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International Shipping of Belongings
When I decided to move to Malaysia the first thing I had to do was to put my house on the market and start cleaning up the clutter. I lived in a two story single family house with a basement and attic and a sizeable back yard. Because of the housing bubble burst in the US it took me about 8 months to sell my house. Once I signed the purchase and sales agreement I had to think fast about what I was going to do with my furniture and personal belongings.
I surfed the web looking for international movers and received a few quotes. The prices were quite reasonable, but I soon realized that I really didn't have that much furniture I wanted to bring with me. I had my favorite comfortable leather sofa and love seat as well as my bedroom furniture. I was not sure, however, that the furniture would fit into my new house. I put the decision off for a short time while I pondered the possibilities
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FBAR filing for Americans Overseas
When I first began to ponder how to file my US Income tax returns from abroad I searched the IRS websites and other websites related to Americans living abroad. As I had stated in a previous post I could not find any information regarding tax filing for a person in my situation. Finally I managed to file my simple tax return and breathed a sigh of relief that the unagreeable task was over for this year. I was wrong.
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Expat Communities in Penag, Malaysia
When I was at home in Boston contemplating my move to Penang I often fantasized about what everyday life was going to be like. I imagined eating at food courts and coffee shops, similar to those Kevin and I had visited on my previous trips to Penang. I looked forward to meeting Kevin's friends and family and making new friends with neighbors and other local people. I never once thought about joining a group or club comprised of Americans or joining a local club of foreign expats living in Penang.
I was surprised to see that there were many expats here, who did just that. Malysia is a former British colony so there are a large number of British expats here. What really irks me is that there are is a small number of these people who think Malaysia is still a colony and treat the locals accordingly. These same people don't eat the local food at the food courts, coffee shops and local restaurants. These establishments are too far beneath them. These people tend to eat at 4 or 5 Star hotels and high end restaurants where they can demand the utmost in service and throw a few ringgits at the waiters and staff to watch them grovel. In my opinion they are nothing but low class pretentious wannabes. I have a couple of British friends who are totally embarassed by the behavior of these few. They have even lost friends over disagreeing with their pretentious behavior
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Expat and Retirement Websites
Recently a friend from my college days, whom I haven't seen in many, many years found me on Facebook. The first question she asked me was how did I find out all the information I needed to move here. I wrote her a lengthy private message explaining the process which brought me here. I realized that in one of my earlier blogs I had explained that I did my research on Malaysia before moving here. I feel I should add that my research involved learning about Malaysian culture and life. I did not explain how I got the information on the logistics of moving here.
Probably my biggest concern in moving to Malysia was financial. This included banking arrangements and paying my US federal and state taxes. I searched all of the websites regarding retiring abroad, expats and international living. I basically found these sites to be useless. Most of the sites concerned selling real estate, primarily in Central or South America or getting a job overseas. There was little or no information on how to actually prepare to move. When there was information it was extremely vague or very basic. Nothing was said about how to set up banking, transfering money easily or fullfilling income tax requirements, other than saying you still had to pay taxes
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Luxury Condominium Development
Seven years ago when I researched my first visit to the island of Penang I learned that it was called the Pearl of the Orient. I guess I expected a "small" island. When I arrived here I saw a large island with many large hills lush with rainforest growth and populated with monkeys, I walked along Gurney Drive, with luxury hotels, condo, foodcourts and hawker stands lining one side of the road and the ocean splashing upon the beach on the other side. Traveling around the island I do remember seeing numerous high end condos intermixed with low cost housing developments. I really fell in love with the island and it;s scenery.
Now things have changed. A large luxury housing development, including a very high end shopping center with extremely expensive condos above and a marina, has been built on reclaimed land. It is my understanding that reclaimed land should not be built upon for at least 15 years, but the time elapsed for this development was less than 5 years. Because of this development walking along Gurney Drive is akin to walking beside a mud flat. One can only see mud and washed up garbage and trash. Nature and beauty for all destroyed for the benefit of a wealthy few
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HEALTHCARE and HEALTH INSURANCE
One of my major concerns about retiring and moving to Malaysia was the quality and availability of healthcare and health insurance. One of the requirements for a MM2H visa application is that the applicant must have insurance, but it doesn't specify what kind. Many people just take out a simple short term accident policy, which satisfies the requirement. I conducted months of research into the best health insurance policies.
I discovered that healthcare in Malaysia is only a fraction of the cost in the US, while maintaining a high level of quality. Malaysia has a thriving medical tourism industry serving all of Asia. There are numerous top notch private hospitals in the country staffed by very qualified doctors trained in the US, the UK and other western countries. There are also numerous government hospitals serving the Malaysian population, which charge minimal fees. Of course the private hospitals charge more and are the favorites of expats and foreigners. As in any country the more money you have the better your healthcare
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A short time ago I started writing a blog Called "Retired Away". In my original blog I attempted to tell how I retired from my job in Boston, Massachusetts, applied for and got a Malaysia My 2nd Home (MM2H) visa and moved to Malaysia. I was originally from Watertown, New York, a small city in upstate New York near the Canadian border. After college I moved to Boston, where I worked in the medical field for a number of years. My blog centers of my new life in Penang, Malaysia. I will attempt to relate my experiences living in a totally new culture. I may also try to discuss some world events from the perspective of an American living a long way from home. When I decided to move here none of my friends knew exactly where Malaysia was. I am sure that there are many people in North America and Europe who do not know anything about Malaysia either. Through my blog I hope I can shed some light on Malaysia as a wonderful place to live as well as perhaps giving some information on how to retire here. Whatever I attempt to do it will be a chronicle of my new life after retirement.
Yesterday I took over an inactive blog domain and began posting on "Malaysia Found". For all of those readers who had followed the original blog, I believe I owed you this explanation for the "new face". Malaysia Found is still about Malaysia and my discovery of the country.
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