Top 3 Reasons Malaysia is a fantastic digital nomad destination

Malaysia is the only country we have repeatedly returned to during our six years as a digital nomad family.

The quality of life is excellent for the price, and the condos are fantastic. You can find co-working options in the cities and plenty to do.

Read on to learn more about why we think Malaysia is a great digital nomad destination.

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1. Enjoy a fantastic standard of living for a decent price

One of the reasons we think Malaysia is a fab spot for digital nomads is the excellent cost-to-value ratio of living here. The standard of living is very good for a reasonable price.

We returned to Malaysia in 2023 as a stepping stone between Europe and Oceania and because we needed some rejuvenation.

We knew we could come to Malaysia and enjoy an excellent standard of living without blowing our budget.

One of the best draw cards for us is the condo living here. You can rent a lovely, fully-furnished modern apartment by the month. They’re easy to keep clean and tidy, they have all the essentials and excellent facilities.

Having been here before, we had our eye on one particular condo our friends stayed in last time. It has:

❤️A 50-meter pool, a 35-meter pool, and a 20-meter rooftop pool on each block.
❤️A mini skate park, playground, sauna, steam room, outdoor and indoor gym, and table tennis
❤️ Beautifully maintained grounds with grass areas, and lots of greenery
❤️ Nice views of big patches of jungle and across the water to Singapore!

Prices are up worldwide post-COVID. Beforehand, we could get something that met our needs as a family of four for 500-600 USD per month. Now it’s more like 800-1000 USD.

Having stayed in 19 countries over the past six years, and usually for a few months at a time, I can say that the value here compares better than anywhere we’ve been.

Note that when we’re not house-sitting, we prefer low-maintenance apartments; for that, Malaysia is unbeatable. You can even get apartments with ovens, which has been extremely rare for us within our budget for SE Asia.

Our latest Malaysia rental has three bedrooms and three bathrooms and costs around 1000 USD monthly, including bills. The longer you rent, the cheaper it generally gets (this one would have been a bit cheaper, but we only needed one month to tide us over this time).

2. Good quality and affordable co-working spaces

Another reason Malaysia is a fantastic digital nomad destination is the co-working spaces.

While our girls are young and we don’t have a dedicated office space, we find working from home challenging. We’d end up working at the kitchen table surrounded by madness, and while it seems to work for some families, it’s not for us.

We use co-working spaces for guaranteed reliable high-speed internet and space to focus easily and be productive.

Many digital nomads don’t have kids and don’t need these spaces, but others use them for various reasons. They can be a good place to meet others, often have activities for members, and provide a space to work outside the home. The motivational aspect of that is essential for some people.

Malaysia’s cities have fantastic co-working spaces. We’ve been to one in Penang and three in Johor Bahru, the latest of which is Infinity 8.

Honestly, the ones we’ve used do not have the activities or social atmosphere we’ve found in other parts of the world, like Tbilisi (Georgia), Goa (India), Hoi An (Vietnam), and Fethiye (Turkey).

However, as world schoolers, we tend to find that community with other traveling families and local families where we live and who join the same activities as our kids.

(Personally, I have my head down at work anyway, as if I don’t work productively, it keeps me away from my family for longer).

So the co-working we joined in JB is more of a corporate-style establishment. The people are friendly, though, and the spaces are comfortable and have the essentials like tea, coffee, and water filters.

The key thing about co-working in Johor Bahru is that the price per membership is currently only about 70 USD per month. That’s around half the price of a membership in most other places we’ve been to.

And we find in co-working spaces in many developing countries the standards are lower, yet they’re charging more. Many don’t have ergonomic chairs (it’s more about the “look”), and we’ve often been up against ants while trying to work?.

So overall, the co-working spaces in Malaysia’s cities are a big drawcard for digital nomads looking for a relaxed workday.

3. Easy to stay a few months visa-free for many passport holders

Malaysia is an excellent choice for slow-traveling digital nomads. Traveling quickly isn’t sustainable for most of us who chose this lifestyle as an indefinite plan.

As New Zealand passport holders, we can stay in Malaysia visa-free for three months at a time. Check the requirements for your country, but passport holders from several other countries also get the same.

Malaysia is one of the only places we get this sort of deal in Southeast Asia. In most other countries around here, we get one month visa-free, and in many places, we have to apply for visas before visiting.

Whenever we can avoid paperwork and bureaucracy, we will! Therefore, Malaysia gets another tick from us as a digital nomad-friendly location.

Malaysia also has a digital nomad visa. It’s relatively new and something we may look into in the future. However, from the experience of our friends who tried to apply for it recently, it seems like the process isn’t entirely fast or straightforward. Therefore, we will wait to see how things continue to evolve with this.

Other reasons digital nomads will love Malaysia

Apart from the great cost-to-value ratio, co-working spaces, and awesome condos, living in Malaysia has many other things to love. Here are a few:

❤️ Lots of wildlife in and near parks, even in the big cities. We regularly see monkeys in the trees or running along the road, huge monitor lizards in the parks, and turtles in lakes and ponds.

❤️ Malaysia is a melting pot of cultures and a friendly, relaxed place to live.

❤️ It’s a beautiful mix of East meets West. You can eat at cheap local Hawker centers with delicious food or at upscale Western restaurants; it’s up to you. Same with grocery stores and markets – there’s a big range.

❤️ Malaysia has many great parks and hiking trails, often not far from the cities.

❤️English is widely spoken in the cities, so communication is pretty easy for nomads. We try to use a few words of Bahasa and Mandarin here and there, even if we most often get laughed at?. So yes, you can get by with English.

Are you traveling to Malaysia? If so, check out our top recommendations for family-friendly things to do in Penang, Johor Bahru, KL, and the Cameron Highlands.

Families might also want to read what we thought about Legoland Malaysia, while foodies can discover the best vegetarian restaurants in Penang.

If you’re a digital nomad, make sure you check out our top recommendations for digital nomad tools.

Do you have questions or comments about Malaysia? Please feel free to join the conversation below!

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