This Is What $1,500 a Month Gets You at Network School in Malaysia's Ghost City

Once dubbed a “ghost city,” Malaysia’s Forest City has found new life as the home of Network School, an experimental community founded by former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan. For $1,500 a month, crypto builders, digital nomads, and idealists are coming together here to transform digital ideals into a real, functioning Web3 community.

But is it worth it? Here's what a visit revealed.

Building Network School on a Beautiful Island Near Singapore

In August 2024, Balaji officially announced via Twitter that Network School would launch a 90-day pilot phase from September to December.

In his tweet, Balaji excitedly wrote: "Through the power of Bitcoin, we now have a beautiful island near Singapore where we’re building the Network School. "

The tweet quickly went viral within the crypto community, with many intrigued by the idea of this “beautiful island.” Yet, the reality on the ground turned out to be far more complicated.

More precisely, Network School is located in Forest City, Johor, Malaysia, which is about a 30-minute drive from Johor Bahru.

Forest City is a massive development project built by China's Country Garden Group, consisting of four man-made islands. However, during the pandemic, China’s real estate sector fell into a deep crisis, and this Malaysian project was no exception. The BBC even described it as a "ghost city," where the high-rises stand largely uninhabited, creating a striking symbol of the broader collapse in China’s property market.

Strategic Location

Forest City undeniably holds a highly advantageous geographic position.

It's roughly an hour's drive from Singapore, and Network School provides dedicated shuttle services for members. Separated from Singapore by only a narrow strait, Forest City offers a significantly lower cost of living. As Singapore is a major global financial and tech hub hosting numerous crypto events and conferences, this location gives Network School members excellent opportunities to learn, network, and collaborate.

However, the gap between ideal and reality remains.

Despite its strategic location, day-to-day convenience leaves much to be desired. Residents largely rely on ride-hailing services like Grab to reach nearby city centers, as public transportation infrastructure is limited. This somewhat restricts the mobility and accessibility for community members.

Yet this very sense of isolation and emptiness has also, in its own way, created a unique atmosphere for the community.

Welcome to Network School

For first-time visitors, Forest City can be a surprising sight.

Stepping into the area, one is immediately struck by a juxtaposition of modernity and desolation. Lush greenery creates an impression of vitality, yet contrasts sharply with the many shuttered shops lining the streets. Each apartment balcony is covered in dense vegetation, staying true to the "Forest City" name.

Chinese cultural elements are everywhere: hotpot restaurants, Chinese supermarkets, red lanterns, and familiar storefront signs evoke the feeling of a small Chinese town. On the wide, mostly empty streets, you might occasionally spot a few wanderers from around the world, people drawn here by curiosity and the promise of the Network School experiment.

For those who've been in the crypto space long enough, the contrast might not seem so strange.

Across the globe, many have embraced "geo-arbitrage": coding by the beach in Bali, taking Zoom calls from a Thai shoreline, or working remotely in Vietnam at a fraction of big-city living costs.

Forest City's emptiness and Network School's energy reflect the Web3 industry itself. On the margins of the mainstream, a small group is building something from the ruins.

Most who gather here might share a similar story. They've grown tired of the corporate grind at traditional tech companies, yet they're driven by belief in Web3's future. They're willing to trade lower living costs for greater creative and entrepreneurial freedom. You might spot them at Token2049 in Singapore one week, then back on this eerily quiet island the next.

This community, brought together by Balaji, is trying to build a Web3 utopia in the most unlikely place.

Welcome to Network School: a place unbound by convention, ambitiously aiming to become the Harvard of a new digital era.

Living Costs and Accommodation

Network School’s main community activities revolve around two areas: the community hub and the hotel.

The community hub, located on the ground floor of an apartment building, is equipped with meeting rooms and co-working spaces.

Network School's main base, however, is within a seaside hotel. Short-term participants typically stay in the hotel's guest rooms, while shared facilities such as the gym, meeting rooms, the exclusive Network School café, and library are all housed within the same complex.

As for living costs, the current monthly rate for a double room is $1,500, which includes accommodation, three meals a day, gym access, and participation in all courses. Network School operates year-round, allowing participants to stay as long as they wish based on their personal needs and schedules.

Short-term residents, such as those staying for about a month, are typically housed in fully furnished hotel rooms. Long-term participants, on the other hand, move into well-equipped two-bedroom apartments that offer more space and comfort.

For dining, the community provides three full meals daily. Breakfast and dinner are buffet-style, while lunch is served in bento boxes. Notably, the meal plan follows a health-conscious approach inspired by Bryan Johnson, founder of Blueprint, emphasizing balanced nutrition and wellness-focused living.

Another highlight is Network School's gym. Built from the ground up in an open space within the hotel, it's fully equipped with modern machines and free weights. Members can also organize group training sessions, reinforcing the community's spirit of shared discipline and self-improvement.

