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