2.79/5
555 reviews
Photo by Sabeer Darr via Unsplash

Cost of Living in Penang

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cafes

internet

slow

hot

nice

great

food

fast

super

friendly

good

cafe

english

eat

cheap

speed

affordable

small

stay

Penang offers a culturally rich experience with its mix of traditions and backgrounds, which many visitors appreciate during shorter stays. It is also an affordable destination, generally making it attractive for budget-conscious travelers. However, a few consistent drawbacks were highlighted across the reviews.

Several visitors were significantly bothered by the excessive heat and humidity, with some noting it as a reason they could not stay long-term. Additionally, noise pollution, particularly from frequent and loud mosque prayer calls across the city, was a major issue for some travelers and negatively impacted their experience. Overall, Penang may be best suited for short stays to explore its cultural offerings and affordability, while those sensitive to heat and noise should take these factors into serious consideration.

AI-generated summary of reviews
5 months ago

Penang is really, really hot and humid. It's pretty affordable but it's relatively small. Personally, I think traveling Penang is great because you have a mix of cultures but I couldn't stay here for a longer time because it is so unbelievable hot.

3 years ago

The noise pollution here is insane. The prayer calls from the mosques seem to reverberate throughout Penang. Seems like they are competing for who can be the loudest. This really ruined Penang for me and I cut my time short.

5 years ago

We picked up 4G SIM from the airport for $5 that got us 20Gb for the 2 weeks we visited the place to see if we wanted to work here.

6 years ago

Penang is great.

It's everything the rest of Malaysia is not: Penang is clean, super safe, people are friendly, the food won't make you sick.

Penang probably is not the next nomad hotspot soon though but it could be. There's quite a lot of cafes, but not many are good for laptopping. Very few cafes have solid airconditioning, so it'll be hot. They do usually have fans though. Most buildings are small built here, so cafes can also be quite cramped and get crowded fast, especially around lunch and late afternoons. Also cafes close very early, like 5pm or 6pm.

Internet is legendarily slow, doesn't matter if it's in your hotel or cafe. Internet in Penang in general is just very slow. But there's an easy fix for that: buy a 4G Hotlink SIM card and top it up every day/week with a few gigabyte. Then use your phone to tether. It'll be extremely fast at around 40 Mbps, vs the WiFi's at 1 Mbps (!).

Great thing vs. for example Thailand is that people here speak almost perfect English, and compared to Kuala Lumpur people here are generally quite educated. Also about the people: Penangites are just really friendly and nice. They know you're a tourist and it doesn't matter, they're happy to help you get around and give tips where to go. Really friendly and chill people.

Food is good but I'll be real here, there's kinda limited options. Everything is either Malay, Indian or Chinese. Which is nice, but gets limited fast.

Some recommendations to work:
- Wheeler's cafe (ask or book beforehand to make sure you sit in the aircon area upstairs)
- Coffee Addicts cafe
- Daily Dose (make sure you order food here though cause they don't seem to like laptops that much)

To eat:
- Nasi Kandar Line Clear, yes it's an alley way but nice and you won't get sick, very clean: go there ask for rice and beef or chicken and vegetables and curry sauce, it'll be $2 or $3 USD, ask for hot tea, that's how locals eat it. It's open 24/7.
- Halab, a Syrian restaurant, it's not cheap (think $20 for a meal) but it's a loooot of grilled meat, good if you need protein after gym, also didn't get sick it so seems safe.

I think if Penang gets some nice aircon'd hipster cafes that like laptops, fixes its slow WiFi speeds everywhere and gets more nomads coming, it could very well become a new nomad hotspot in Asia.

6 years ago

Beware of slow internet speed! It's also difficult to get month-to-month accommodation. Airbnb is basically the only choice. I got a great studio apartment at the Kim Haus for $620/month, which includes tourist tax of RM10 per day. Excellent location. But the internet is so slow it is unusable. And there are very few cafes that have better internet. One of the better cafes in town happens to be across the street from the Kim Haus. It's called Coffee Addicts.

6 years ago

I've been living here for a year. English is widely used everywhere so you don't need to learn any other language. Internet at home fiber 1Gbps super fast. Rental is both cheap and expensive, you can find places as cheap as $100 per month and as expensive as $1000-$2000 for luxury style condos. Food is excellent, you can literally eat every day out for less than $5 per meal + drink and never repeat the same restaurant. Maybe the only downside is that as it's so hot people only do exercise very early in the morning or at night or in the gyms (usually condos have a gym).

