoid KL Chinatown, high crime rate and all bootleg crap anyway. The Chinese men selling bootleg DVD's there have tattoo's and likely to be in local Chinese gangs. If you're looking to get laid, check SG Sammyboy's forum http://www.sammyboyforum.com/ yes, even local Malay girls are avail but do it discretely. I'd prefer to just get a GF in Singapore, but that might be too high maintenance for some of you guys.

Be warned that crime and punishment in Malaysia is HARSH. The Malay cops are lazy and would overlook some small stuff, but if and when they decide to bust you, expect large fines and/or lengthy jail sentence. The weather is also HOT and DRY. On the plus side, a lot of stuff is really cheap there and you can get by on a small budget. Seafood and Malaysian street food is very inexpensive. Nasi Lemak for less than $1 USD! Go to a sit down breakfast place and order kaya toast for breakfast. When you're thirsty get a cool barley drink. Food selection in Singapore-Malaysia is really good and rivals the variety in Taiwan.

[yatterman1]

I would visit there first if I were you. The women there seemed pretty indifferent to western men with a few exceptions.

Now that I have thought about it I would rather women be completely indifferent towards me than try to scam me all the time like they would in some countries...

[yatterman1]

If you drive from Singapore to Malaysia and up through JB (Johor Bahru), you'll find endless palm trees, then suddenly there would be a clearing with a bunch of new homes (~$40k USD) and giant ad boards targeting Singapore buyers.
Where are the cheapest

40k for a new house? As in a house AND lot...a detached house?

[globetrotter]

If you drive from Singapore to Malaysia and up through JB (Johor Bahru), you'll find endless palm trees, then suddenly there would be a clearing with a bunch of new homes (~$40k USD) and giant ad boards targeting Singapore buyers.
Where are the cheapest

40k for a new house? As in a house AND lot...a detached house?

Yes. Those prices are accurate and actually on the high side. Houses for $5,000 can be had in rural Malaysia, RP, China or Indonesia.

Welcome to Asia.

A small detached house in Mexico is $25,000.

[globetrotter]

So how hard is it to become an ESL teacher there (with no degree...

Frankly I really don't know. I have seen ads for ESL teachers but they required a degree. Why not become an online teacher and teach the Chinese and Russians? And then you can live wherever you want.

My understanding of tax law is that salary income from a job outside of the USA filed on a 1040 and 2555 is tax free of all USA federal taxes but self-employed income IS NOT and you must pay the 15.3o% FICA tax on that income.

If you get paid via PayPal, Big Brother will know and demand its cut.

[yatterman1]

If you drive from Singapore to Malaysia and up through JB (Johor Bahru), you'll find endless palm trees, then suddenly there would be a clearing with a bunch of new homes (~$40k USD) and giant ad boards targeting Singapore buyers.
Where are the cheapest

40k for a new house? As in a house AND lot...a detached house?

Houses for $5,000 can be had in rural Malaysia,

Woah woah woah! 5K and I can OWN a house AND lot in Malaysia?! What parts of Malaysia? Not that it matters its just I need to know where to look to find said houses and lots for said price.

[globetrotter]

If you drive from Singapore to Malaysia and up through JB (Johor Bahru), you'll find endless palm trees, then suddenly there would be a clearing with a bunch of new homes (~$40k USD) and giant ad boards targeting Singapore buyers.
Where are the cheapest

40k for a new house? As in a house AND lot...a detached house?

Houses for $5,000 can be had in rural Malaysia,

Woah woah woah! 5K and I can OWN a house AND lot in Malaysia?! What parts of Malaysia? Not that it matters its just I need to know where to look to find said houses and lots for said price.

Rural, small cities, out of the way places no one has ever heard about that are unnamed on Google Maps and Google Earth. You can see them as obvious villages on satellite view but they usually don't have a name unless you set foot there.

I can rent a house near my small city for $300 a year. I am still checking this price but it seems accurate. Keep in mind that I am in the middle of f***ing nowhere rural China and that few, if any, people find this location anything but a hellhole backwater to escape from asap.

I like it. Go figure.

To find these types of places do this:

Start at the Big City. This one you will know.

Beijing.

Next city nearby down in size. In China good candidates are any of the large regional provincial capitals that you see on Google Maps

Chongqing.

Next city down in size, about 50,000 - 400,000 people.

Guangan.

And finally go looking around the local villages until you find a place you like.

Keep in mind this is rural China, REAL China. Some things you will see are from 1850.

Also the images on Google Earth are from 1990-1995 for China. Much of what you see has been vetted by Beijing and it is not accurate. Most towns and cities, especially smaller ones, are much MUCH bigger and developed than a casual glance on GM would reveal. You will have to go there and stay for a week or two and actually SEE the surrounding area keeping in mind that my insights took 7 months and ladislav's have taken over a decade to accumulate. He has actually gone to out of the way cities in the Philippines that you have never heard of. I suggest buying an e-Bike ($300) and touring within 30km of the town to find the small, 500 person, villages with the big houses/compounds. I will try to find photos of what a house and compound and yard look like in my area.

I want to be very clear - this is NOT anything like Hong Kong or Shanghai and just like in Manhattan people there will mock the yokels who live in the town I live in now. There will be local hospitals but they won't be state of the art and you will need to go to a big city for anything major or be evac'd to HK or BKK or Seoul or Beijing or Shanghai. There is NO nightlife, no bars, no clubs. People are in bed by 9:30 and even the 'nightowls' close up at midnight. You will be renting a house surrounded by wheat, pear tree, apple and soy fields. There might be one restaurant and one convenience store in your small small village and you will have to drive 10 km to the nearby 'Big City' of 50,000 to get anything.

Think rural Iowa in 1945 before electricity was installed.

[yatterman1]

Hmm...I might go crazy in a really small down in the middle of no where.

Ok lets say I wanted to buy a small detached house (with lot) in a suburban area that's 20-30 minutes from Johor Bahru. How much do you think that would cost me?

[ladislav]

So how hard is it to become an ESL teacher there (with no degree...

Frankly I really don't know. I have seen ads for ESL teachers but they required a degree. Why not become an online teacher and teach the Chinese and Russians? And then you can live wherever you want.

My understanding of tax law is that salary income from a job outside of the USA filed on a 1040 and 2555 is tax free of all USA federal taxes but self-employed income IS NOT and you must pay the 15.3o% FICA tax on that income.

If you get paid via PayPal, Big Brother will know and demand its cut.

Can you claim running a business? Because that is what I am doing basically.