Why Farangs Prefer Thailand To Malaysia?

[drronnie]

I have heard Malaysia is very open to foreigners and there is less hassle to get long term visas and work permits. However this does not attract many Westerners who prefer to live and work in Thailand. What are the reasons?

[angiud]

Maybe because a muslim country??

[Scott]

And maybe because insurgents occasionally bomb Hat Yai where expats (and locals) like to go for a little nookey!

[drronnie]

And maybe because insurgents occasionally bomb Hat Yai where expats (and locals) like to go for a little nookey!

As far as I am concerned there are no terror attacks in Malaysia.

[angiud]

And maybe because insurgents occasionally bomb Hat Yai where expats (and locals) like to go for a little nookey!

Hat Yai is Thailand not Malaysia

[OlRedEyes]

Lots of creative answers expected.

[PhilHarries]

Warning: it has been medically proven that AIDS can be contracted through the ears by listening to ar5eholes. Be careful around here.

To answer your question. I'm not entirely sure farangs (westerners) prefer Thailand over Malaysia it's just that Thailand is cheaper and take a look what that attracts. Also you won't get many afficianados of Malaysia on a Thailand based website, well you wouldn't expect it would you?

I've lived some years on and off in Malaysia both in Kuala Lumpur and Kertih (Terranganu state - Muslim) and can say that, by and large, I have been treated very well with no antipathy evident. Yes it is a majority Muslim society but that does not affect non-Muslims and even up in Terranganu it was not oppressive and as long as you follow some basic rules of respect for the religion you are okay. In Kuala Lumpur you'd hardly notice it was a Muslim society, yes the women cover themselves up but the dress is bright and colourful so don't let the a'holes tell you they all wear burkhas. There is a sizable Chinese and Indian population so most everything you could want is available. There are even some pretty hot nightclubs in KL and they stay open later than in BKK.

There are great advantages to Malaysia for a foreigner the biggest being you, provided you meet certain financial criteria, can own 100% in YOUR name property in the country (and in MY ownership extends down to the center of the Earth FWIW ). The climate is wetter than Thailand but that means the country is greener. There are some beautiful beaches, mountains and forests. The infrastructure is better than Thailand and English is widely spoken so communications are easy although it is only polite to learn at least a bit of Bahasa Malaysia. Oh, I nearly forgot, visas are a lot less hassle than Thailand.

However there is always the threat of civil disturbance due to ethnic tensions but they are not blowing each other up.

Basically they are two different countries and each person likes one or the other according to personal taste. I loved Malaysia as I also love it here in Viet Nam but where will I hang my hat? Well the jury is still out but Thailand is still front runner and I'm keeping an open mind on the subject.

[thaihome]

And maybe because insurgents occasionally bomb Hat Yai where expats (and locals) like to go for a little nookey!

As far as I am concerned there are no terror attacks in Malaysia.

II think the poster was making the point that Hat Yai has a small sex tourism industry whose main customers are Malaysian men (of all races), and to a lesser extent offshore oil field expats.

It is alleged that many of members of the groups claiming credit for the bombings and murders of Thai citizens are dual nationals of Thailand and Malaysia, and are protected by some low level Malaysian government officials. This of course, vehemently denied by both Malaysian and Thai governments.

As to the original purpose of your OP, having lived in Malaysia for several years in a couple of locations, (KL and 2 smaller east coast towns) I can say there is nothing wrong with Malaysia. The only expats I know of that chose to live there are married to Malaysians, despite the fact that the government has put forth some mild financial incentives to do so. Part of the problem is that currently, most of the best places to live are under the control right wing, fundamentalist, 11th century thinking Muslims clerics. Not somewhere any thinking westerner would ever put himself in.

TH

[imaneggspurt]

Availability of friendly women !

[imaneggspurt]

Unlike Thailand it is a former colony and like many others messed up and cleaned up ....Thailand is not without its fair share of problems as we know,however i prefer its raw state,.

[jackr]

Warning: it has been medically proven that AIDS can be contracted through the ears by listening to ar5eholes. Be careful around here.

To answer your question. I'm not entirely sure farangs (westerners) prefer Thailand over Malaysia it's just that Thailand is cheaper and take a look what that attracts. Also you won't get many afficianados of Malaysia on a Thailand based website, well you wouldn't expect it would you?

