Bangsar is by far the Expat favorite. I reccomend you go here and do a bit of reading and ask around.

http://www.alloexpat.com

First what are you doing in KL, are you here to work?

If working, you have to consider where is your office and how are you going to get to work. Traffic in KL is notorious so staying near your place where its easy for you to go to work is a good idea.

Next, do you intend to get a car. If not, you are very dependent on local transport (or local boyfriend's transport) so access to local transport is important in picking a place.

Third, what is your budget? Bangsar and Ampang are expatriat areas, that will also mean that rental of a furnished apartment can cost anywhere from USD1k upwards.

Give me some details and I will give you some suggestions.

Hi, Thanks everyone for responding. I am going to be working in Cyberjaya and imagine I will be going to buy a car. I have looked at Cyberjaya as an option to stay at but thought it might be a bit quiet. I am single, in my thirties and would prefer to live in a lively area. Do you think I would be able to travel ok from Bangsar to Cyberjaya and any idea how long a trip that is? Thanks

If you stay in Bangsar and work in Cyberjaya, it will be a looooong commute, due to distance and traffic.

If you work flexi-hours or odd hours (like what a lot of IT people do in Cyberjaya), then its ok.

That being said, I do not stay in Bangsar and work in Cyberjaya, but there is a way to travel from Bangsar/ Sri Hartamas area to Cyberjaya, that may ease the travel time somewhat....

You may want to come here and stay a week or 2 at a hotel or service apartment first to evaluate your options.

Commuting from Bangsar or anywhere in KL to Cyberjaya is do-able. Mont Kiara is further and public transport is a bit of a problem if no car. Can get the fast train from Sentral in KL (if you can get the light rail or better still - condos around Sentral) to Cyberjaya/Putrajaya. Journey only takes 35 mins and it is relaxing ride, take a connecting bus the other end - 50 sen only. Monthly train ticket is RM90/month. For me, the opposite applies, i.e commuting to KL - done it a few times but at the end, back to driving as problem with transportation from Sentral to my office in KL.

Sorry, the monthly travel card to Putrajaya/Cyberjaya is RM190. I must also qualify that commuting by public transport is do-able from KL only if you place is easily connected to Sentral, which Bangsar would be no problem unlike Mont Kiara/Hartamas or Ampang.

I do my Pilates on Friday mornings at Taman Tunku, which is near Bangsar and Sri Hartamas. I take the Kerenchi Link to connect to Federal Highway and the traffic is generally bearable around 830am. You would prob be taking the same route if you stay in Bangsar/Sri Hartamas.

From the federal highway, you can connect to Sunway/Puchong and then to Cyberjaya. Like I said, its a rather long journey. All it takes is some accident along the way and you will listening to your favourte CD many times over.

Alternatively, you can drive to Sentral and take the train. Need to pay train monthly pass and season parking. There is also a condo in Sentral that goes for I think about RM5k per month.

Alternatively, you can stay in Puchong, there are some new housing areas that are quite nice but occupied mainly by mid market locals (costs about RM350k to buy, so its not a cheap area).That's where some of the shell IT services staff stay coz its nearer to cyberjaya. There are also some condominums in kajang as well.

My earlier suggestion is perhaps still the best. Rent a service apartment for 2 weeks to a month initially, then get a housing agent and look around what you like first, based on travel convienence and budget and your preference for the area, then decide.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I estimated that it would probably be an hours commute in the car which I do jsut now in the U. I won't be working regular hours so hopefully that will help with the travel. I think I will take the advice of finding a serviced apartment and looking around for a bit. I liked the idea of a property guide type person that could help you with finding a place to stay I was not aware that service existed. You will probably see me name appear on this site many times between now and moving as I have a million questions....

The other location is USJ Subang where you can even rent a condo for less than Bangsar and Ampang, and its very drive-able to Cyberjaya.