Your Ultimate Guide to Moving to Cyberjaya

Is your company giving you a job offer to move or relocate to Cyberjaya, Malaysia? This ultimate guide will help you prepare for your next move.

If you’re reading this chances are your company has offered you a package to relocate to Malaysia, and specifically, in Cyberjaya. This city is relatively new that was built from scratch. It was previously a plantation area with some tin mines.

Today, it is home to multinational corporations, a sizeable population, co-working spaces, fast food outlets, commercial areas and beautiful parks and lake.

In order to make your move as smooth as possible, you need to have some preparation and gather as much useful information as possible. There are already many expatriates in Cyberjaya coming from all corners of the world such as USA, India, China, Europe and Australia.

Knowing Malaysia

I won’t spend time writing about Malaysia since you can easily search for it on Google. However, here’s some essential information about Malaysia:

• It’s located in the heart of South East Asia, surrounded by Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines
• The population is around 30 million
• Malay is the official language but English is widely spoken as it was previously a British colony
• The country is aiming to be fully developed by 2020 although personally there are still plenty of major challenges to get there
• Malaysia is 8 hours ahead of GMT, which is the same timezone as Beijing, China

Knowing Cyberjaya

Cyberjaya was a brainchild of the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir to help transition Malaysia to a high-tech and knowledge-based economy. The initial plan was to make Cyberjaya as the “Silicon Valley of Asia” but that didn’t turn out well. It was revised a couple of times and now the city is aim to be a Global Tech Hub.

The city is built just next to Putrajaya which is the administrative capital of Malaysia, about 35km south of Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). The city is half way between KLCC and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). If you’re used to rail transport then the only connection from KL Sentral station is via KLIA Transit which stops at Putrajaya & Cyberjaya station.

Cost of Living

This is of course one of the most important factors before your relocation. I’ve written some basic information on the average cost of living in Cyberjaya. You can use the information to see how much you can save a month by renting the right place.

Getting a Car

I have to be honest that public transportation is not adequate in Cyberjaya. It’s OK for short commutes if you don’t mind waiting for buses. If you’re always on the run or if your family is relocating with you, a car is a must. There’s no traffic jam in Cyberjaya so far so driving is a breeze. A decent used car can cost anything from RM5,000 and above.

Driving License

If you decide to get a car, you’ll have to get a Malaysian driving license as well. Citizens from the following countries can convert their driving license without having to do any test:

More information on the procedure can be found on the Malaysian Road Transporation website here.

Renting a House or Apartment

Cyberjaya is currently undergoing a property boom and the landscape is ever changing with the construction of new office buildings and apartments. If you plan to rent a house or an apartment in Cyberjaya, you’ll be glad to know that most places are just 5-10 minutes’ drive.

Make Friends

You should take the opportunity to make new friends while you’re in Malaysia. Your colleagues will be able to introduce you to new people. Other places are bars and also coffee shops. If you’re on Facebook be sure to join our online ‘Cyberjaya Community’ Facebook page. There are plenty of expats in Cyberjaya so it’s good to connect with them to exchange information from time to time.

Where to Shop, Dine and Play

You can find almost everything now in Cyberjaya. Cyberjaya’s first shopping centre – D’Pulze was just opened this year. There’s a supermarket inside called Jaya Grocer where you can find plenty of imported food. Next to it there’s a wine shop and some selection of pork and ham.

The new TGV Cinema in D’Pulze is also opening soon so you won’t need to commute so far for the latest movies. A bowling centre can also be found there. There are plenty of food choices in Cyberjaya. If you have a car, you can even drive to Putrajaya.

I hope this guide is useful. If you think this article helped you in any way please tweet, Share on Facebook, +1 below!

Comments

comments