Overall, Network School’s operating philosophy revolves around four core principles: Learn, Burn, Earn, and Fun.

A typical day here looks something like this:

• Morning: Wake up, work out, and have a Blueprint-style breakfast.

• Late Morning: Head to the co-working space to focus on remote work or personal projects.

• Afternoon: Join activities such as book clubs, “Vibe Coding” sessions, AI trend discussions, DeFi 101 classes, or work on independent side projects.

• Evening: Enjoy community dinners followed by casual, self-organized gatherings or small group events.

A Haven for Dark Talent

"Many people see Network School and instinctively assume it's a school, but in essence, it's more like a community for like-minded Web3 people. There's no fixed curriculum here; learning is flexible, and you're free to learn at your own pace," explained JK, a resident of Network School.

The participant has been living here for 4 months.

Network School operates without a fixed course schedule or standardized assignments. Instead, the community periodically launches engaging learning challenges, such as identifying bugs on websites or creating promotional content and short videos. The "education" here resembles an ongoing process of collective exploration.

Network School has gone through two developmental phases: The first phase was a 90-day pilot operation from September 23 to December 23, 2024.

The second phase began on March 1, 2025, marking the transition to formal operations. This phase is called "Society-as-a-Service," with the goal of more systematically training "society builders" and preparing for a future permanent campus.

"Some people here are digital nomads. There are also companies that relocated their offices here, and various accelerator and incubator programs. For example, Solana Superteam and Monad Residency have both hosted programs here."

The Solana Superteam Singapore team conducted a 6-week Ignition incubation residency program at Network School from May to June, while Monad Founder Residency held a 3-week residency program here in August this year.

For Network School participants, community is arguably the most valuable aspect.

Living, learning, and exchanging ideas with like-minded people is the biggest highlight here. He deeply relates to this: "I'm at the intersection of wanting to create something and wanting to join something, and Network School has given me a perfect opportunity to explore what I really want to do in the future."

His experience also reflects Network School's core value: this is a gathering place for Dark Talent, those who haven't been accepted by traditional education systems but yearn to create the future. These talents possess innovative thinking and a practical spirit, yet may be overlooked in mainstream systems due to their unconventional backgrounds.

View From the Presidential Suite

The hotel's reception rooms have now become activity centers for Network School members. The author also visited the Presidential Suite, one of the largest reception rooms in the hotel.

The hotel sits right on the coastline. Standing on the balcony, you can clearly see Singapore across the water, and get a bird's-eye view of Forest City's landscape. In the distance, you can see towering high-rises and a large expanse of meticulously planned residential areas.

Regrettably, most of these buildings remain vacant.

(View from the Presidential Suite, photographed by the author.)

Regarding this, JK also shared that he once went for a run with friends in the nearby residential area, only to discover that most of the houses they passed were unoccupied. He laughed, saying that what started as an ordinary run ultimately turned into a peculiarly adventure-filled experience.

In fact, the spectacular landscape where Network School is located is itself a major unique selling point. As you drive into Forest City, you can see tall buildings rising from the ground in a row along the highway, standing in stark contrast to the relatively flat surrounding terrain, creating a spectacular sight. At the hotel entrance, a dedicated Network School sign is prominently displayed. Upon entering the hotel lobby, what immediately catches your eye is the NS Cafe, full of modern aesthetics, set against massive floor-to-ceiling windows.

（NS Cafe offers free coffee and water to members.）

Behind the Story

Before departure, the author had already heard something about the story of Forest City. The most memorable was a "ghost city" video that circulated widely on social media a few years ago. In the video, Forest City appeared dilapidated and gloomy, with shop signs already fallen, and the entire city resembling a ghost town.

It was precisely for this reason that the author was deeply curious about Network School's choice to establish itself here.

Driving into Forest City from the highway, the first sight was a row of tall buildings standing in formation, like a movie scene. After entering, the author first visited the community activity center located beneath an apartment building. The freshly built center looked completely out of place amidst the neglected, vacant shops nearby.

Standing there, the author couldn't shake the sinking feeling that perhaps Network School wasn't what they'd expected.

It wasn't until arriving at Network School's hotel that the author's perspective completely changed. Upon entering the lobby, members were working quietly in the café, with views of the azure sea beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. JK showed the author around the conference rooms, dining hall, library, yoga studio, and gym. All facilities were open access, and members could independently establish clubs or organize activities.

Since moving in this June, JK has noted that more and more shops have begun opening for business. Contrary to its portrayal online as an abandoned development, Forest City shows clear signs of active maintenance. Throughout the area, cleaning staff sweep up fallen leaves, security guards monitor the buildings, and maintenance teams ensure facilities remain functional.

So, is spending $1,500 to join Network School worth it?

Perhaps the real question isn't about the cost itself, but whether you want to be part of this community of "dark talents" building a utopia for the digital age.

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