Hi, Greetings,
I have a house in Seremban. My wife and I, went to Hawaii, and got stuck here due to covid. It's very expensive here, but the weather is wonderful. We live close to the beach, and I love the blue sky and little billowy clouds, lots of breeze, tropical flowers like plumeria, lots of diversity, and friendly locals.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT MALAYSIA:
1. The friendly people of course!
2. I like that they have lots of markets where you can buy all sorts of vegetables and fruits. Some you cannot even find here in Hawaii. I especially like Jack fruit, and the mangos in MY. We have good Hayden mangos here too and pineapples, and papaya.
3. The cost of living is much less there. Hawaii is one of the most expensive places to live in the US...along with New York and San Francisco. To survive here, you need to work 2 1/2 jobs. Really! unless you are a Doctor or lawyer. The cost of living is 4 times cheaper in Malaysia than Hawaii. All except imported cars.
4. What you have to get used to is the driving. If you are moving to Malaysia, be VERY VERY CAREFUL when turning to your right or left, as a motorcycle may just pass you on the side just as you are about to turn and you could easily kill someone. YOU MUST USE YOUR TURN SIGNALS TO PROTECT THE hundreds of MOTORCYCLIST well in advance, along with being super careful. Mostly the streets and highways are good.
5. The malls are modern and comparable to the US malls. Also, in every neighborhood, there are shopping "Commercial" centers, that consist of small retailers and business. These are not as fancy as the malls, but provide lots of needed products...and are conveniently located close by to your house.
Where we live is only a 3 minute drive to the closest commercial center, and 5-7 minute drive to the best mall "Aeon". In Hawaii, I have to drive 30-45 minutes to get my groceries.
6. Restaurants are many and varied and much less expensive than the US. We could eat out every meal, every day for less than 2,000 ringgits or $500 US dollars. ...not that I recommend doing that. LOL
7. Most of the food is fried, which is not considered a healthy way to cook, and in my opinion is the cause of the early demise of many of it's citizens causing heart disease, kidney failure, high blood pressure, cancer...etc.
8. Our neighborhood has a mosque, which does not seem to bother most Malaysians, however, people from other countries should experience the 3 times a day of chanting prayers over the loud speakers that can be heard blocks away, before buying a property close to a Mosqu...and then, you will probably just get used to it.
9. Malaysians celebrate many different religious holidays, and to me the unity and the diversity is a very good thing.
10. I find that I can get pretty much everything that I could want in Malaysia. You can also order some things from China, and USA. However, I did try to mail 3 headphones as presents and never could get them through customs...they finally had to be returned back to Amazon. That was my first problem mailing anything. I have sent vitamins from the US many times without trouble.
11. There is no way that I can afford home help here in Hawaii. One helper would charge more than I make in a month. LOL Whereas, in Malaysia, I could afford someone to help cook, clean house, and take care of our yard as needed. ...and at my age, I need the help. LOL
12. There seemed to be a lot of haze in the air, as a result of the burning off of forests across the ocean in Indonesia. Yes that far away was severely affecting our air. My wife says that she often sees blue sky, but in the year that I was there, I never saw a clear blue sky like there is in Hawaii, and on occasion, saw some blue coming through a thin haze of clouds.
13. Then, there is both heat and humidity. So, I bought air conditioners for the house, and we live comfortably. Our electricity bill is around 200 ringgit or $50 us dollars, which my wife considers expensive and I consider super cheap. I used to pay over $400 US a month during the time we used our air conditioners in Hawaii. For that money, I could literally live in Malaysia if I were careful.
14. Everyone loves my wife Rajie. She enjoys painting and crafts, loves to dance, enjoys cooking, does children's and youth classes, and is creative.
I am a musician...used to play the saxophone professionally. Was a wedding photographer. Studied health and nutrition...herbs, vitamins, fruit, vegs, etc. Love to learn new things, meet new people. Use to play golf. Love the ocean and beaches. Believe in eating healthy. Enjoy designing house floor plans according to certain principles. Have managed and run a number of different businesses.
15. Since I don't speak Malay or Tamil, my wife is very helpful translating. I don't know what I would do without her, even though there are many in MY who do speak English.
16. We are anxiously waiting to return to Malaysia.
P.S. There is no place that is perfect not even Hawaii. We have tons of homeless here in the land where there are so many super rich. I believe that there should be freedom within limits...ie to limit both the rich and improve the poor so that both are more moderate. So, pick the best qualities of each place and learn from them.
17. I would enjoy corresponding with guys for advice who wish to move to MY or will offer advice to me.
18. Our prayers go out to all of those suffering from covid. We have had many close family and friends who have recently passed due to Covid in MY.
"Thy name is my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy. Nearness to Thee is my hope, and love for Thee is my companion. Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succor in both this world and the world to come. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise."
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