3.53/5
104 reviews
Photo by Louis Gan via Unsplash

Johor Bahru

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project

lost

great

singapore

times

Johor Bahru (JB) has been developing quickly, with many modern shopping centers and plenty of good food options available throughout the city. The general vibe is more relaxed compared to neighboring Singapore, which many visitors find appealing. There are also reasonably priced housing options in peaceful communities such as Leisure Farm and Bayou Creek, making it suitable for extended stays.

However, while JB shows a lot of potential, it struggles with follow-through on major projects. There are frequent reports of failed or underused developments, like Forest City, and many public transport projects that never materialize. A big concern is the local healthcare system—some visitors shared serious negative experiences, raising questions about quality and reliability.

Despite its flaws, JB offers plenty of positives that still make it a rewarding place to live or visit for extended time. The relatively low cost of living and laid-back pace of life continue to attract people, but anyone considering long-term relocation should be aware of the limitations, especially in healthcare and infrastructure.

AI-generated summary of reviews
1 year ago

There are some lovely communities to base yourself from with very reasonable rents. Check out Leisure Farm, Bayou Creek.

3 years ago

JB is developing nicely. Lot of ultra modern shopping centers, good food everywhere, ppl are more chill than in SGP.
JB however can't seem to go the distance. Shops and new fashipnable areas are empty. Project disasters like the ghost Forest City. Frequently cancelled public transport projects. Healthcare is still questionable. (Lost 2 rellies to poor/wrong treatment in JB. One of them just recently.)
If JB just pulled off what they intend to do, it would be a great place.
Still love visiting JB and could stay for extended time. The upsides are bigger than the downsides.

4 years ago

Johor is a dirty, ugly city across the causeway from northern Singapore. It's a very busy crossing both ways. I've been here many times to shop with my wife and MIL but have nothing to recommend. It was at least a cheap place to get glasses. Last time I went the 1MDB project had been launched to great fanfare in Johor. It was supposed to the the project that would unseat Singapore. It turned out to be a big scam and lots of people lost money, especially the Malay taxpayers.
Other parts of Malaysia are fantastic (Borneo, Penang, KK, KL). Johor is kind of lousy. Got sick a few times eating there.

6 years ago

✅ Good food

✅ Affordable rent

✅ Modern shopping centers

✅ Relaxed atmosphere

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality usually

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Good hospitals

✅ Democratic

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ Not a lot of alcohol abuse

❌ Unreliable public transport

❌ Healthcare concerns

❌ Underdeveloped or empty areas

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Not very safe

❌ Not much to do

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Roads are very dangerous

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not safe for women

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

3391°
hot

3595°
hot

38100°
hot

3595°
hot

38100°
hot

3595°
hot

38100°
hot

3697°
hot

Real (median)

2882°
very warm

2984°
very warm

3086°
very warm

2984°
very warm

3086°
very warm

2984°
very warm

3086°
very warm

2984°
very warm

Humidity

sweaty
88%

sweaty
82%

sweaty
85%

sweaty
84%

sweaty
83%

sweaty
84%

sweaty
83%

sweaty
87%

sweaty
88%

Most common

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
195mm

dry
50mm

rainy
215mm

rainy
247mm

rainy
228mm

rainy
171mm

rainy
153mm

rainy
184mm

rainy
183mm

rainy
228mm

rainy
305mm

rainy
220mm

Cloud

cloudy
87%

cloudy
74%

cloudy
76%

cloudy
80%

cloudy
81%

cloudy
78%

cloudy
81%

cloudy
80%

cloudy
84%

cloudy
88%

cloudy
89%

Air quality

clean
42 US AQI

clean
48 US AQI

okay
55 US AQI

okay
52 US AQI

clean
48 US AQI

okay
53 US AQI

okay
59 US AQI

okay
69 US AQI

okay
60 US AQI

clean
49 US AQI

clean
40 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

Remote workers

1,200 people

1,000 people

1,500 people

1,650 people

1,100 people

800 people

857 people

600 people

1,950 people

1,029 people

1,700 people

1,000 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

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Based on Johor Bahru's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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38pts

11pts

10pts

9pts

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5pts

4pts

3pts

2pts

1pts

13pts

11pts

9pts

8pts

6pts

5pts

4pts

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2pts

1pts

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 59 😷

🚕53min

$6,114 / mo

102 Mbps

Malacca

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 91 😷

✈️15min

$1,410 / mo

57 Mbps

Pekanbaru, Sumatra

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😝 Cheap

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 39° 102° 30° 86° Barely AC 🥵 AQI 166 😷

✈️23min

$870 / mo

12 Mbps

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 30° 86° Has AC AQI 171 😷

✈️23min

$1,839 / mo

53 Mbps

Ipoh

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 33° 91° 28° 82° Has AC AQI 80 😷

✈️37min

$1,695 / mo

13 Mbps

Palembang, Sumatra

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😝 Cheap

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 41° 106° 33° 91° Barely AC 🥵 AQI 174 😷

