MM2H Dreams: A New Life in Malaysia for a Couple from Southampton
As a couple in our early 50s, living in Southampton has been pretty comfortable, let that be said. But with that said, over the past few years especially, we've started to feel that something is missing. The political and social unrest in the UK has left us longing for a quieter, more predictable life. We've both been teachers for a long time, but the idea of early retirement, ideally in a tropical paradise, is becoming more appealing by the day. We don't have children, which makes the possibility of relocating simpler of course. But, yes, after a good amount of research, we've found what we believe is the perfect solution: the Malaysia My Second Home visa.
MM2H: Malaysia My 2nd Home
Also known as MM2H, the Malaysia My Second Home visa offers UK citizens like us a fantastic opportunity to move to Malaysia and enjoy all the benefits of an expat lifestyle, without the restrictions that many other such Golden Visas impose. I mean, MM2H's financial advantages are hard to overlook. With our home fully paid for, we'd rent it out and from our due diligence, this'll easily cover our living costs in Malaysia. The lower cost of living there is a huge bonus in and of itself, but when you add in the excellent exchange rate between Sterling and the Malaysian Ringgit, things get really interesting. I mean, we're talking about a multiplication factor of more than 5! Clearly, that equates to quite a leap in our disposable income.
One of the most attractive aspects of the MM2H visa is that it's designed for people who want to stay in Malaysia long-term. Better yet, MM2H-holders can actually wire all foreign income without paying any Malaysian taxes on it. In practice, this means we can tt our UK savings and rental income from our UK bank to our Malaysia bank without any tax penalties. Now, this is a level of financial freedom we haven't been anle to find in other Golden Visa countries.
Expat Lifestyle Awaits
But besides the financial perks, Malaysia has a lot to offer in terms of lifestyle as well. For one, two and three, the food is world-class, the people are friendly and there's a sense of space and calm that we can no longer find as easily in the UK. Additionally, we also found out that Malaysia has quite a large expat community, including a lot of Brits, probably the result of the history the two countries share. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Malaysia's numerous lifestyle pull factors had something to do with this. Along with the MM2H visa privileges and benefits of course.
See the Sun
It's no secret that Malaysia is also known for its favourable climate—something we're very keen on. Having spent most of our lives battling the perennially cool, grey weather in the UK, the idea of waking up every day to comfy temperatures and sunny skies sounds incredibly appealing.
Health is Wealth
Healthcare in Malaysia is another factor that puts our minds at ease. The medical facilities are excellent, with private hospitals offering world-class care at a fraction of the cost of private healthcare in the UK. As we get older, knowing we'll have access to affordable, quality healthcare is very reassuring.
Anyway, as it happens, we've already started looking into property options in Malaysia. So for the first year, we plan to just rent a place. This will buy us some time, which we'll use to get to know the country better, just to make sure we're choosing the right location for our new life. The other step we've taken is whittle down the number of MM2H agent contenders we've found online to the one we will be using. We're confident that this agent will guide us through the application process smoothly. And in fact, we like what we've learned so far.
In short, MM2H offers us a chance to enjoy an early retirement in a beautiful, sun-kissed country, with all the financial and lifestyle benefits we could ask for. And the best part is that our UK home will always be there for us, on the off-chance our move didn't quite pan out as expected. To us, that makes this move almost a no-brainer. No wonder we're ever so excited :)
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