George Town’s population is just 740,000—small enough that it’s easy to make friends and meet people, yet large enough to have health care that meets international standards and to have easy availability to all the other goods and services you might need. Year-round sunny, warm weather, First World infrastructure, easy permanent residency, and English-speaking locals make the living here easy.

The island of Penang, including its capital city of George Town, is a paradise for food lovers. This year, Lonely Planet announced that Penang has been voted the top food destination in the world.

ECA International rated George Town as being the most livable city in Malaysia. We agree (and so do our taste buds). In our opinion, Penang is one of the top spots in all of Southeast Asia for long-term living and retirement.

We make it a point to visit George Town whenever we’re in the vicinity. We enjoy wandering around this UNESCO World Heritage city, and, of course, the food is nothing short of fantastic. For so many reasons, George Town is a place worth returning to again and again.

George Town was previously a featured destination in the Overseas Living Letter. We make all past issues of the Overseas Living Letter available for purchase as an individual Country Retirement Report.

We cover many destinations, such as George Town, in our monthly Overseas Living Letter.