Access

Getting to Kuching is easy and cheap especially if you are flying in from South East Asia. There are direct flights from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Labuan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Its central location within the region means that flights are never longer than two hours. Kuching is on the same time-zone as China and Singapore, GMT+8.

Visa situation

The visa situation is fantastic, especially compared to countries like Thailand and Indonesia, as most visitors get 90 days visa-free. There is no hard limit to how many times you can enter in a given year so it is possible, at least in theory, to stay for a long period of time. The easiest way to visa-run is with a day trip to Brunei, a small country only a few hundred kilometers away. Acquiring residency in Malaysia is very easy and offers great benefits as Malaysia has a territorial taxation system similar to that of Singapore. That said, be aware that not all residency options allow for residency in Sarawak.

Cost of living

Food is as cheap and maybe even cheaper than in Chiang Mai. Expect to pay anywhere from 0.50$US to 3$US for a local meal and from 5$US to 20$US for an international meal. The main cuisines are Chinese, Malay, Western and Indian. To learn more about the local cuisine, check out Thanis Lim’s Kuching food guide. Hotels are crazy cheap in Kuching, in fact, it is possible to live at the Hilton or Pullman for less than 1500$US per month all-in (including the buffet breakfast, gym and lounge if you do a status challenge with Hilton or Accor). International-grade serviced apartments can be had for as low as 500$US and local apartments for as low as a hundred dollars. If you plan to rent an apartment, I strongly recommend booking a hotel for a few days using a site like Booking.com and then visiting the main apartment buildings in person once you are in Kuching. The price difference is usually worth the hassle. Gas is around 0.50$US per liter and it is possible to buy or rent a motorbike quite cheaply. It is absolutely possible to live on 1000$US per month in Kuching (the figure often used for Chiang Mai) but I would recommend planning double that amount for a more comfortable lifestyle.