Expats rank Malaysia in top 20 for affordable high quality accommodation and cost of living.

BY NEVILLE SPYKERMAN

thestar

PETALING JAYA: Expatriates ranked Malaysia among the top 20 places for affordable high quality accommodation and cost of living.

In the seventh Expat Explorer survey conducted by YouGov involving over 9,300 expatriates, Malaysia was placed 19th for quality of life, financial well-being and the ease of raising a family abroad with Switzerland, China and Singapore in the top three.

The respondents in Malaysia said accommodation was easy to find (63%), of higher quality (54%) compared to their home country and relatively inexpensive.

Utilities is another area which expats are saving with 37% now spending less on these bills.

It appears that a larger culture change is in order for many expats when they make Malaysia their home, with over a quarter (27%) of Malaysia-based expats surveyed this year originally from the United Kingdom.

Nearly half of expats in Malaysia (47%) say they find the local language difficult. But expats who make Malaysia their home seem to embrace the sense of adventure, with over half (56%) trying to learn and use the local language, despite its difficulty.

Some 70% said they were travelling more since embarking on an expat life while 57% described Malaysia as a culturally interesting place.

The survey by YouGov, one of the largest global surveys of expats, ranked Switzerland as the number one country by expats looking for a well-balanced, high quality lifestyle.

The others according to ranking are:

2. Singapore

3. China

4. Germany

5. Bahrain

6. New Zealand

7. Thailand

8. Taiwan

9. India

10. Hong Kong

11. Canada

12. Australia

13. Qatar

14. Oman

15. United Arab Emirates

16. Vietnam

17. Russia

18. Japan

19. Malaysia

20. Belgium