If you ask any Malaysian in their twenties what their ultimate dream is, 9 out 10 will say, “To buy a house.” We are culturally programmed to believe that happiness is shaped like a double-story terrace house with a porch wide enough for two BMWs and a SUV-sized gate.
But as the hair on our heads starts to turn the color of premium Cameron Highlands mist, the questions we ask about housing begin to shift. We stop asking, “How big of a loan can I get?” and start asking, “How many times a day do I want to climb these stairs before my knees file a formal complaint?”
My wife and I have recently found ourselves entering this reflective chapter of life. We’ve spent years intermittently discussing where we should retire, whether we should buy another property, and where we should establish our main base.
To give you some context, I’ve had the unique privilege (and financial headache) of living in five very different places: Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Oregon (specifically the Portland area in the US), and Taipei. Each of these locations taught us something radically different about what “home” means.
If you are currently staring at your living room, wondering if it’s time to make a move for your retirement years, let’s do some friendly idea-sharing. Here is how we are evaluating the most common retirement housing questions, seasoned with a bit of hard-earned financial perspective.
1. The Size Dilemma: Should I downsize to a smaller home?
In Malaysia, we love space. If we could buy a house the size of an entire football field, we probably would, just to have enough room to park our relatives’ cars during Chinese New Year.
For the longest time, my benchmark for a comfortable home was big. Our house in the Oregon suburbs was huge—hovering around 3,000 square feet. Even when we lived in the Klang Valley suburbs, we stayed in a house that easily crossed the 3,000 square foot mark.
Then, we lived in Taipei.
Taipei is a wonderful city, but land there is scarcer than a quiet Mamak stall during a Premier League final. With interest rates hovering around a low 2%, the price per square foot in Taipei is easily two to three times higher than a comparable luxury property in Kuala Lumpur.
Because of this, we experienced living in a much tighter space. And do you know what we discovered? Small is beautiful.
Taipei taught us that when you have only 800 square feet, everything is within arm’s reach. You don’t need a search party to find your reading glasses. You can sweep the entire floor in under seven minutes. There is no empty guest room collecting dust and spider webs.
When you retire, you want to simplify life, not spend your weekends playing supervisor to a team of air-cond technicians and grass-cutters. A smaller house means lower utility bills, less maintenance, and far fewer things to worry about. As long as the location is convenient, 800 square feet is more than enough for two people.
2. The Family Equation: Should I move closer to my children?
This is a deeply emotional question for many Asian parents. We want to be close to our kids. But as a parent of an only child who is studying in the USA, the reality of the situation hits differently.
There is a very high chance he will build his career and his own family in the US. Does that mean we should pack our bags and permanently retire in Oregon?
Not quite.
Our philosophy on this is what I like to call the “Goldilocks Distance”: close enough to drop by for a meal, but not close enough to hear each other’s sighs through the wall. We want to be close, but not too close.
Our plan is to spend a few months a year in the US to be near him, while keeping our primary base elsewhere. This gives our son the space to grow his own roots without the heavy pressure of having retired parents constantly hovering over his kitchen counter, asking why he hasn’t cooked white rice for dinner.
3. Rent vs. Buy: The Nomadic Compromise
If you tell a traditional Malaysian auntie that you plan to rent in retirement, she will look at you with deep pity, assuming you went bankrupt on some bad cryptocurrency scheme.
But let’s look at the math and the lifestyle flexibility.
My wife and I have a dream of seasonal living. We love the festive warmth of Chinese New Year (January to March) in Malaysia, surrounded by family, lousang, and the familiar sound of firecrackers. But we also absolutely love Taiwan, and would happily spend three to six months there (April to June) when the weather is pleasant.
Then comes the summer (July to October). If you’ve ever experienced a summer in Oregon, you’ll know the weather is spectacularly beautiful—crisp blue skies, cool breezes, and no humidity. It’s the perfect time to be in the US. For the remaining months of the year, we’d love to travel to places we’ve never been.
If we were to buy a property in every single one of these locations, we would be asset-rich but cash-poor, spending half our retirement income on foreign property taxes, management fees, and security guards.
Our solution? We only need to own one permanent property for our own stay, and that will be in Malaysia.
