Why Stay In Penang?

Why Stay in Penang?

Penang, which was founded by the British more 200 years ago (brief history), is famous for its food, diverse culture, friendly people and beautiful beaches. These are the reasons why foreigners love Penang.

Why Penang?

Penang attracts the most MM2H retirees. It is the destination of choice for people who want to retire or relax. Life in Penang is slow and quite laid back. Things are done in an unhurried pace. Traffic congestion is tolerable and only during peak hours only.

Georgetown, Penang has been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site - Georgetown and Malacca constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia. Click here for details

Below are the advertisements on the local The Star Newspaper for National Front, the governing party for Penang. It tells you something about Penang. The advertisement was published on 28th February 2008.

Please click on the links below. Each page is approximately 5Mb.

Things to do in Penang

Savour the great varieties of local food and delicious hawker fare. Penang was voted Best Street Food 2004 by Time magazine. Click here for details.
Visit places of interest, historical sites and heritage buildings
Enjoy the fine beaches and lovely weather. A daily morning walk along the sandy beach is never boring. Listening to the lapping waves is therapeutic.
Visit the shopping malls and get stuff at bargain prices.
Interact with local people. They are helpful and friendly.
Travel to other parts of Malaysia to make more wonderful discoveries.
Relax and indulge in various forms of recreation.

Lower cost of living compared to Kuala Lumpur or Johor Bahru
Life in Penang is great and not expensive. A decent meal for a person at the food court, hawker center or coffeeshop costs RM5. An excellent meal for two at good restaurants only costs RM50. High end and classy restaurants will charge you about RM150 for two people. Cooking at home is relatively cheap. For a family of 4, you need to spend only RM600 per month.. Parking is cheap at RM0.80 per hour by the roadside or RM2 per hour in parking garages.

Excellent facilities and infrastructure
Penang has the facilities of a modern city. Hospitals and healthcare centers offer good medical services (no waiting required). Universities, colleges and international schools are available in Penang too.

Close proximity to all major cities and resorts
Penang is just 45 minutes by air away from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Promotional airfare by low cost carrier from Penang to KLIA is just RM29 (USD8). There are direct flights from Penang International Airport to Singapore, Bangkok, Korea and Japan. By road, it is just 4 hours to Genting Highlands Resort.

Affordable real estate that is investment-worthy

Penang has a lot of property for acquisition and investment, condominiums resorts by the sea, large bungalows and terraced houses. One can find any type of property to suit his taste and budget. Investing in Penang can be a good choice as the rate of appreciation in the property is quite desirable.

Cost of Living in Penang

The table below shows the approximate living expenses for 2 person in Penang. (based on 04 December 2008 exchange rate)

Approximate Living Expenses in Penang For Two

			Living style / RM
			Luxurious	Normal	Thrifty
Household	Rent		6500	2500	1500
	Food		6000	2950	1900
	Groceries		1000	500	300
	Breakfast		1000	500	300
Utilities	Telephone		70	50	50
	Mobile phone		100	80	80
	Electricity		1000	350	100
	Water		10	10	10
	Sewage		10	10	10
	Broadband		88	88	88
	Satellite TV		120	120	120
Vehicle	Fuel		500	350	200
	Tolls		100	100	50
	Maintenance		500	200	200
Others	Shopping		1000	700	400
Total	Ringgit Malaysia		17998	8508	5308
	Sterling Pound		3396	1605	1002
	Singapore Dollar		7659	3650	2259
	Euro		4000	1891	1180
	US Dollar		4999	2363	1474
	Australian Dollar		7825	3699	2308

Listed below are the assumption used for calculations
Living condition	Engine capacity		2.4L - car	2.0L - car	1.8L - car
	Electricity /Air Cond		Always on	Night only	Rarely used
	Apartment by the sea		Penthouse	2200sq ft	1200 sq ft

Number of meals per week	High end retaurants		40	10	5
	Normal restaurants		20	25	15
	Food court / hawker		0	20	25
	Home cooking		0	5	15
	Total meals taken		60	60	60

Restaurants		Cost per person per meal / RM
High end		60
Normal		30
Food court / hawker		5
Home cooking		5

1)	Assuming 60 meals per month (lunch + dinner)
2)	Groceries - household items - soap, shampoo, etc..
3)	Fastest broadband connection subscribed
4)	Maximum number of channels on cable TV
5)	Maintenance cost of vehicle is spread over the year
6)	Gasoline/petrol usage - normal driving / range
7)	All expenses are quoted in Ringgit Malaysia

The expenses above are conservative estimates. For the latest exchange rates, please click on http://biz.thestar.com.my/business/exchange.asp

Penang's International Ranking

Penang has attracted many foreigners who want to make it their retirement or holiday homes. It is a combination of slow life, friendly people, great food, absence of language problem, excellent infrastructure, affordable homes and individual home ownership that makes Penang a great place to stay. If you looking for small town charm but the conveniences of a large city, Penang has it all !

By New York Times

Please click on http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/01/11/travel/20090111_DESTINATIONS.html to go to the article about food in Penang.

By ECA International

2009/2010

Georgetown, Penang was rated the 8th best place to live in Asia (2009) by ECA International .

2008/2009

Georgetown, Penang was rated the 9th best place to live in Asia (2009) by ECA International .

2007/2008

Georgetown, Penang was rated the 10th best place to live in Asia (2008) by ECA International . The other cities are large modern metropolitan. Penang island has less than 800,000 people and it is already on the list. Check out the official website from the company that did the survey : http://www.eca-international.com

2006/2007

ECA International has rated Georgetown as number #9 in Asia. This is an improvement over 2006's ranking of #10. Georgetown was ranked 74 globally last year and 63 this year (11 rank increase). Quoted from its website at http://www.eca-international.com/ASP/ViewArticle2.asp?ArticleID=209

"Georgetown has seen the biggest improvement in scores of all the Asian cities, reflected in an 11 place rise in the ranking, due to improvements in recreation, housing and personal security situations."

2006/07 - Location Ranking Survey		2007/08 - Location Ranking Survey

Rank in Asia	Location	Rank in Asia	Location
1	Singapore - Singapore	1	Singapore - Singapore
2	Japan - Kobe	2	Japan - Kobe
3	Japan - Tokyo	3	Japan - Yokohama
4	Japan - Osaka	4	Hong Kong - Hong Kong
5	Hong Kong - Hong Kong	5	Japan - Tokyo
6	Macau - Macau	6	Taiwan - Taipei
7	Taiwan - Taipei	7	Macau - Macau
8	Thailand - Bangkok	8	Thailand - Bangkok
9	Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur	9	Malaysia - Georgetown
10	Malaysia - Georgetown	10	Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur
11	China - Shanghai	11	China - Shanghai

Quote from ECA's website - "Undertaken annually, ECA International’s Location Ranking Survey compares living standards in 254 locations globally according to categories including climate, air quality, health services, housing and utilities, isolation, social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure, personal safety and political tensions."

Some images of Penang