Joshua Webley: Why I created The Expats Club community in Malaysia?

It’s always difficult when moving to a new country, however many times you have done it. Infact, if you’ve done it more than once, it tends to get a little harder. Between 2015-2022 I’d travelled, lived or worked remotely in at least 40 countries. It was great at first, exciting, leaving everything behind and restarting life again. Waking up on different continents, losing weight in one country and then piling it back on in the next, seeing the sun rise in the west and watching it set in the east, and all that jazz. It’s a great life, opened my eyes to a brand-new world that wasn’t accessible in my hometown, threw me into an industry that I never saw as an option in the UK. When you’re moving for employment, it does provide you with that extra security and peace of mind but can also leave you restricted on which areas you can live, how you can live and the community that you’re thrown into. Naturally, coworkers become your first community, however, those who have moved over with Spouses and/or Children will tell you, they tend to find themselves in their own little social bubble, living in a new country, but not really experiencing it.

When I committed to Malaysia, not just Malaysia but my fiancée and Melbourne Capital Group, I figured now was a good time to start expanding my horizons in my new home, after all, I am an expat. I attended event, after event, some were great, and some weren’t. Some would be eating, some would be out of my comfort zone and some I would come home with 12-15 business cards in my pocket of people who’s industry was not too dissimilar to my own - I never enjoyed them. I found myself floating around, not really letting my hair down and having conversations that I can only describe as forced or uncomfortable.

That’s when me and my fiancée Rachel, decided to create the Expats Club KL. Building a supportive, adventurous and enthusiastic expat community, for people to join and be part of our community. We have people who have just landed, some who aren’t arriving here until next year and some who are veteran expats and have been here for 20 years but now understand the importance of having a network or joining events. Our last event, the KL Food Club had 63 members, with over 24 nationalities from Malaysian, British, Colombian and Belgium, right through to South Korea, Syrian, Egyptian and Portuguese. A friend of mine at the tapas event asked me why we do what we do, and I said “Look at that table over there, there's 12 people on there, all from different nationalities. They’re all eating, drinking and enjoying each others company, apart from these events, at what point in time are that mixed bag of people ever going to get the chance to do that”. We have fun, we learn new things, meet new people and even raise money for charity. The Expats Club has become that big, we have even extended into Thailand, running 3 successful BKK Curry Clubs and launching the community globally.

Since we started, we have expanded the community to beyond my own comprehension. We have moved past the regular food and drinking socialising events, we have opened hiking groups and badminton groups to become more active, Go Karting Events for fun and we are even now exploring Womens only brunches and Mens mental health. The reason, in my opinion as to why the events are so strong, and connect with so many people, is because they are not forced. Rachel and I only create events that we want to attend ourselves, and we invite people. Who doesn’t want to go for a curry and a cocktail on a friday? Or Race around a Go Kart track on a Saturday? We do what we enjoy, and from that has grown the Expat Club KL, Instagram and TikTok Channels, which again is just me and Rachel filming ourselves doing things around Malaysia that we enjoy or trying to help educate people - That’s why the channels are performing so well, because we are real people.

As mentioned previously, for every event we aim at raising money for charity. It’s always important, that whenever you’re in a position to give back, you do. Especially if you’re privileged enough to be welcomed into a new country, giving back to the community that accepted you is a must. So, in the past 6 months, we have raised RM9,160 for various charities, including MAPPAC, SARS, Rebeccas Rescues, Amitbha and Pads and Paws in Malaysia, right through to Soi Dogs, Paws and the Foundation for Slum Child Care in Thailand. We have successfully saved the lives of numerous animals, provided necessary resources for low-income households and raised capital to help expand Malaysian Childrens Hospices. Focusing on new charities each month, not only helps raise funds on the night, but also helps increase awareness of the foundations, increases back-end donations and also helps introduce more volunteers to each of the charities. Whether thats people volunteering in homes, fostering cats, running other bazaars for more funds or even taking voluntary admin or social media roles, either way - It helps make a difference.

So, if you want to join a community in your city, ask questions about Relocating to Malaysia, build your network and help raise funds and awareness for local charities. Please feel free to reach out and join our community or follow us on social media with the links Below - I’ll see you at our next event.

Expats Club KL: Whatsapp community, Instagram, Tiktok

KL Curry Club: ‍Instagram

BKK Curry Club: Instagram