Why Malaysia?

The other question I pondered long and hard.

There are a few important considerations for me as a retired 50 something year old when pondering where to live.

• Where is it possible to get a visa for
• What countries that meet that criterion tick the boxes in terms of where I'd like to live
• How stable are they now and in the future

One you go through the process of considering countries on the basis of the above the World shrinks considerably. Several countries made the short list:

• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Thailand
• South Africa
• Panama
• Spain
• France
• Italy

Without going in to a blow by blow account, the list was narrowed down in my case because of the following considerations:

1) Malaysia: Benefits and stability of the retirement visa, variety of food and cultures, cosmopolitan, good standard of living and lower costs, well placed for travel in Asia, good climate, English widely spoken.

2) Phillipines: Similar option but perhaps more one dimensional (Philippine) from what I gather than the greater diversity of Malaysia. I am a bit of a 'foodie' and Malaysian cuisine I gather is more diverse and, dare I say, better.

3) South Africa: Good visa option. Real concerns over high crime/risk and the numbers of SAs who leave (for the same reasons).

4) Thailand: Again OK but it seems less advanced/sophisticated that 1 & 2 above and there are more concerns over stability.

5) Panama: Very good visa options, some concerns over crime etc, perhaps less well developed outside of Panama City, not so good cost of living wise, only really well placed for the US and Central America

6) Europe: Fits the bill in some ways but for me, largely a warmer version of the UK and in most cases don't tick the boxes of what appeals about Asia. Costly in some cases too.

So, after much pondering, Malaysia it is, the next step being to go and check it out.