Surprise, surprise! Penang in the top 10 in a list of best places for Americans to retire by travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveler. Truly the Pearl of the Orient, the magazine touts Penang’s culinary wonders, thriving art scene and historical architecture as top draws for its potential as a top retirement destination.
Anyone whose been in Malaysia for more than a couple of months will most likely have heard of Penang and its legendary food as the food scene has long been a draw for locals as a road-trip destination.
Penang cendol, pasembur and asam laksa are some of the dishes that have gained a reputation as being must-try food for anyone visiting Penang. You’d be hard pressed to find restaurants or stalls outside of Penang that sell ‘authentic Penang’ food as good as the original.
As for the culture, Penang is home to numerous historical sites and buildings that are over 100 years old, as Penang was once a thriving harbour for trade and was under direct British Rule in the early 1800s. Many of these buildings still stand and have become heritage sites that attract a great many tourists from around the the world.
See also: The Peranakan culture in Penang
Apart from that, Conde Nast also listed Penang’s international health-care standard, English-speaking expat community, beaches and Georgetown’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage site as lures as well. Also a draw is the ease of travelling from Penang to other top destinations, like Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi and Singapore; all only a quick flight away.
The travel magazine also stated that the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) initiative by the Malaysian government makes Penang even more attractive to retirees. The MM2H program offers a 10-year renewable multiple entry visa to citizens of any country recognised by Malaysia and it includes benefits in purchasing or importing cars as well as buying property. To find out more about the MM2H program, please visit www.mm2h.com.
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Yojas Samarth
Diane Fennelly
Majoree Lyn Arnar
Wah Daryl Lim
Bila Selangor akan ikut?
Suzanne Tan May Quinn how?
I hope people don’t take this seriously….
And why is that Alejandro?
Alejandro is right about this…the beach is no good, nightlife is no good, restaurants need more people as most of the time they are empty. I signed a 2 years lease and left after 5 months…nothing to do…The least the city of penang could do to attract more people is to clean the beaches and make some jelly fish safe areas..what is the point of moving to penang if you cant swim??? not to mention insanely priced properties comparing it with other similar cities in south east asia.
Simply because it’s ludicrous. Say it’s a “good place to retire” but don’t say it’s number 2. Far from that. The weather is not good. The beaches are among the worst of Malaysia. The food is simply boring after a week. The people are uninteresting. This is a boring place. Yes it can be cheap, but for that matter there are many more places that are cheap. I can think of many places that might make the top list but Penang is not one of them. Sorry.
Penuh la dengan warga China
I can see Mick applying for MM2H.
Mick Jagger 🙂
Yeah him too.