The Story (the short version)

I’m a Londoner who moved to Kuala Lumpur, and this blog is what happened next.

The longer version involves a flight, a one-way ticket, a moment of “well, why not?”, and several weeks of walking into the wrong buildings because they all look different when you don’t know the city yet. KL is vast, loud, brilliant, sweaty, and completely unlike anywhere I’d lived before. I fell for it almost immediately.

I started writing to keep track of things I’d learned — partly for myself, partly because I kept getting the same questions from people thinking about making a similar move. How do you sort your banking? What’s the best area to live? How do you actually survive the heat? What does it feel like to be a Brit in a city where the weather never, ever drops below 28 degrees?

What This Blog Is

Edward in KL is a practical, occasionally funny, always honest guide to life in Malaysia — written from the perspective of someone who is still figuring it out in real time.

You’ll find guides on moving here, saving money, sending money home, where to live, what to eat, how to stay connected (VPN essential), health insurance for expats, and the occasional piece about why I love this place even when it tests me.

I don’t pretend to have everything figured out. But I have been here long enough to know what I wish someone had told me before I arrived — and that’s what I write about.

Oh, and the T-Shirts

At some point I started making t-shirts about expat life. The kind of shirts that perfectly describe the experience of being a Brit in the tropics — from “Too Hot for Tea – Expat in KL Edition” to “Top Lip Melting – Still Stiff” to “Tour Bus Trauma”.

They’re made with sarcasm, sunshine, and a suspicious amount of AI. They’re available at Edwards Tee Room, and they ship worldwide. If you’re an expat, they’ll make you laugh. If you’re buying one as a gift for an expat, they’ll love you forever.