✈️40min

$964 / mo

11 Mbps

Penang

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 86 😷

✈️46min

$1,309 / mo

18 Mbps

Medan, Sumatra

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😝 Cheap

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 42° 108° 30° 87° Barely AC 🥵 AQI 55 😷

✈️50min

$664 / mo

10 Mbps

Langkawi

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 30

✈️56min

$1,792 / mo

15 Mbps

Kuching

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 44° 111° 32° 89° Has AC AQI 108 😷

✈️59min

$1,485 / mo

14 Mbps

Ko Lipe

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 34° 93° 29° 84° Some AC 🥵 AQI 30

✈️59min

$3,841 / mo

104 Mbps

Ko Lanta

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 36° 97° 30° 86° Some AC 🥵 AQI 55 😷

✈️1h

$1,869 / mo

23 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 54 😷

✈️2h

$1,641 / mo

32 Mbps

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 59 😷

🚕53min

$6,114 / mo

102 Mbps

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 30° 86° Has AC AQI 171 😷

✈️23min

$1,839 / mo

53 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 65 😷

✈️14h

$8,573 / mo

23 Mbps

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 44° 111° 34° 93° Has AC AQI 53 😷

✈️7h

$3,921 / mo

25 Mbps

Hong Kong

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 36° 97° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 6

✈️3h

$3,076 / mo

76 Mbps

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 34

✈️13h

$5,906 / mo

32 Mbps

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 41° 106° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 3

✈️1h

$1,420 / mo

14 Mbps

Taipei

Taiwan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 38° 100° 30° 86° Has AC AQI 26

✈️4h

$2,489 / mo

23 Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 27° 81° 25° 78° Has AC AQI 16

✈️20h

$7,427 / mo

26 Mbps

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72° AQI 9

✈️16h

$5,171 / mo

100 Mbps

Detroit, MI

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 41

✈️20h

$5,006 / mo

103 Mbps

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 59 😷

🚕53min

$6,114 / mo

🌇 Also went here83 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 30° 86° Has AC AQI 171 😷

✈️23min

$1,839 / mo

🌇 Also went here67 people

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 41° 106° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 3

✈️1h

$1,420 / mo

🌇 Also went here46 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 54 😷

✈️2h

$1,641 / mo

🌇 Also went here78 people

Canggu, Bali

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 28° 82° 26° 78° Barely AC 🥵 AQI 171 😷

✈️2h

$3,230 / mo

🌇 Also went here43 people

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 36° 97° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 32

✈️3h

$1,324 / mo

🌇 Also went here55 people

Hong Kong

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 36° 97° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 6

✈️3h

$3,076 / mo

🌇 Also went here41 people

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 44° 111° 34° 93° Has AC AQI 53 😷

✈️7h

$3,921 / mo

🌇 Also went here50 people

Prague

Czechia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 21° 70° 21° 69° AQI 27

✈️13h

$3,997 / mo

🌇 Also went here42 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72° AQI 34

✈️14h

$6,780 / mo

🌇 Also went here41 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 28° 82° 27° 80° Barely AC 🥵 AQI 30

✈️14h

$7,538 / mo

🌇 Also went here46 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 65 😷

✈️14h

$8,573 / mo

🌇 Also went here45 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 29° 84° 27° 80° Has AC AQI 34

✈️14h

$7,428 / mo

🌇 Also went here43 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72° AQI 9

✈️16h

$5,171 / mo

🌇 Also went here41 people

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 27° 81° 25° 78° Has AC AQI 16

✈️20h

$7,427 / mo

🌇 Also went here40 people

Members here right now

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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.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.53/5 (Rank #149) 104 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍4 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,889 / mo
📡 Internet	🚀 Super fast: 57 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Bad
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 29°C84°F (feels 36°C97°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 89%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😊 High: 80%
💨 Air quality (now)	😐 Moderate: 79 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 55 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
👩 Safe for women	Bad
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Bad
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Resilience to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Poor: $792 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Okay
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Okay
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Malaysia
🗓️ Average trip length	12 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	57 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌧 29°C 84°F + 🥵 Sweaty (89%) = feels 36°C 97°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👎😷 79 US AQI = 🚬 / day
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 55 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Grab
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10 MYR in USD	USD 2.48
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	MYR 1,000 = USD 248
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
💻 Best coworking space	Hacker Space
💻 Best alt. coworking space	-
☕️ Best coffee place	Espresso Garage
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	THE FACTORY 30
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍15% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	5,571,400 visitors
📸 Tourists now	106,776 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	1,700,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$9,508 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 47% 👱‍♀️ 53%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 51% 👱‍♀️ 49%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 74% 👱‍♀️ 26%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Lazada
🏠 Apartment listings	Air BnB
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Asia
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Malaysia
🏥 Best hospital	Penawar Hospital

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,889 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,384 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,807 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$802 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,061 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,372 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$528 / month
🏠 Median home price	$133,610
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$50 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$78 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$87 / month
🍛 Dinner	$4
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$5
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$4,533 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$8 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$3 / trip

Johor Bahru

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