Hey, something a little different (again!) at the weekend I will be creating some long exploring vlogs, so, let me know where I should head to in Kuala Lumpur!!
Mont Kiara is one of four places in KL where most expatriates live. The other three are Bangsar, U Thant and Ampang Point. These areas are in stark contrast to the less "prosperous" enclaves such as Kampung Baru, Keramat, Selayang, Sungai Pencala, Pudu, etc where migrant workers from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar etc tend live. Mont Kiara - mostly Americans, Japanese and South Koreans. Bangsar - mostly those from Commonwealth countries. U Thant mostly diplomatic staff and their families. Ampang Point almost all South Koreans. Middle East residents from Saudi, Iran, the Gulf States etc tend to be concentrated in certain condominium complexes rather than by areas. But by no means those expatriate areas are where rich Malaysians live. You have to go to areas such as Kenny Hill, Damansara Heights, Jalan Duta... to have a peek at them.
Thank you for sharing all of that. Not heard of some of those places, but yes, was interested in capturing an area which is less local and more focused towards Expats and foreigners.
@Řæívöñ It is, but by common usage it also refers to the areas immediately around the mall. The so called Korean Village or Little Korea is the small area across the road from Ampang Point.
Thanks, where is the Desa part of the city? Would love to explore there. Trying to get around more of the local neighbourhoods in the next week rather than the usual tourist thing.
@@charlestjochsrlest6355 Agreed. DPC is nice with wide open space and dog friendly and has a beautiful lake with al fresco cafes/restos etc. However it is slowly turning into another MK after the opening of the International School. More expats are moving there. But I still like it. I go for my runs there occasionally coz I live between MK and DPC.
Hello, thanks for watching! Yes, I do love KL, and feel that it probably shows more in the videos. I'll do an apartment / local area tour next week and upload it next weekend.
I used to live here but moved away as it's a bit pricy. Traffic into Mont Kiara at rush hour was a killer. I'm living in Bukit Jalil area now. Great to see you post a video of my first area of living as an expat!
Darren, go explore around Petaling Jaya like Damansara area, SS2, Bandar Sunway area, you get to see more of Klang Valley than just exploring around KL
In 1990 there was only trees here. Only 30 years later it is difficult to find any one. "Lots of trees" is not the best comment. It is the most densely populated area in the country. Traffic is getting worst everyday and crossing the road is getting more challenging High rises and shopping malls are still growing like mushrooms. It convenient because everything in walling distance but less and less pleasant. Btw, there is a bus (nb852) every 20 minutes week days bringing travellers to the nearest MRT station (Pusat Bandar Damansara). The journey cost RM 1 and takes 10 minutes. So there is public transport in MK. I ve lived here for the past year but I am happily moving next month to avoid this urban jungle madness. Cheers
Thank you! I had been watching ALL of your previous KL/Malaysia posts and am so excited to see you're back there again! I hope we love it there as much as you do. Will spread the word in hopes of you reaching 10,000 :)@@remotedarren
traffic there is nasty. there are only 2 or 3 roads in and out of the neighbourhood. connection is terrible. there are no metro nearby. the other side of the neighbourhood is Segambut. Elite is a label that developers put to sell at an overprices rate. Kiara is relatively new township, probably develop in the late 90s. But overall, that place is a fail. Best address in Malaysia to live in is places like Bangsar Bukit Bandaraya, Damansara heights, Taman Tun, Ampang U-thant. This places have been tested with time. But if you are solo expat, any condos with good metro connection is good enough.
Thanks for sharing, very interesting and yes, the traffic looks a nightmare, and was surprised to see the town surrounded by the huge motorway network.
You're right that it looks a bit soulless, but it also looks pretty tranquil and quiet. LOL I'm glad you mentioned Chinese New Year. I forgot it was coming up, and I'd wondered about all of the red paper lanterns. I thought it might be a Chinese neighborhood.
