I remember many years ago when my wife and I visited the Botanica CT showhouse in Balik Pulau. Construction was going on feverishly. The road leading to the project was winding and there were not too many developments on either side of the road. We went up from the bukit jambul hill road and it really does seem rather far. As we did not know the area well, it took us just 45 minutes. Why did we not buy the place? There were a few reasons but the chief reason was, ‘distance’.
Looking back, we lost the opportunity to earn good profits if we had bought the property then. It was just less than RM300,000. However when I asked my wife if she would have loved to stay there, she said no. She said too far. I said, ‘everyday you also spend 35 minutes just to arrive at your office eventhough it is just in Bayan Lepas area while we are staying in Sungai Ara’. I think the main reason is still the distance perception. Whenever we drive over hills, it feels far away. However when we drive from Sungai Ara to Gurney mall, it does not seem so far. You feel the same? In KL, when drivers tell you that the distance is not that far, what they meant was, it’s less than 1 hour. However, in Penang, Balik Pulau or even mainland is considered ‘far’.
Just to let everyone know a public information, Malaysia’s largest developer, SP Setia has bought lands in Balik Pulau as well besides MTT which has a huge integrated project there together with their very own British international school and a famous one too. Prince of Wales International School. If you are okay with the driving around 35-45 minutes depending on how fast and which route you take, I seriously think Balik Pulau may be a place you may want to move to. Especially when you can sell your condo in Sungai Ara and get a landed property within Penang island. Is it still far? Well, if you ask me today, my answer is NO.
written on 20th dec 2013.
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