I've lived some years on and off in Malaysia both in Kuala Lumpur and Kertih (Terranganu state - Muslim) and can say that, by and large, I have been treated very well with no antipathy evident. Yes it is a majority Muslim society but that does not affect non-Muslims and even up in Terranganu it was not oppressive and as long as you follow some basic rules of respect for the religion you are okay. In Kuala Lumpur you'd hardly notice it was a Muslim society, yes the women cover themselves up but the dress is bright and colourful so don't let the a'holes tell you they all wear burkhas. There is a sizable Chinese and Indian population so most everything you could want is available. There are even some pretty hot nightclubs in KL and they stay open later than in BKK.

There are great advantages to Malaysia for a foreigner the biggest being you, provided you meet certain financial criteria, can own 100% in YOUR name property in the country (and in MY ownership extends down to the center of the Earth FWIW ). The climate is wetter than Thailand but that means the country is greener. There are some beautiful beaches, mountains and forests. The infrastructure is better than Thailand and English is widely spoken so communications are easy although it is only polite to learn at least a bit of Bahasa Malaysia. Oh, I nearly forgot, visas are a lot less hassle than Thailand.

However there is always the threat of civil disturbance due to ethnic tensions but they are not blowing each other up.

Basically they are two different countries and each person likes one or the other according to personal taste. I loved Malaysia as I also love it here in Viet Nam but where will I hang my hat? Well the jury is still out but Thailand is still front runner and I'm keeping an open mind on the subject.

... but other than that, it's not a patch on Muang Thai.

Nice post btw

[drronnie]

Availability of friendly women !

Is that so important?

Edited September 19, 2008 by drronnie

[Moonrakers]

Because there are no bacon double cheeseburgers in burger-king.

[Scott]

Thanks Thaihome, you got what I meant. I am aware that Hat Yai is in Thailand and that there is a fair amount of cross-border traffic to partake in one of Thailand's major tourist draws!

[KLExpat]

Short Answer (from a single male perspective):

Using the controversial rational that Thailand appeals to a lot of farang due to its cheap/accessible booze, cheap living and readily available girls, a large segment of the farangs in Thailand would not find Malaysia appealing as: the booze is more expensive, the cost of living in the cities is higher, the available girls are fewer/more discerning and teaching English is not a viable means of support. If the above are not priorities, Malaysia is a great place to live and work.

Interestingly enough, when Malaysians want cheap booze and girls, they choose Thailand over Malaysia also. This may be the control that validate this rational

Long answer :

1) The price of alcohol is very high (6-8 RM for a small can of beer in the market, a small jug of beer can run 60 RM ++ in a pub).

2) From a male perspective, the pool of available girls (for non-Muslim men) is generally limited to Indians (generally the minority of Christian ones) and Chinese. This is due to rather strong religious laws that would, in all practical terms, require religious conversion before even thinking of dating a Malay (once you have done that, you need to be married before you can be "in proximity" while alone). Indian families tend to be extremely selective of who their daughter can date, let alone marry (it is difficult enough for Indians of different casts/regions to date) so that limits things. Chinese girls are generally open to the idea of dating a foreigner, but I would compare the odds of successfully dating a good looking Chinese girl to those of dating a good looking western girl (you got to have game).

3) It could be speculated that a great deal of the farang-thai relationships, even those involving with "good girls", have some degree of financial motivation (at least at the start). The rural poor/farmers in Malaysia tend to be Malay, so refer to #2.

4) The cost of living/retiring is high.

5) There is really no concept of "inexpensive upcountry living" – rural Malaysia would not be appealing to a lot of farang due to Muslim "sensibilities". That is not to say the locals are unfriendly – the locals are wonderful – it is just a different lifestyle. You may find a pub, but it will be "Chinese style" which may not appeal to those who are not fluent in Chinese. Locals with a "western outlook" (which would be the ones likely to date/befriend a farang) all migrate to the cities and only venture to the countryside to visit relatives on holidays. Outside of Jahor, KL and Penang there are few appealing jobs that could support a farang if you needed to work.

6) Malaysia is indeed a nice place to work (nifty ID cards that let you fast track immigration, employment passes (visa and work permit in one approved for 2-3 years at a go), no need to ever visit immigration a feeling that the government values you, etc). Unfortunately, many of the jobs farang seek in Thailand are not realistic in Malaysia. All Malaysians in the private sector workforce speak English (or at least Malenglish) so there is little need for English teachers. There are legions of excellent IT/web design professionals from India willing to work for less, etc. Politics in the workplace can be a bit heavy so those who left the west due to "wanting to escape the rat race" or "too much office politics" will not survive. Bottom line, you can work here if you have a skill set the locals do not have, however, the locals are quite competent in many skill sets.

[GungaDin]

Lack of Islamic Poledancers.