Hey Grace, yes, not a great deal of character there to be completely honest. Some of the side streets were quite peaceful, but not an area I would stay in myself. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the video Darren. great to see that after you decided to stop trying making a living from RU-vid your channel is gathering more and more followers. Touching 8k. Would be happy to see your apartment. Thanks
This fella ☝is quite funny sometimes! Mont Kiara is a high end, exclusive area, mostly the residents are among upper class, executive personnel. That is the reason why they are lack of public transport. I would suggest Bangsar or Wangsa Maju, you can find a more live community & environment. Sir, I would really like to know what kind of places, facilities & accommodations that you normally choose when moving - staying from place to place as a remote worker, cheers!
Hello! Yes, 100% expat/affluent area of the city, but still an interesting explore, although not a great deal to see unless you like high-end shops and the typical western coffee places. I've done a video on Bangsar before, but will see how far Wanga Maju is from me and pay a visit next week if I can.
@@remotedarren Awesome! My office is at TTDI, Damansara & everytime our board directors & foreign investors came over, they will stay at Mont Kiara. You hardly can find poor looking, lower class Malaysian there & it is almost completely developed place where you can't find much of construction sites & foreign labors walking down the street. That is the real level of Mont Kiara. That is from my opinion for the past 3 - 4 years back of that place, yet can't denied that we can still see trees, or more correctly said, landscape decoration trees, been planted accordingly, together with the buildings. Birds and insect wil come later once the created environment stabilize. Cheers.
@@remotedarren wangsa maju has nothing interesting. since you are going to PJ, better have short visit to Universiti Malaya, the oldest university in Malaysia located at KL / PJ. very nice environment there
mont kiara tempat yang cantik di kuala lumpur yang sangat jarang didedahkan dalam video. terima kasih tuan kerana memaparkan aktiviti serta keunikan di mont kiara yang terkenal sebagai tempat tinggal golongan ekspatriat di kuala lumpur. video ini sangat bermanfaat untuk mereka di luar sana yang ingin melancong atau menetap kerana bertugas di malaysia. _(please translate to english if you do not understand the malay language in google translate)._
Kindness Reflection thanks, yes plan to do more of that type of exploring to see other areas of the city. I’ll do my apartment tour and explore next week ☺️
Nice.. haven't seen many videos on mont Kiara. I thought it would be tough finding places to eat but good to see you didn't have issues. Would definitely consider this area when I need to grind it out in the apartment. Would be cool if you could do a cost break down or a summary of grab costs, time and traffic going into the city. Doesn't look like public transport is reliable in this area as most locals have a car.
Hey Chris, mentioned a little about travel time into the city towards the end of the video, but yes, next time I do a tour of a local area, I'll remember to provide that information. From Mont Kiara, you're looking at 25-30 minutes, longer in rush hour. Cost is around 10-20RM depending where in the city but bear in mind these prices can double during peak times. Public transport is not found in this area, other than a bus, which I suspect gets stuck in traffic a lot. Not the most accessible area of the city.
Hey D. Seems like a place where expats would like as it's an easy intro to M'sia. But very comfortable. Do give a tour of your place/neighbourhood. Would you have time to explore other alternative neighbourhoods to compare? Happy trails and explore safely
The high-rise building u shown on ur whole Mt. Kiara video just 5%-10% only I think..one more thing the rich Malaysian they r don't like to use public transport when going out..They like to use their luxury expensive car or use grab..
Hey, thanks for watching and commenting, and yes, I realised after filming this that there's no need for public transport since most people living here will have cars or use Grab.
(Belated) Welcome back, Darren! Another great 'slice of life' walkabout in KL, albeit of the anodyne kind (haha) - Mont Kiara gives off vibes of the densely packed Singaporean centres. Hope this video gets many more views from expats or would-be expats casting their eyes around.
Do you get good views up there? Looks like you might. I was surprised to see the motorway network around Mont Kiara, which was pretty impressive how much you can build in such a small space.
