Living in Malaysia

Malaysia strikes a comfortable balance, with middling pay set against middling costs and enough surviving tax that a salary leaves a steady surplus. Hiring is reachable for an outsider with the right skills, and while English doesn't cover every workplace, it carries in the fields most likely to take you, among them tech, engineering, and construction. None of it is spectacular, and that is rather the point. It's a place where a working life can be solid without being a struggle.

Malaysia draws far more people than it sends: 3.6M foreign-born residents make up 10% of the population, against 2.4M Malaysians abroad. The immigrant population, up 6% over the past decade, is anchored by neighboring Indonesia — 1.8M Indonesians alone — followed by workers from Nepal and Myanmar. The Malaysian diaspora, meanwhile, concentrates next door in Singapore.