[Denim]

Think I'll start a new thread : ' Is it difficult to find a Thai girlfriend ? '

[steveromagnino]

Malaysia seemed to me (working there briefly) to be the efficiency of THailand combined with the stress of Singapore.

:-)

I'd say the reason why more farangs prefer here however is for the simple reason that you can stay here earning relatively low wages as a teacher/illegal/retiree etc a lot more easily.

For a serious expat, Singapore and Hong Kong are the leaders in some ways, Thailand and Malaysia are relative back waters with a few exceptions (e.g. oil and gas, certain agriculture, tourism etc).

My problem is I didn't really like the food, cost of stuff, but mostly the fact that while I speak Thai I didn't speak Chinese, so a fair bit of the time in Malaysia I didn't know what was going on (yes they speak english the same as my friends and I here speka english, no they don't use it all the time).

Having been there recently, I'd rather live in Singapore even though apparently you cannot own land there (well 99 years is enough for me).

[imaneggspurt]

Availability of friendly women !

Is that so important?

well unless you are gay or married i guess it is

[bkkjames]

Availability of friendly women !

Is that so important?

well unless you are gay or married i guess it is

Simple to understand actually...

You see here there are a lot of farangs that prepared to take it in the a*s from the powers the run this place in orde to stay here.

I even heard that there are quite a few that enjoy taking it in the a*s from certain segments of the population.

But most importantly, although we can each decide whether to take it like a girl / man, we don't have the fear of being thrown in jail over our decision. That and we like Avril Lavigne (sp).

[Wrong Turn]

I have heard Malaysia is very open to foreigners and there is less hassle to get long term visas and work permits. However this does not attract many Westerners who prefer to live and work in Thailand. What are the reasons?

Thailand's concept of "sanuk" is attractive. LOS has the far north, the central region and the south.

There is also a law in Malaysia that a Muslim cannot marry a non-muslim.

Malaysia has a lot of positives, but I'd prefer the Thailand: great food, nice beaches, a fun capital, but nice small towns.

[007]

I have heard Malaysia is very open to foreigners and there is less hassle to get long term visas and work permits. However this does not attract many Westerners who prefer to live and work in Thailand. What are the reasons?

The letter "P"?? - Easily available, cheap prostitution in Patpong, N. Plaza, Pattaya, and Patong Beach. I have never waited for a taxi at a street corner in Malaysia, with an old woman offering me sex for 200 baht. But it happened to me in Bangkok, and that was far from the well-known P2P places, and I didn't look for it either!

[petitechevre]

the average malaysian woman looks like a big bulldog

not very attractive

it's the only real reason. rest of the peeps are bullshitting.

[007]

the average malaysian woman looks like a big bulldog

not very attractive

Not true, what you say applies only to older women, while some younger Indian and Chinese chicks are really attractive. And the Malay sheilas can be cute too, if they only wouldn't hide their beauty with a veil.

[bkkjames]

the average malaysian woman looks like a big bulldog

not very attractive

Not true, what you say applies only to older women, while some younger Indian and Chinese chicks are really attractive. And the Malay sheilas can be cute too, if they only wouldn't hide their beauty with a veil.

Re the Malay women, I am just happy they veil their hides.

[drronnie]

Looks that I would rather stay in Thailand after reading all this. Many thanks for your informative comments. much appreciated.

[bkkjames]

Looks that I would rather stay in Thailand after reading all this. Many thanks for your informative comments. much appreciated.

Dear OP, you mean you were looking for actual / truthful thoughts on this subject, all this time I thought it was just another wind up.

Sorry if my comments were off-colour, but they were accurate.

[DP25]

Because it's full of Muslims. In Malaysia they have Sharia in some states, harsh religious restrictions in others, and blatant discrimination in favour of Muslims over other groups. You can even be jailed if you're a Muslim and try to convert to another religion, or declare yourself atheist. Almost every 20 something Chinese Malaysian I have ever met has expressed a desire to get out of the country given the chance, unless they were very wealthy to begin with. My ex girlfriend is Chinese Malay, and I'm glad she was able to get a visa in the US.

[DP25]

Because there are no bacon double cheeseburgers in burger-king.

That's true, but then in Thailand there are no quarter pounders at McDonald's because so many Thais don't eat beef.

[drronnie]

Looks that I would rather stay in Thailand after reading all this. Many thanks for your informative comments. much appreciated.

Dear OP, you mean you were looking for actual / truthful thoughts on this subject, all this time I thought it was just another wind up.

Sorry if my comments were off-colour, but they were accurate.

Yes, I am had some thoughts to move to Malaysia in the near future. But the comments have given me another viewpoint about this matter.