Search results

I still need to do a fair amount more research but from what I have done so far, I think your analysis is right. The reason to invest in Johor is to bet on price appreciation of the property (rental rates do not seem to justify it [on the basis of rents] now). This situation is a risky time to...

How do I call for one of these taxis when I am in Singapore? I always thought you had to go to Queen Street to catch the Malaysian Taxis.

Hmm, well China doesn't agree that they are 2 sovereign nations :-( You are right that the 2 sovereign nations adds some unique issues. But I think HK and Manhattan are good examples to look at. I think you lose a great deal of the essence of the comparison when the Singapore match isn't a...

One thing they really need to do to improve connectivity is to make taking the taxi much easier. They should licence Singapore and Malaysian taxis to be able to go point to point between Singapore and Johor. They can put on whatever licensing requirements they want - to assure quality and get...

Good points. Changes in process can make a huge difference. Combined CIQ would likely have a significant time savings for those taking busses especially. The MACS effort is a big benefit (making it easy for as many people helps everyone - the fewer people standing in lines the faster those...

This is one of the dangers when you are seen as "different" (so the outsider in whatever group it is). When you are in a group of people like you they will just say you messed up. They will not say you are treating us x way because either you think you are better than us or are discriminating...

I agree, change is on the way. It has to be for Iskandar to be successful. One thing that will make it successful (for both Singapore and Malaysia) is that some jobs that currently are done in Singapore are switched to Iskandar. For Singapore to benefit those jobs will pay less than they used...

Thanks. We keep seeing many very positive signs that the economic future is bright. It certainly is looking very positive for Iskandar, which will bring along price increases for the housing in Iskandar (most likely).

Good news. They need to plan on building office buildings too. They need space to give jobs to the people that will live in the buildings. I am sure plenty will be commuting to Singapore (especially with the MRT extension). But it is in JB's interest to have a reasonably strong office...

Nusajaya really does offer something not available in Singapore except to the very rich (landed property in natural settings). I would really like to know though what the actually purchases in JB by Singaporeans are. IT is possible that the list is representative. It could also be that the...

I believe in helping people help themselves. People that are successful had quite a bit of help (even though some seem to forget all the lucky breaks they got): from parents, relatives, school, businesses, government policies (enforcing laws, protecting you and your business, building...

It seems to me there are very few (if any) countries where people are mainly happy and satisfied. We generally find reasons to complain about whatever we have. As countries get richer often people complain more. Why this is, must be psychological. When the country is one where just meeting...

Good points. I agree cleaning up crime and the perception of it are important. Many things influence people's perception of crime - some of which are not really crime - dirty streets will make people think it is less safe. It may in fact not be less safe but people' by and large will get that...

Agreed. Speculative investing should have higher returns given the higher risks. And it makes perfect sense for smart investors to have a portion of their portfolio in speculative investments. Investors just need to be careful that they don't take risks that they don't understand. It is...

When investing in real estate rental price checks help avoid investing in bubbles. No investment strategy is perfect. If you invest in a new area early, it can be that rental prices do not yet reflect long term value (say rental prices near an announced MRT station but one that won't actually...

I wish I cold collect houses as a hobby. I don't see that happening, though. Maybe I can become friends with someone who does and live in them and given them updates on their collection when they want it :-)

Well said. Our ancestors had to know how to avoid wild animals and droughts to live and prosper and have their children prosper. Parents worried if their kids were not prepared. Recently education has become more important than skills at living in the wild. But I think parents (and those...

I agree going and seeing for yourself is important. You can actually walk around downtown JB. It isn't like Singapore, but in many places there are sidewalks and crosswalks. Compared to walking around Penang (which I found next to impossible) JB is extremely pedestrian friendly (compared to...

Thanks for the compliment. I think this thread is packed with great information. I do think that the format makes some things more difficult. The threaded formats of forums can have the advantage of keeping focused threads move visible. I think with this format it is very easy for posts to...

I think that is a good point. But it only hold if relations between Singapore and Malaysia stay strong. That those relations stay strong is likely. But when serious economic crisis happen countries can panic and start taking actions in the light of the short term crisis that disrupt relations...