Living in Penang, Malaysia - an On Location Interview

11/09/15 • 69 min

Today in our first ever on-location interview we caught up with Daniel Chen, an expat American and Steve Struyck a retired Dutchman who have both made the move to Penang, Malaysia. In this interview Daniel and Steven share their experiences of Penang, why they love living in Malaysia, and the cost of living they have in this country.

It was great to do our own research into expat living while we were here. Accommodation is very affordable, with an average 2 -3 bedroom apartment going for around $400-$600 US per month. Food is extremely cheap, especially if you enjoy the local street markets and Penang itself is an interesting combination of cultures with Malay, Chinese and Indian all being integral to the community – and an ever growing number of Western expats flavoring the mix.

Let’s let Daniel and Steven share their views:

What I learned from Daniel and Steven:

Malaysia offers a number of visa options for expats. In Daniels case he was able to get a 2 year renewable visa based on establishing his online business. Steven took advantage of the My Second Home visa option which gives him a ten year right of staying.
Health treatment is first class. Both were happy with the treatment they had had there; in Daniels case his wife had given birth to two of their children there and not only was the health care good, but it was considerably cheaper than what it would have cost him in the US.
Safety wasn’t a big issue for either of them. Crime does exist but is no worse than they would have experienced in their own home country.
Property prices have increased considerably in the last few years. Both Daniel who rents and Steven who owns his own place had not had any trouble with the process of gaining their accommodation. Many properties are bought up by Chinese investors who leave them empty but this doesn’t seem to be putting too much pressure on rents. Daniel has paid the same amount for the last four years!

Let’s let Daniel and Steven share their views:

What I learned from Daniel and Steven:

Malaysia offers a number of visa options for expats. In Daniels case he was able to get a 2 year renewable visa based on establishing his online business. Steven took advantage of the My Second Home visa option which gives him a ten year right of staying.
Health treatment is first class. Both were happy with the treatment they had had there; in Daniels case his wife had given birth to two of their children there and not only was the health care good, but it was considerably cheaper than what it would have cost him in the US.
Safety wasn’t a big issue for either of them. Crime does exist but is no worse than they would have experienced in their own home country.
Property prices have increased considerably in the last few years. Both Daniel who rents and Steven who owns his own place had not had any trouble with the process of gaining their accommodation. Many properties are bought up by Chinese investors who leave them empty but this doesn’t seem to be putting too much pressure on rents. Daniel has paid the same amount for the last four years!

Previous Episode

The World's First Digital Nomad (Maybe!)

Was he the world’s first digital nomad? Maybe, maybe not... but there is little doubt that James Clark was one of the first people to make an online living while traveling.

The Melbourne native took to the road fulltime in 2003 while earning an income from his website business and he hasn’t stopped moving since. Currently based in Vietnam he spends much of the year traveling between various hubs catching up with online colleagues. James has built his business to now include travel blogging and helping others start their own online travel business.

We caught up with James on the move in Singapore where we discussed his early beginnings, life in Vietnam and where he sees the opportunities ahead for people wanting to do what he does.

You can catch James blog at http://www.nomadicnotes.com

What I learned from speaking with James:

Vietnam is a fast developing infrastructure – although strictly speaking communist it is home to an entrepreneurial spirit helped by a population which is 70% under the age of 40. This gives the country a vibrancy and energy that James loves. Although it is fast developing the cost of living is low with a person on their own able to survive comfortably on less than $1000 per month.
If you’re serious about building an online business start at home in the evenings. It’s easy to start flicking through social media (something he didn’t have to worry about when starting) or watching an average television show but these are the moments when you make your choices in life. Remind yourself that you want to build a location independent business and keep at it for as long as you need to.
Look at options to retain your existing job. Moving away doesn’t mean you have to throw it all away. If you have an accommodating boss, a mobile job, and you love what you do then you might be able to take it on the road with you.
Being a digital nomad doesn’t mean an easy life of checking the occasional email. James still works 35-40 hour weeks but admits that the four hour work week is a little unrealistic for most people. He does find however that he no longer has such as thing as weekends as he works anytime he feels like it
Catching up with friends is a big part of what he does. Being on the road can be lonely but James has regular hubs he visits such as Melbourne, his original home city and Bangkok where he can see old friends and have a little grounding in his life before he heads away again

Next Episode

Single in South East Asia: Leaving the Health Service for a New Life Abroad

You never know where a chance meeting can take you. A train ride to London saw Alice Nettleingham sitting beside a girl who had just come back from teaching English in India. Alice’s life in the English National Health Service wasn’t unhappy but she felt there was more. Inspired by her talk Alice decided to venture out and explore the world and three months later found herself in South Korea.

She has since explored much of Asia, falling in love with the region and its people. She will traditionally spend a good period of time in each place she visits getting to know it properly, and never quite knows where her next adventure will take her.

We caught up with Alice in Taiwan where she has been for the last month. You can check out her blog at http://teacaketravels.com

What I learned from Alice’s Interview:

Being young, female and single doesn’t stop you from venturing out into the world and discovering what the planet has to offer.
Be spontaneous! Within 3 months of her chance meeting with someone who had taught English in India Alice had completed her TEFL training and was on her way to South Korea
Don’t always believe the media. Her father was fearful of her going to Korea due to the rumblings of North Korean trouble but when she arrived she found the people of South Korea were relaxed and found the whole thing quite laughable. Always remember the media love a good story and the best way to find out the truth is to speak to people who have been there.
China offers fantastic trekking, hiking and mountain biking trails – who would have thought!

Taiwan is very affordable. I had assumed as an economic power that it might be on a similar costing to places like Japan but transportation and meals are very cheap there