For Taiwan and the US, we can rely on renting for a few months, using Airbnbs, or house-swapping. Embracing a minimalist, semi-nomadic lifestyle gives us the ultimate luxury of retirement: freedom of movement without the anchor of multiple mortgages.
4. The Hidden Drain: Can I afford to stay where I am?
Many retirees assume that because their mortgage is fully paid off, staying in their current home is completely free. This is a dangerous financial illusion.
Let’s talk about my experience in Portland, Oregon. Over there, every state and even individual school districts have wildly different property tax rates. In Portland, our property tax was roughly 1% of the market value annually.
Let that sink in for a moment. If your house is worth $700,000, you have to pay $7,000 (roughly RM30,000) every single year just to keep the government from taking your home. That money goes back into the community—funding public schools, parks, and libraries—which is fantastic. But as a holding cost for a retiree? It’s a massive, recurring cash drain.
While Malaysia’s quit rent and assessment rates are thankfully much lower, the cost of maintaining a large, aging house is not. Roof leaks, plumbing disasters, and painting jobs do not get cheaper as you get older. If you are living on a fixed retirement income, a massive house can quickly turn from a beloved asset into an expensive liability. Moving to a smaller home or a slightly more serene suburb can instantly free up cash flow.
5. Age-Proofing: Is the house senior-friendly?
When you are forty, a double-story terrace house with a grand wooden staircase looks majestic. When you are seventy, that same staircase looks like Mount Everest.
As we age, our physical requirements change. Slipped discs, knee issues, and slippery tiles become serious daily hazards.
If we choose to stay in Malaysia, our preference will heavily lean toward a single-story home or a well-managed condominium rather than a massive landed bungalow. In a condo, you have 24-hour security, no garden to weed, and most importantly, elevators to do the heavy lifting for your knees.
We are also keeping an open mind about long-term care senior living communities. While the concept is still relatively new and expensive in Malaysia, the peace of mind that comes with having built-in social activities, shared dining, and on-site nursing care is something you cannot put a price tag on.
6. The Healthcare Equation
When you are young, you choose a house based on how close it is to the trendiest cafes. When you retire, you choose a house based on how quickly an ambulance can reach you.
In evaluating our three-country option, healthcare is a massive factor:
- Taiwan: We absolutely love Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI). It is affordable, highly convenient, and incredibly reliable. It’s arguably one of the best healthcare systems in the world.
- The US: The US has world-class, high-tech medical facilities, but the costs are astronomical. Without incredibly expensive private insurance, a single major medical event in the US can wipe out a lifetime of retirement savings.
- Malaysia: Malaysia offers a fantastic middle ground. Private healthcare is highly professional and relatively affordable, especially when backed by a good medical insurance policy. Plus, we have our network of relatives and lifelong friends nearby to offer emotional support.
Having quick access to reliable clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies is no longer a “nice-to-have”—it is a non-negotiable priority.
7. Unlocking the Vault: What to do with the property money?
This brings us to the ultimate financial question. A lot of Malaysians have almost all of their net worth tied up in the bricks and mortar of their family home. They are “house rich, but cash poor.”
If you sell your large family home and downsize to a smaller, more affordable place, you instantly unlock a massive amount of home equity.
What should you do with that cash?
My wife and I have decided to slowly sell off our residential properties. Residential properties require high maintenance, tenant management, and constant upkeep. In retirement, we want fewer headaches, not more.
Instead, we prefer to keep our commercial properties, which offer solid rental yields, require minimal daily management, and still allow us to leverage mortgage advantages.
The cash unlocked from our residential sales will go straight into the highly liquid stock market—investing in great, resilient companies that grow or pay steady dividends and will easily outlive us. If you can generate a consistent return in liquid assets that comfortably beats the cost of renting, you have won the retirement game.
Final Thoughts
Retirement housing is about designing a space that serves the lifestyle you want to live today. For us, that means a mix of a cozy, low-maintenance base in Malaysia, combined with the flexibility to roam the world and spend quality seasons in Taiwan and the US.
But that’s just our blueprint. Everyone’s financial situation, family dynamics, and personal comfort levels are different.
Are you planning to downsize, pack your bags for a quiet village, or stay exactly where you are? I’d love to hear your thoughts and spark some ideas together. You can always reach out and share your retirement plans with me!
By KC Lau personal financial author and trainer