I once lived in publika, but move after a year.. Reasonwise, very hard to find places/restaurant to eat... I can't eat Starbucks or fine sushi everyday... So yeah living outside mont kiara like Taman Tun would be much much more worth it...
Yes, that's what I found about walking around Mont Kiara very few local food places. Thankfully where I am there's plenty of local places alongside the ones you mention.
Love it there is very good at the mall one way to get cool very good clean place thank you for sharing your beautiful video I wish I was there to do it again thank you for sharing,
Damansara seems a nice area, close to E Curve and one Utama malls, condos like Empire and Neo around Aust$30 a night. Not too much street food..but I may be wrong, im sure you would find it mate!
Hey, no, not as much character, to be honest it felt just like any city back home in the UK, other than more apartment complexes. Nothing really Malaysian about it, but then I suppose for expats, they like this kind of thing.
Hey, welcome back in the comments, it's good to see you! Is Bukit Jelutong easily accessible by public transport? I don't drive and not sure if they are Grab drivers there to bring me back to KL. Could get a taxi there but always a struggle to get one back.
@Amir Ismail Not quite. Mont Kiara is no doubt a high end area where many expats reside. But where the rich people live are those areas with Heights or Hill name - Kenny Hill (Bukit Tunku), Damansara Heights (Bukit Damansara), Country Heights, Bangsar Hills...
mont kiara, hartamas, damansara, ttdi area are just upscale not too 'elite'.elite people lives on landed properties such as damansara heights, country heights kajang, kenny hills.
Hi Darren..love your video...when you will come to penang...If you like a nature I will take you to my hometown kedah. Go to lata sedim and lata bukit hijau in the jungle of kulim.hi..hi..waterfall...
i am from canada. i been living in MK for 9 years now .... the best place to live for expats in kuala lumpur by far .... schools, lifestyle, the crowd, quality top notch
hi darren. i got a house in Dutamas Raya,one of the enclaves of the so callled mont kiara. I agreed with you.Mont Kiara is a too commercials. it got 5 malls in a few distances. nothing much there actually. Not much of culture. and just like Paviliion Mall..it is just 'Plastic' , Not original and too much of hype and too many 'wannabees' . Not a place to be if you want to see real Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia.
I have been living in Mont Kiara or what the locals would call MK for 10 years already. Its a great place to stay. Traffic can be bad sometimes but its nowhere as bad as the traffic in the city centre or certain areas in PJ. Lots of good food nearby in desa sri hartamas and i cant see myself staying anywhere else for now
andy stubbs it’s worth a look for an afternoon chill out/explore. Not somewhere I’d like to live. I’m creating a random vlog in chow kit tomorrow! Will be up on Sunday.
for your currency is cheap . but if u work in malaysia, mont kiara is upper class where rich and executives lives. most of them hv drivers to chaffeur around lol thats y lack of public transport .. not my taste. too fancy ... haha
Cool, much prefer areas like Pudu and Keramat which are areas I've stayed in before, but it was interesting to see what an area Mont Kiara is because a lot of people keep recommending I go stay there.
Mont kiara is like a different country. It is far from the reality of Malaysia. I guess you would love it if you want or miss "1st world" environment. Otherwise it is not so Malaysia, most malaysian can't afford living there except for businessmen and elitist
Even if im filthy rich i dont wana live in mont kiara. The traffic is so bad there and parking is almost impossible at times. Its considered an upscale area but its just a mess to me
Mont Kiara: BEST Place to Live in KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia? ermmm .. nomy wife did some of the legal work on the property contracts for the law firm representing developers .. and her general opinion was ... overpriced and like so many of malaysians residential developments , full of problems for years to come.. Best place? the heights at damansara, but very expensive( usually conservative and old money)couldn't quite afford to live there, so we settled for damansara near the curve on the outskirts,
Thanks for sharing. It was a question, but got discussion going which I love. A few people mentioned Damansara, so might get there next week and have an explore around.
