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Kuala Lumpur vs Manila: Cost of Living
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Despite being a developed city, why is the cost of living much cheaper in Kuala Lumpur than in Bangkok, Jakarta, HCM, Phnom Penh or Manila?
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More developed doesn’t mean more expensive. But, really, I don’t think Kuala Lumpur is cheaper than Jakarta, Bangkok, or Ho Chi Minh City. Even my Malaysian friends admit that standard living in Jakarta is way lower than in KL. For example. Standard meal for street food vendors in KL is about MYR 10–15. In Jakarta, the capital, it will be only IDR 15.000 – IDR 30.000 or approximately MYR 5 – 10. It will be even cheaper in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. Bottled mineral water 200 ml in KL minimarkets is about MYR 1–2, depends on the brand. In Jakarta, it is less than MYR 1. Travel cost in Kuala Lumpur is about MYR 2 for short distance by rail or bus. In Jakarta, you only need MYR 1 for the WHOLE journey by TransJakarta buses or Commuter Trains. For long distance travel, KL to Butterworth by train for example, will cost you from MYR 59 (4 hours train ride, less than 1 hour flight). Meanwhile, train from Jakarta to Yogyakarta (8 hours train ride, 1 hour flight) is started from IDR 74.000 or about MYR 20–25. The trains are all air-conditioned, equipped with charging port and train attendants. Yes, the trains are slower than the Malaysian trains and not really apple to apple, but my point is, you always have cheaper options when you’re in Jakarta.
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I will only include Jakarta as a comparison to Kuala Lumpur because I am more familiar with the lifestyle in Jakarta than other cities mentioned. One of many other factors I know is the transportation. When being compared, KL’s public transportations are still far better than Jakarta’s. And then again when you compare the safety in KL and Jakarta, KL will be ahead. That leaves only one better choice for people in Jakarta which is to afford vehicles. Then again, people in KL won’t have to spend that much money if they want to own vehicles because the government highly support local products (ex : Proton, Perodua), unlike Jakarta. When you have your own vehicles, of course you will have to spend extra expense for petrol. In KL, the price of the petrol is also cheaper than in Jakarta. There are many other factors in what causing the difference of living cost between each cities. But that above is just one that is so visible that I could come up with. Thank you for reading this!