New expat - area reviews.

Hello Anirtak.

Welcome to Expat.com!

Hope you'll be advised by other members soon.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Thanks Aurelie,

From research I've done I'm leaning towards KLCC, Bangsar or Mont Kiara.

So would love the pros and cons of each of those areas if anyone could help, I'd be most grateful.

A lot depends on where the children will be going to school. Most expat families tend to select the school first and then the area which is most convenient for those schools.

Bangsar and Mont Kiara is home to a lot of parents with children in Alice Smith, Garden International or Mont Kiara International.

All three of the locations you mentioned are nice places to live and all three have plenty of shopping and dining locations. All three have modern apartments of the kind you describe.

Mont Kiara is nnot great for public transport (although they will finally join the LRT (metro) line in 2-3 years.) Bangsar has it's own LRT station and is within walking distance of the city's main transport hub, KL Sentral. KLCC is the city center and therefore has plenty of public transport connections as well.

Thanks CrymroKL, no kids, no dogs etc. just my husband and I.

That should teach me to read thoroughly, I saw the word children and skipped the rest of the sentence!

I'm in Bangsar and love it for the convenience and the mix of local and expat. However i know people in Mont Kiara and KLCC and theyare just as happy there too!

Hey Anirtak, you can try looking for a flat in TITIwangsa sentral Condo, Bistari Condo , Scott Villa , mutiara residency condominium, Pantai Hillpark(Really nice place to stay). These places are good to stay and mix of local and expats.   
Thanks

We recently moved here in September 2012 from the US.  Ended up settling in Bangsar South at The Park Residence 1.  Very close to taxis and the University train station.  Our apartment is 1998 sq ft. with 3 nice size bedrooms 2 full baths, and a half bath.  Nice kitchen, but no dishwasher.  Large laundry room plus a decent sized "maid's room with bath", we use it for storage.  Beautiful pool and gym facility.  All in all no complaints.  Rent is decent also.
Good luck in your search.

Thank-you CZ and Abhissrivastava. I will do some research on those.

Due to the location of my husbands workplace we are leaning heavily towards KLCC at this stage.

Hi, Anirtak….

My suggestion to you is to live in Ampang area….where you can enjoy both city and suburb way of life.

The good reasons are---- (close to your husband office)

A. Traffic:-

1. Easy access to MRR2, DUKE, KARAK Highway to Central-city, KLCC, Bangsar, PJ areas
2. 20 minutes to all major Embassy and business \ office
3. 20 minutes (easy access) to KLCC, Pavilion, Lot 10, Parkson Shopping Mall, and all other major Malls.
4. Near By Carrefour, Giant, Jaya Jusco Supermarkets \ LRT Station \ 3 major hospitals
5. 5 – 30 minutes to ISKL (American), Sayfol, Mutiara, Fairview International Schools, where have many expat events to join or get together….

B. Area \ Food \ People:-

1. Numerous Local, Indian, and Western restaurants nearby with good menu and price.
2. Large space \ modern housing around with rental RM5000- to RM10000- to choses from.
3. Area with path to walk \ run \ exercise and etc.
4. One of the oldest State of KL; district of all the Embassy office, therefore, it is an area occupied with Embassy family and CEO of important expat company.
5. Many major Expat social networks close by and numerous expat groups to join.

Remark: ---

1. I do suggest you to try to live in landed property (House) where you can enjoy different life style than Hong Kong. (I’ve lived in HK for 8 years before moved to KL)
2. Ampang is much near \ closer to city center with sufficient high-way to popular area; therefore, the traffic in Ampang is less bad than all other area.
3. I happened to have one--- 2 story bungalow in Ampang, which is nearby the expat housing area and one large golf-court. (5 rooms + maids room, 3 bath\toilet, garden, and etc.)

I can send you more photos about the house and the area---Pls contact me at :----zen88nez@yahoo.com


Best Luck in KL     //Genev (Mrs.)

Hello Anirtak,

We have just returned from our pre-assignment trip to KL.  We have kids so our requirements are different from yours but if I was in your shoes we'd probably live in Bangsar or KLCC. We tried to find somewhere in Bangsar suitable for our family but to no avail, we are going to live in a gated and guarded complex in Ampang.

Bangsar:
Getting in to KLCC on public transport seems to be a bit tricky - that said parking is cheap in the centre at 10RM/day or thereabouts, everyone seems to drive. Restaurants abound in Bangsar - maybe cheaper than in the centre? And Sunday night's night market is fun. I didn't see anywhere to walk really.

KLCC:
Plenty of restaurants in the malls and down the streets from the towers. The park near the towers is really nice to walk around.

That said, I haven't lived there yet just my opinion. 

Cheers - Jody