In short
George Town mixes Chinese shophouses, temples, mosques and street art, in a listed centre you cover on foot. That is rare in South-East Asia.
The island also has beaches to the north and jungle in the middle, twenty minutes from town.
What it really costs
One of the best value ratios in the region: modern apartments with a pool at rents below Bangkok.
Eating out costs a few euros a day in the hawker centres, and it is better than most restaurants.
When to go
December to March, drier. The climate stays equatorial all year: hot and humid, with short downpours.
September and October are the wettest months.
What nobody tells you
Malaysia runs a specific visa programme for remote workers, which makes a long stay far simpler than elsewhere in the region.
Smoke from Indonesian burning reaches the island in some years, in September, with air quality that degrades markedly.