‘Residential’ may not come to mind when you think about Cyberjaya, but it’s growing into a cool place to live in.
Talk to a lot of people about Cyberjaya and their general impression of the place tends to flutter between “It’s very far” to “It’s pretty dead”. The first point may be true for those who live in KL or Petaling Jaya.
The second point however, may no longer hold weight. If we were to pinpoint its cause, it may have to do with the fact that a decade ago, Cyberjaya was just purely seen as a greenfield development that was being turned into an MSC status, tech hub.
This sentiment has changed tremendously since then. Cyberjaya is rapidly rising up the livability rank and there has been a growing interest in Cyberjaya’s property listings from aspiring homeowners who visit iProperty.com.my – It was the fifth most in-demand area in Selangor in 2019.
Here are five reasons why we think this city is working its way up the ‘happening’ charts:
1. Hip weekend events
For a few years now, Cyberjaya has been home to the Cyberjaya Multimedia Festival. It is an event designed to attract a younger crowd with acts chosen from the fringes of the local indie music scene with acts such as Bittersweet, Azlan and the Typewriter, The Impatient Sisters and NJWA. Aside from free movie screenings, the carnival-like festival also has mini-activities designed to attract the hip crowd.
If pop culture is not your thing, fret not. Cyberjaya caters to sporty events too as it regularly plays host to outdoor marathons and duathlons. You would want to look out for the upcoming TwinCity marathon happening in January 2020! There are also frequent weekend shopping bazaars held all over Cyberjaya, which are popular with families and bargain hunters.
2. More shopping mall options
We know what you’re thinking. But wait, we aren’t talking about the infamous Cyberjaya Street Mall, but actual shopping malls! About a decade ago, the Street Mall in Cyberjaya with its bazaars and restaurants, was the place to be during lunch hour.
That has all changed with the arrival of DPULZE Shopping Centre and other open-air concept malls like Shaftsbury Square and Tamarind Square. Between these three, residents now have access to popular amenities including a TGV cinema, Ace Hardware, Chatime and even a GO Noodle House outlet.
With ample parking spaces available at all these places, lunchtime shopping is the ‘in’ thing now in Cyberjaya. And with traffic being generally nonexistent, one can easily zip in and out of malls with relative ease and comfort.
Fun Fact: The MRT Line 2 (Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line) which will be completed by 2022, will pass through the city with two stations, Cyberjaya North and Cyberjaya City Centre (CCC).
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3. You can now grab food from a Drive-Thru!
Yes, you no longer need to park to eat out at Cyberjaya. This might not seem like a big attraction to most people around Klang Valley, but for a township that once housed only a single ‘nasi kandar’ outlet (yes just one, maybe two at most) as the go-to destination for lunch, having both McDonald’s and Starbucks drive-thrus is probably the mark that civilisation has properly arrived in Cyberjaya.
After all, you can’t say you have access to civilisation unless you have a Big Mac within arm’s reach right? Not only that, Cyberjaya-ites have a pick of most fast-food joints these days (even an A&W outlet!) and a sundry of cafés to choose from if they need a coffee fix.
Some popular restaurants in Cyberjaya would be Bawal Power Sempoi which serves fantastic grilled seafood at very attractive prices if you’re looking for somewhere cheap to eat. Be warned though, this place gets quite crowded despite the large dining space.
Cyberjaya is also home to some of the best Arabic food in Malaysia and Saba Restaurant is most definitely the place to go. Portions are huge here, so make sure you bring your appetite. D’Tas Maju is a really good Nasi Kandar joint you can frequent too, offering freshly fried crispy chicken to go with your rice and ‘kuah campur’.
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4. It’s home to a BookXcess outlet
You may or may not know this, but there is a 24-hour book lover’s paradise in Cyberjaya. Located within a massive 37,000 sq ft space in Tamarind Square, you’ll find a BookXcess outlet which reportedly boasts 500,000 books and a café to boot.
So, if you’ve ever woken up in the middle of the night, haunted by the fact that you’ve not gotten the latest John Grisham book, well, you don’t have to wait until the next day anymore. BookXcess is the company behind the popular Big Bad Wolf book sale as well, hence the books here cost just a pinch – most books retail between 50%-80% cheaper than regular prices.
Fun Fact: Cyberjaya residents can now download the i-Sepang app, which provides the latest district updates as well as municipal council services such as bookings, checking, and payment transactions without having to do so over the counter.
5. Your family wouldn’t want for anything living here
You might be thinking – all’s well and good that there are so many amenities now, but on a practical note, just how livable is Cyberjaya these days? Quite livable. It currently houses two of the largest grocery chains within its borders, namely Jaya Grocer and Village Grocer. Thus, fresh and imported produce is easily available and parking is never an issue.
Modern ‘hipster’ developments like Tamarind Square is packed with numerous dining and café options to help boost Cyberjaya’s livability factor too.
For what most people would call a wasteland once, Cyberjaya is in fact, quite green. 48% of the city’s 7,000 acres of land is reserved for public amenities and greenery, such as public parks and lakes.
In line with Cyberjaya’s low-carbon city initiative, most of the roads within Cyberjaya have bicycle lanes as well, making it conducive to cycle around. Moreover, the roads have proper wide walking paths that allow you to comfortably walk from one place to the next.
Cyberjaya is quite the educational hub too, hosting several universities such as Multimedia University (MMU), the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences and Asia Metropolitan University as well as a number of government and international schools.
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How much does a property cost in Cyberjaya?
Interested to find out what it would cost to live there? As far as housing goes, Cyberjaya offers a wide range in both the high-rise and landed home categories for homebuyers and investors to choose from. Given that it is not a very old neighbourhood and there are still areas being developed, a lot of the options are relatively new.
And because it has become quite livable in the last decade or so, the township is suitable for young families who are looking for a quieter place to raise an active family but without the stresses of the city. Accessibility to the city centre however, is also not an issue – the MAJU expressway gets you to KL Sentral in 40 minutes while Subang Jaya is just 30 minutes away via the LDP.
Those who are interested to buy economically into the township, can get an 1,000+ sq ft condominium for under RM400,000. Should you prefer a landed property, a two-story link house can be fetched at just under RM700,000.
If money isn’t an issue and you are looking for something more luxurious, there are higher-end options as well, like this 5+2 room semi-detached home.
If you are looking to rent instead, perhaps because you’re from out of town or you’re going to be working in the vicinity, a serviced residence for one person can be obtained for a monthly rent of under RM1,000. Meanwhile, renters looking for a larger place suited for a family, can rent a two-story link house from an affordable RM1,600.
City folk who have been stumped on where they should live or even invest in should definitely not rule out Cyberjaya as it offers quite a lot of attractive lifestyle qualities these days.
Edited by Reena Kaur Bhatt