Malaysia among cheapest countries for expats to move to

Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru and George Town are among the world’s most affordable places for overseas workers, according to the latest cost of living research conducted by ECA International.

These three Malaysian cities, coupled with Pakistan’s Karachi, Yangon in Myanmar and Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar were named as Asia’s cheapest locations for expatriates, especially the last mentioned city.

“Asia is home to some of the world’s most expensive locations, as well as its cheapest. This level of variety is only matched in Africa, which is home to both the world’s most expensive location and its cheapest,” said ECA International’s Regional Director Lee Quane.

On the other hand, Tokyo is still the most expensive location for foreign workers in the Asia Pacific.

For Malaysia’s neighbour, Singapore, it has dropped to the 21st spot out of more than 260 cities or its lowest since 2014. The republic’s ranking has fallen five places from last year’s spot due to the strengthening of European monies.

“European currencies have performed very strongly over the past 12 months, outpacing many other currencies in the world, including the Singapore dollar. This has resulted in Singapore slipping down the rankings slightly, with some of the more expensive European cities rising above it in the table,” added Lee.

As a result, Singapore has been overtaken by Copenhagen in Denmark and Israel’s Tel Aviv.

Notably, ECA International’s cost of living surveys are conducted every March and September. It compares the prices of a basket of goods and services typically bought by workers assigned to other countries.

(Source: PropertyGuru)