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Neighbourhoods & Buildings to stay in

If you only come for 1-2 weeks​

Just stay in a hotel near inside Bukit Bintang & KLCC area. Avoid dodgy neighbourhoods like Chow Kit, Pudu.

1 hostel to consider: Digital Nomad House KL Bt Bintang - They run get-together events for travellers from time to time (not sponsored, not reviewed, just doing a favour)

If you stay for 1-3 months​

Do Transit Oriented Developments = Condo on a shopping mall, connected to a train station. If you do not possess private transports and want maximum weekday convenience, consider these TOD residences:

  1. Ekocheras Residences at MRT Taman Mutiara — Connected to 2 malls. 6 MRT stops from Bt Bintang. Perfect for foodies who want to stay close to downtown but not in it.
  2. Sunway Velocity at MRT Cochrane & MRT Maluri — Sunway Velocity mall, IKEA, MyTown all linked to the MRT station, has Regus coworking space. Only 2 MRT stops from Bt Bintang. Condos: V Residences, UNA Serviced Apartments, Lavile.
  3. BBCC Lucentia at LRT/Monorail Hang Tuah — 2 monorail stops to Bukit Bintang, connected to the new Lalaport mall. Unfortunately it’s connected to 2 bad train lines. Condo: Lucentia Residences.
  4. KL Gateway Residences at Bangsar South. Connected to LRT Universiti, has Village Grocer, Anytime Fitness in the mall. However on weekday this condo is likely to have the WORST traffic due to Bangsar South's poorly planned roads.

If you stay for 1-2 years​

These are where the KL expats usually stay, but most do not come with public transportation, so buy a car:

  1. Mont Kiara. The go-to expat neighbourhood of KL, plenty of good korean and japanese restaurants, with upscale bars. The best condos are along Jalan Kiara on the same row as Kiara 163, One Mont Kiara.
  2. Desa Parkcity. More family oriented than Mont Kiara. It has a dog-friendly Plaza Arkadia mall.
  3. KLCC & Bukit Bintang. Downsides are constant traffic congestions, lack of good local food choices, and is overall rather un-Malaysian if you want to avoid something too tourist-oriented. Good condos include: Star Residences, Marc Residences, One KL, etc.
  4. Bangsar and Damansara Heights. Affluent neighbourhood, much less shady than KLCC/BB areas, decent nightlife and western foods.

Avoid these hoods​

Chow Kit, Pudu.