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Kuala Lumpur is ranked as the eighth best destination for expats to live and work, according to a new study. Expats (or expats) in the capital think that it is easy to settle here on a reasonable budget.
The Expat City Ranking 2020 survey, conducted by InterNations, the world’s largest expat community with around four million members, surveyed more than 15,000 respondents in 66 cities around the world.
This year marks the fourth consecutive year that KL has made the top 10 on the list.
The capital city does well on the Finance and Housing Index, with seven out of 10 expats in KL (70%) saying that housing is affordable (41% globally). More than four in five (84%) also say that finding a home is easy (55% globally).
More than three in four respondents are happy with their financial situation (76% vs. 61% globally) and the local cost of living (77% vs. 46% globally) in KL.
“It’s easy and affordable to live here,” said a Swedish expat who calls KL home.
The survey also noted that KL performs well on the Getting Settled index, coming in at seventh place.
“This can be attributed in large part to the ease of living in the city without speaking the local language and the ease of making new friends,” InterNations said.
More than nine in 10 expats (91%) say that it is easy to live in KL without speaking the local language, which is 37% higher than the world average (54%).
The city ranks eighth in the Friends and Socializing sub-category, with 72% of expats happy with their social life (59% globally) and 60% finding it easy to make new friends (47% globally).
When it comes to security and political stability, KL fares poorly among the expat community.
Only 68% of expats rated their personal safety positively (82% globally). Furthermore, fewer than three in eight respondents (36%) are satisfied with the political stability in Malaysia (61% globally).
It is worth noting that the data was collected in March 2020, just before Covid-19 became a global pandemic.
At the beginning of this year, The star reported on expatriates living in Malaysia who were stranded abroad during the movement control order.
During this period, those with temporary work visas, student visas, employment passes, and long-term social visit passes can leave Malaysia. However, they will not be allowed to return during the MCO.
Many expats complained that their children who were studying abroad or family members seeking medical care abroad were “excluded” from their own homes in Malaysia.
The expat city ranking is based on the annual Expat Insider study. For a city to stand out, a sample size of at least 50 survey participants per city was required.
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