Steve and Eva Telenius-Lowe
This is our first MM2H interview brought to you all the way from the beautiful land of Sabah. This month, Britons Steve and Eva Telenius-Lowe share with The Expat their experience and adventures in living in Malaysia under the MM2H programme. Happy and settled in East Malaysia, they are proud to call Malaysia their second home. Steve is from England and Eva hails originally from Sweden.
The Expat: How long have you lived in Malaysia under the Malaysia My Second Home programme?
Eva: It will be two years, this July.
The Expat: What made you choose this part of Malaysia?
Steve: We knew an expat who was selling an apartment here, so we came to have a look-see. Although we decided against buying it, we liked Kota Kinabalu very much and felt it would be an ideal place to settle down. Having decided not to buy the original apartment (we rented an apartment in a condo in the centre of KK on a short term lease), we then began looking to buy land to build our "dream" house and came close on two deals, but boundary issues seemed to get very complicated. A reliable local contact recommended a house for rent with four bedrooms and a good size garden for a very reasonable rate. It's in a village just outside KK, in the district of Penampang. It had just been renovated and we moved in on 1 June last year. We are very happy there indeed.
The Expat: Have you lived or visited Malaysia prior to that?
Eva: Yes, we first visited Tioman Island as a side-trip from a stay in Singapore en route to a work contact in Papua New Guinea in 1991. We then visited Penang on holiday in 1996. Steve first visited Sabah in 1998. We both came here at Christmas 2004 to see if we thought it was a suitable location for MM2H and returned to live here seven months later.
The Expat: What was the main reason you decided to come and live here under the MM2H programme?
Steve: After living and working in Papua New Guinea for three years, we wanted to retire eventually to somewhere in the tropics. But the question was 'where'? Most 'tropical paradise' countries have diffi cult or impossible immigration laws or are far too expensive. The MM2H programme makes Malaysia an easy country to settle in and the cost of living is low, making it fi nancially attractive. Anyway, we had visited Malaysia on holiday several times and knew that wewould be happy here.
The Expat: What do you like most about living in Malaysia?
Steve: The climate, genuinely friendly people, and the fact that English is widely spoken here, good standard of living combined with low cost of living - and Air Asia, to enable cheap travel in Malaysia and the South East Asia region.
The Expat: Did you travel outside Malaysia in the last year?
Steve: Yes, twice to Cambodia, twice to Singapore and our next trip will be to Vietnam.
The Expat: Did you take any trips within Malaysia in the last year?
Steve: Yes, to KL about two or three times, Langkawi, Johor Bahru, Miri in Sarawak, as well as within Sabah to Sandakan, Kudat and Tawau.
By Mike Steel
