Flashermac Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Northern Malaysia is not hotter than LOS. Georgetown is a mostly non-Muslim city, lots of Chinese and Tamils. The old city is fun, the newer built up parts of the island forgetable. If I were to live in Malaysia, it would probably be in the old part of Georgetown - quiet, quaint, good restaurants and shopping, sensible traffic (even uncrowded buses). Knocking shops not hard to find, if you want that. A Brit friend even picked up some free-lancing waitresses. You have to realise that I think Pattaya and Phuket suck. If frantic nightlife is your thing, you won't like Georgetown. Good to live in, not run riot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Yup, Old Town Georgetown is great, nice restaurants and pubs, music venues, some cheap huge food markets and food courts to eat in with all sorts of ethnic and native foods, and they sell Guiness in big bottles everywhere I saw. Though an expensive area to live/rent I think is Georgetown. What about the Penang beach area? I saw what looked like some older apartments and areas where the rents should be fairly cheap a block or so off the beaches. I might head that way in a year and spend a month or two checking it all out. A friend who has lived there forever, a Sikh Indian professional, says the Malays are lazy bastards and every once in a while they just start rioting and killing Indians or Chinese. How safe would it be for a white ex-Catholic atheist? I dunno. Thing is, their 'Malaysia, My Second Home' retirement program is exactly what would sell it to me to live there as a retiree. That, and it's close proximity to Thailand and Singapore, and the fact that KL is a great city and easy to get around in, is another factor. Not so much bullshit either going on for owning a home, a business, etc. Easy visa. Nice weather, cheap and delicious food and variety of ethnic foods etc. If it wasn't for the Muslim factor the place would be close to a perfect choice. Great infrastructure as well to get around the country from what I saw the times I have been there. And, seemingly friendly and genuine people too. Was just there again with a friend last summer. Had a great time, outdoor concerts, excellent food, just a grand time there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Interesting feedback re Malaysia, but I'm wondering when Flasher was last in old Georgetown. The traffic down there may not be quite on par with the Asoke intersection, but its almost constant motorbikes whizzing around everywhere. The 'Muslims go crazy and kill Indians/Chinese' is a much larger concern for me if I elect to live on Java, but even the expats who do live there aren't backward in pointing out the population pressures and the impact on everyday life. As one lady said, 'By the time we get to the weekend, the kids and I are completely over spending hours in the car'. Granted, I have no real need to live in Jakarta, but I did envision a month or so - increasingly inclined to just scratch that idea in favor of somewhere a little less insane. Flasher, I dont have a problem with your dislike for Phuket or even Patts (my second home), but we all know those places are Disneyland. Who moves to CA or Florida so that they can go to Disneyland every day of the year ? That said, it would be great to be able to spend a week in Patts without having to sit on a plane for 8+ hours - if that just happens to coincide with my 'visa run', so much the better. Right now, all I need is a time machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 A cousin committed suicide last year, in the letter he said he was lonely. This was a man with literally hundreds of friends. Loneliness can indeed be a killer. He never visited Thailand, not that it would have stopped the loneliness but I've known it give more than a few people good reason to keep living. Cheery thoughts, eh RM ! I've made it to 54 without 'loneliness' doing me in, and I've made no secret of my 'exit strategy' when the time comes : for now, lets just try to stay out of the knife drawer, OK ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Not meant to insult anyone, but some people remind me my sister when she was small. She would sit in front of the television with all of her toys spread around her. And she would loudly announce, "I'M BORED! THERE'S NOTHING TO DO HERE!" My mother would explain her that it was not everyone else's duty to keep her amused. She was responsible for that herself. I spent 5 years in a small city in Thailand's lower north without being particularly bored. It is up to you to keep yourself occupied. There is always something to do, as long as you are in a fairly decent size city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Just curious, Flasher - what are we talking when you say 'fairly decent size city' in population terms ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzzz Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 ...I think Pattaya and Phuket suck. There are many BGs there who will do just that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Just curious, Flasher - what are we talking when you say 'fairly decent size city' in population terms ? The city I lived in number no more than 60,000 inhabitants. However, it was on the rail line and I could easily get to Bangkok or Chiangmai when I felt like it. That was in the days before the Internet, but I was working, which occupied a fair amount of time. There were only a handful of Farangs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radioman Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Cheery thoughts, eh RM ! I've made it to 54 without 'loneliness' doing me in, and I've made no secret of my 'exit strategy' when the time comes : for now, lets just try to stay out of the knife drawer, OK ? And I've worked with guys who avoided retirement like the plague because they had, in their own words, nothing to do! Fark, what a life!!! I have a hard enough time getting through my work commitment thanks to all the pressures from the fun and enjoyable things I'm always up to my neck in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Interesting feedback re Malaysia, but I'm wondering when Flasher was last in old Georgetown. The traffic down there may not be quite on par with the Asoke intersection, but its almost constant motorbikes whizzing around everywhere. The 'Muslims go crazy and kill Indians/Chinese' is a much larger concern for me if I elect to live on Java, but even the expats who do live there aren't backward in pointing out the population pressures and the impact on everyday life. As one lady said, 'By the time we get to the weekend, the kids and I are completely over spending hours in the car'. Granted, I have no real need to live in Jakarta, but I did envision a month or so - increasingly inclined to just scratch that idea in favor of somewhere a little less insane. Flasher, I dont have a problem with your dislike for Phuket or even Patts (my second home), but we all know those places are Disneyland. Who moves to CA or Florida so that they can go to Disneyland every day of the year ? That said, it would be great to be able to spend a week in Patts without having to sit on a plane for 8+ hours - if that just happens to coincide with my 'visa run', so much the better. Right now, all I need is a time machine Good apartments and condos for rent in Penang and the Georgetown area for around 500 USD or less, many furnished. There seems to be an over supply of condos which Malays buy as investments and rent out year round. Plenty of places to rent in good areas by the ocean with views. Most with pool, sauna, gym, tennis courts, badmiton indoors, squash indoors, parking, etc. Good inexpensive bus lines with AC busses all over the town, reasonable priced food courts and restaurants and Mom and Pop food stalls and shop houses abound. Read this woman's blog which is filled with good info, and follow the links. Loads of info on the area and on where to rent or even buy and how much. http://www.soultravelers3.com/2012/04/penang-apartment-or-condo-rental-plenty-of-choices.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.