Cost of living in Malaysia in 2022

Commuting. No commuting, locked in house two years.

Leisure. See above.

Healthcare. My insurance is in another country so im waiting to get sick until im there.

These would be more useful questions:

Have you noticed scarcity of goods? Yes.

Have you noticed prices steadily rising? Yes.

Have you noticed steady growth of business closure? Yes.

Have you noticed more crime? Yes.

Have you noticed more mental illness, suicide, divorce and bankruptcy? Yes.

What are the chances of Malaysia fully opening soon? Zilch.

Are there new restrictions for foreigners who wish to visit? Yes, starting April.

Hows the weather? Weird. Floods, tornados, landslides prevail.

Have you noticed food quality getting worse? Yes.

Hows the shipping and logistics environment? Awful, mainly still closed for shipments out of Malaysia.  Incoming is OK.

How about jobs? Hard to calculate. I ask everyone I know if they have a job, kept their job, lost their job or recently got a new one. Very mixed and unexpected results. Things that were steady and could be relied on arent there now but some people oddly were able to gain new jobs. Some people are in some kind of modified job, like working remotely or reduced work. Many expats expecting to come for work (or MM2H) have delayed plans or have left Malaysia. Everything is in flux, as I can see.

The overall environment for expats for Malaysia isnt very good right now. Its hard to say how much is truly covid related or the using of the pretext of covid to create long-term change. What I think people see more of is advertising to attract tourists in spite of restrictions which are played down.

Happy to help! Come to Malaysia, it is beautiful..

Monthly rent: if you want to live in Kl city centre, expect to pay at least 2000 MYR/month for a 1 bedroom flat in serviced condo. Outside KL, you can find 2 bedrooms-flat in condo for 1600/1800.

Monthly charges: again, dependent on everyone's lifestyle. I drink tap water, take shower every day, wash dishes and cook + 2-3 laundry per week. I spend about 40/50 MYR for electricity, 10 for water, condo maintenance fees are included in rent, internet 129 MYR, mobile 35.

Commuting: If you use Grab to go around, expect to pay about 15 for a 10/15 minute drive. If you use trains, LRT and MRTs, usually a one-way ticket is 2/3 MYR.

Grocery shopping cost: I have lunch at work, that costs about 10/15 MYR per meal. Grocery costs me about 200 MYR/week, I do not buy meat, fish or cheese though, and only beer as alcoholic drinks.

Health insurance is covered by my company.

Going out, expect to pay about 20/30 MYR for a beer, 15MYR for a meal in a normal open restaurant, you will pay more if you have western food or go to fancy places. 

It would be good if people who want to come here reply and ask specific questions, e.g., how much does X cost?

Come to Malaysia!

@Cheryl 

Hi Everyone,

I would like to share my 5 years of experience as an expat in Malaysia.

If you are a tenant, what is your monthly rent? WE LIVE IN MONT KIARA IN 3 BEDROOM CONDO - 9000 MYR/MONTH COST

How much are your monthly charges (water, electricity, common area maintenance charges, etc.) and additional expenses (mobile phone and/or internet box subscriptions)? ALL MONTHLY WATER - 20 MYR, ELECTRICITY - 900-1100 MYR, TIME INTERNET 200 MYR, MOBILE POSATPAID MAXIS LINES 240 MYR, GAS MALAYSIA - 20 MYR, CONDO FEE - 50 MYR = 1600 MYR MIN

How much do you spend on commuting (by public transport or using your car) each month? CAR RENTAL IS QUITE EXPENSIVE MONTHLY HONDA CRV 5000 MYR, 200 MYR GAS PER MONTH.

How much does your grocery shopping cost in Malaysia? MIN 5000 MYR FOR 4 PAX

How much do you spend on health care (health insurance, consultations, etc.)? HEALTH INSURANCE 15000 MYR ANNUAL FOR 4 PAX

How much are your children's school fees, depending on the type of school they attend? CRAZY EXPENSIVE 210.000 USD FOR 2 CHILD annual

What about your budget for leisure activities? MIN 10.000 MYR IF YOU TRAVEL EVERY MONTH

Do not hesitate to indicate other everyday costs if they could be useful to others. FLIGHTS TO EUROPE NOW MIN 1000 USD PER PAX

TOTAL YOU NEED MIN 40.000 - 45.000 MYR FOR 4 PAX.. EXCEPT TRAVEL..

I ALSO DISAGREE WITH THE MISPERCEPTION ABOUT CHEAPNESS OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE... IT IS OPPOSITE .. MALAYSIA IS ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTRY DUE TO HIGHEST POSSIBLE TAX APPLIED BY MUSLIM GOVERNMENT.

Im not sure the usefulness of comparing exact prices of two people since standards are so different. One pays rm9000 for a condo, another pays rm700 for a 2-story house. Or maybe more to the point, i pay 1/20th of the prices of the post above mine so which is valid, which should a reader use as a guide when in fact both examples are not even telling the whole story?

Numbeo.com is probably the best reference for a person to get an idea of costs since the reader would be able to compare where they are now to where they want to go. Higher, lower or similar is really all thats needed until one comes and looks specific things they like.

And yes, Malaysia highly taxes tobacco and liquor as "sin taxes." A pack of smokes in Vietnam is US 0.25, here is US3.50. Look how much is tax. Liquor is the same, super high prices. Vape is dirt cheap but not for long, the govt is look at bans or super taxes this year. Bans of tobacco and vape on on the table. Half the govt smokes or vapes so that will be interesting.

2022 prognosis for prices......UP.

very interesting topic. i am planning trip in july but the cost of that has gone up considerable rom the april one i was going to take for my holiday.  so i am going to see costs closer to july. I want to stay in KL and do some travelling to beaches from KL hotel.  I am worried about the pandemic and may flare up once again ie. no travelling or getting stuck in Malaysia or not even my place of south africa after paying for ticket and now no gaurantee of refund so travel agent tells me.  bit scary. loo loo

- @Guest22