Day: November 18, 2025

• Ward Chartier, 70, spent his career living and working across the US, Europe, and Asia.
• When it came time to retire, he narrowed his options down to Penang, Malaysia, where he’d worked years earlier.
• He hopes to live a long, full life — and spend the rest of it in the place he now considers home.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ward Chartier, a 70-year-old retiree living in Penang, Malaysia. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I’ve lived border to border and coast to coast.

Born in Wisconsin, I moved around the US as a kid because of my dad’s job. After college in Michigan, I headed to Texas for work and ended up calling it home for two decades.

My career in high-tech manufacturing eventually took me abroad, and for the next 14 years, I lived and worked across the UK, Denmark, Ireland, Malaysia, and China. I eventually moved to San Francisco in 2011 for a mix of family and health reasons.

In 2016, at the age of 61, I started thinking seriously about where I wanted to spend the next chapter of my life. Soon, I found myself with a list of 20 places I could see myself retiring in.

Seven of those were states in the US without a state income tax, including Texas. I also considered the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, but none offered retirement programs.

Moving to Penang

Malaysia, however, had everything I was looking for.

When I worked there years earlier, I was based in Penang — and that’s where I chose to retire. I applied for the Malaysia My Second Home visa in 2017 and officially moved over alone in 2018.

During my time working in Ireland, I was struck by how welcoming and hospitable the people there were, and I thought I’d never experience that again. I was wrong because I found that spirit the first time I came to Penang.

All the friends that I made in Malaysia back then are still my friends today. When they learned that I was moving back for good, they were eager to show me around.

Life in Penang feels very comfortable for me. Being able to speak English almost everywhere made things easier too. Also, Penang has a charm that big cities like Kuala Lumpur or Dallas lack.

As a retiree, one thing that’s always at the back of my mind is healthcare. My first real experience with Penang’s medical system came after I broke my leg slipping down a hill while hiking.

An orthopedic surgeon put me back together with a six-inch metal plate and seven screws. I was genuinely impressed by the quality of care I received.

Additionally, I’m a cancer survivor, and one of the factors I considered when deciding where to retire was whether I’d have the opportunity to volunteer with cancer patients.

That’s exactly what I do now, three days a week, at a dedicated cancer hospital. I’m there before 9.30 a.m. and stay until about 5 p.m..

Outside my time at the hospital, I’m also undergoing training to better support cancer patients and their family members.

I once read a book that recommended getting two hours of exercise daily for six days a week — and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. I’m a regular at the gym near my house, and I train on my own.

‘My only home’

Penang is very dynamic. The food culture here is amazing. People are constantly opening up new places serving new cuisines at reasonable prices.

If I want peace and quiet, it’s not a problem either. One of the things that I like doing is taking long drives. It takes about 70 minutes to drive around the island, so I’ll put on one of my old compilation CDs, listen to music, and just enjoy the solitude.

Penang also has nonstop flights to plenty of places in Asia, including cities in Thailand and China, so it’s easy for me to visit old friends.

Of course, moving abroad comes with challenges. For example, if you live overseas, it can be surprisingly hard to use an international phone number with US banks.

Looking back on all the moves I’ve made, you really do gain a much broader perspective on humanity and a tolerance for the many facets of culture. It helps you grow more accepting of differences.

I used to say that home was wherever my toothbrush was, and that could be at 30,000 feet on an airplane over the ocean. But that’s not a lifestyle for everybody.

My attachments are not necessarily to places, and definitely not to things. I like to say that I measure my wealth in the number of excellent friends I have.

I aspire to become an antique, so I’d like to reach 100 years old. There’s longevity in the family, so that’s a possibility — and I do want to live the rest of my life in Penang.

People say, “Oh, so Malaysia is your second home?” I say, “No, it’s my only home.”

Do you have a story to share about relocating to a new city? Contact this reporter at agoh@businessinsider.com.

• The Trump Administration withdrew a proposal for mandatory airline compensation for flight delays.
• The proposal mirrored European Union rules that require carriers to pay up for long delays.
• Consumer advocates liked the idea, but US airlines lobbied against it, citing high costs.

In the European Union, a 2004 law guarantees airline passengers up to $700 as compensation for delays of three hours or more. The Trump administration just killed a similar proposal for American travelers.

On Friday, federal officials withdrew a Biden-era proposal that, if enacted, would have required airlines to compensate passengers up to $525 for carrier-caused domestic flight delays between three and nine hours and $750 to $775 for those exceeding nine hours.

It would have also required airlines to pay for delay-related expenses, like meals, transportation, and lodging. The carrier would be at fault for delays caused by issues such as aircraft maintenance or computer software outages.

The proposal is similar to the EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation, known as EC261, which offers passengers between €250 (about $290) and €600 (about $700) in delay compensation, depending on the flight distance.

The US version had been opposed by major US airlines and backed by passenger advocates who argued it would reduce delays, as it has in Europe. Now that the rule has been officially thrown out, things will remain different in the US.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation told Business Insider that Biden’s proposal did “not reflect the compensation consumers are currently entitled to with respect to delays and cancellations.”

Most US airlines commit to offering hotel and meal vouchers during carrier-controlled delays and cancellations, per the Airline Customer Service Dashboard developed under the Biden Administration. By law, carriers must refund canceled flights that aren’t rebooked.

Airlines for America (A4A), the main lobbying group for major US airlines, told Business Insider that airlines “compete rigorously to provide quality service” because their business models are based on “satisfied, repeat customers.”

“A4A carriers provide automatic refunds for significant delays and cancellations if a passenger chooses not to be rebooked, and they have competitive policies regarding reimbursements for food, transportation, and lodging for cancellations and significant delays within a carrier’s control,” A4A added.

American Airlines and Delta Air Lines referred Business Insider to A4A. United Airlines said it had nothing to share.

Delay compensation is a highly debated topic

Consumers had largely applauded the Biden proposal. It would have relieved a monetary burden during long delays and held airlines more accountable as they’d be incentivized to improve on-time performance.

An October study from the Association of Passenger Rights Advocates (APRA) said flights under Europe’s EC261 are 70% less likely to be delayed for more than three hours compared to the US. It added that same-day cancellations in the US are 20% more likely than in the EU.

Defending the proposal, then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that airlines received a $54 billion payout from taxpayer money during the pandemic, and now airlines should offer reciprocal protections.

The current DoT spokesperson told Business Insider that the best way to address flight delays is to “fix our broken air traffic control system,” which they blamed on the Biden Administration.

Airlines opposed the rule, arguing that it would be a cost burden. The APRA report said that the cost for airlines operating under EC261 to mitigate delays, which it estimates to be up to €1.73 ($2) per passenger, is less than what it would cost to pay out compensation.

A report from the consulting firm InterVISTAS USA and commissioned by A4A, however, said applying EC261-like compensation rules to the US would lead to increased fares, as airlines try to recoup costs.

Specifically, the report said it would result in a $5.2 billion annual cost to customers.

Airlines push for more deregulation

In May, the A4A lobbying group filed a 93-page request with the DoT, asking it to roll back several other consumer-focused rules.

One seeks to end the requirement for airlines to display the full price of a ticket and its add-ons up front, not on the final checkout page.

Another looks at eliminating family seating requirements, and another wants to jettison the Biden-era dashboard that shows airline promises for hotels and meals. The group spent about $5.7 million in 2024 on lobbying efforts.

Some consumer advocates argue that current Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy faces a conflict of interest regarding airline protections.

Before joining the Trump Administration, Duffy lobbied for a coalition representing Delta, American, and United Airlines, focusing on policies meant to shield carriers from additional federal regulation.