6 years ago

Loved Penang! I rented an Airbnb 1BR apartment in Straits Quay for a month @ $35/nt and rent is probably lower if you stay longer or live in a less touristy area. Great food, easy transportation, nice beaches, super affordable plus my host upgraded wifi to 30mbps. Everyone speaks English, thanks to Malaysia's colonial history and the people are so hospitable. I hope to move there permanently someday!

6 years ago

SLOW internet speed and local people mostly relies on 4G/LTE networks instead of cables. However, I need to recommend the Wheeler's: https://goo.gl/maps/Z2cLP2y9hqT2 It has the fast internet speed in town, around 20Mbps download/upload.

7 years ago

✅ Very affordable

✅ Cultural diversity

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Democratic

✅ People can speak basic English

✅ Very safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ LGBTQ+ friendly

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ Not a lot of alcohol abuse

❌ Extreme heat and humidity

❌ High noise pollution

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Not much to do

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Roads are very dangerous

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

33°C / 91°F hot

34°C / 93°F hot

36°C / 97°F hot

35°C / 95°F hot

37°C / 99°F hot

35°C / 95°F hot

34°C / 93°F hot

35°C / 95°F hot

34°C / 93°F hot

33°C / 91°F hot

36°C / 97°F hot

Real (median)

29°C / 84°F
very warm

30°C / 85°F
very warm

30°C / 86°F
very warm

30°C / 85°F
very warm

30°C / 86°F
very warm

30°C / 85°F
very warm

29°C / 84°F
very warm

30°C / 85°F
very warm

29°C / 84°F
very warm

29°C / 83°F
very warm

30°C / 86°F
very warm

Humidity

sweaty
75%

sweaty
71%

sweaty
75%

sweaty
78%

sweaty
79%

sweaty
77%

sweaty
78%

sweaty
79%

sweaty
80%

sweaty
81%

sweaty
76%

Most common

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
69mm

dry
15mm

rainy
182mm

rainy
222mm

rainy
250mm

rainy
177mm

rainy
208mm

rainy
209mm

rainy
259mm

rainy
338mm

rainy
361mm

rainy
236mm

Cloud

cloudy
85%

cloudy
57%

cloudy
66%

cloudy
90%

cloudy
88%

cloudy
85%

cloudy
90%

cloudy
85%

cloudy
88%

cloudy
85%

cloudy
52%

Sun

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

Remote workers

1,267 people

1,545 people

985 people

850 people

640 people

871 people

1,091 people

585 people

873 people

886 people

1,050 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

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✈️1h

$1,602 / mo

24 Mbps

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 30° 86° 26° 79° 🥵

✈️24min

$1,570 / mo

17 Mbps

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

Vietnam

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73° AQI 168 😷

✈️2h

$1,079 / mo

🌇 Also went here208 people

Ubud, Bali

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 8° 46° 9° 49° AQI 63 😷

✈️14h

$4,475 / mo

🌇 Also went here185 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 15° 59° 15° 59° AQI 30

✈️15h

$3,833 / mo

🌇 Also went here189 people

400 remote workers in Penang now, of which 1+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.79/5 (Rank #134) 555 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍12 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,145 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 17 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 27°C81°F (feels 31°C88°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 80%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😊 High: 80%
👌 Safety	Good
👩 Safe for women	Great
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Okay
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Low: $792 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Good
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Good
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Good
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Malaysia
🗓️ Average trip length	8 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	17 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌦 27°C 81°F + 🥵 Sweaty (80%) = feels 31°C 88°F
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Grab
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10 MYR in USD	USD 2.43
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	MYR 1,000 = USD 243
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
💻 Best coworking space	Settlements
☕️ Best coffee place	Wheeler's
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	10% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	3,194,400 visitors
📸 Tourists now	61,221 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	740,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$9,508 / year
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 81% 👱‍♀️ 19%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Lazada
🏠 Apartment listings	Ibilik
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Asia
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Malaysia
🏥 Best hospital	Gleneagles Medical Centre

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,145 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$833 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$1,841 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$526 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$389 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,207 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$267 / month
🏠 Median home price	$121,551
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$18 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$40 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$78 / month
🍛 Dinner	$2
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$4
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$6,313 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$7 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$1 / trip