Moving to Egypt?

Night view of Cairo.  Looks so much cleaner at night...

Before we moved here I spent countless hours researching, planning and reading anything I could get my hands on about expat living in Cairo.  I'd go here a lot.  Having real life experiences was a big asset to me.  I was so glad I found that website.

I also read a lot of books. A lot of information was helpful, but a lot of it was totally out of date. One example being a book I read saying that you couldn't find Diet Coke anywhere.  Totally false.  Coke products are everywhere, even Coke Zero.  I'm sure that when they wrote that (sorry, name of book and publication date's name have escaped my memory)it was true.  Not anymore.

A ton of great information was to be found, so I figured I'd write something too in case this is ever found by someone searching the internet looking for any type of information about packing up and moving to the Middle East.  Just in case your husband comes home and says "You want to move to Egypt?" then you have a good laugh together, he says no, then you figure what the hell and go for it.

So, if the random ramblings are found by someone trying to figure out exactly what they'll be doing in Egypt, here you go. I wrote two blogs about living here already like here and here. They may also help.

These were my concerns or what I was curious about*...

Is it safe?
That's a tricky question.  Do I feel like I can walk out my house with my son and take him to the playground? Totally, without a doubt.  Do I feel like I can walk around Mt Sinai anymore?  Nope.  And honestly, if I didn't have a 2 year old in tow I wouldn't hesitate to go there.  So, that's why it's a tricky question.

Post Revolution Egypt is, from what I've been told, less safe than it was before.  This is true because police are pretty scarce and are not feared like they once were. However, I see police all the time.  There are at least two or three sitting outside on my street corner everyday.  We also live in Maadi, so that's a huge reason (affluent area, a lot of expats, a lot of oil company HQ's, home of many Ambassadors) why they're very present.

So, it's a tricky question.  Yes, I feel safe.  If I didn't feel safe  I wouldn't live here with my 2 year old.  Like any enormous city there are dangerous aspects to it, but I do not go looking for trouble.  I play it safe.  Just like you would if you lived in New York or London or anywhere else in the world.  There have been reports (2 reports that have been told to me) of taxi drivers mugging and trying (thankfully, not successfully) to sexually assault women, so now I use an extremely trustworthy driving service.

It got heavy there for a minute, so I figured I'd put a pic of me and the kid for  a change of pace.

What about grocery stores?
There are four grocery stores within walking distance to our apartment. One, that isn't in walking distance, is on the Nile. That's kinda cool. I can get my laundry detergent 12 feet from the Nile.

Typical produce for sale at Kimo Market in Maadi.

Deli section.  You can get a ton of brie here, just know that.  

Like grocery stores in the US, some are great and you like them and some suck but you go to them because they're convenient.  On a typical once a week grocery haul I have to go to two stores.  One because it will typically carry the diapers I like (see below), and I can get most of my list there.  The other one is for  produce.

Can I get diapers?
Yes, diapers are very easy to get.  The three brands I've used here are Pampers, Molfix and Baby Joy.  The Pampers here are not like the ones in the US.  Pampers and Molfix aren't good at all.  They're the most expensive brand and for whatever reason always give Benjamin a diaper rash.  Two of my other fellow expat mom's have said the same.  Baby Joy is inexpensive and awesome.  I highly recommend that brand.

Is Milk available?
Yes, fresh milk is very available. I get Dina Farms brand because you can see through the bottle.  So many times I opened the Labatina brand milk (it does not have a clear bottle) to clumpy, disgusting curtled milk. If shelf stable milk is okay with you they have that as well.  Shelf stable milk freaks me out, so I don't get it (in the US and here in Egypt).

Juice?
Welcome to Egypt, the land of juice!  There are tons of fresh juices available that are extremely delicious.  Like Egyptian Lemon Juice (that recipe isn't too accurate because what makes it good is they add the lemon peel to the juice too). It's amazing and one of my most favorite things here.

Don't be fooled by the face.  He loves this stuff.

Freshly squeezed juice is always available. I'm talking fresh mango, fresh pineapple, fresh orange juice, fresh watermelon- if it's in season they'll have a juice. No high fructose corn syrup for us.We get freshly squeezed orange juice every week. We're super spoiled with that. There are also tons of packaged selections in the grocery stores.  Everything from apple to red grape to pineapple.  Juice boxes are everywhere too.  One thing that's different here than in the US is they sell them individually.  Nice because you can get a variety.  Annoying because then you have a lot of loose juice boxes to deal with.

What's tv like over there?
Out of 400 channels there are about 6 or so ones in English.  We get BBC News, Euro News and CNN. However, CNN has just vanished and I have no idea where it went.  For local news we check out Aljazeera in English.
Movies on tv are plenty and typically pretty good stuff.  Then again, I have seen Step Up and The Way She Move like 100xs- the things we will watch for just a little bit of English and American culture.

You can get a paid network called OSN for (I think) $50/month.  We have to move apartments this month and may end up getting it.

Meat?
Do not buy local beef.  It's disgusting!  One of the first meals I made here was spaghetti.  It was something that  I knew I could get (because there is pasta all over the grocery stores, tons and tons of different sizes, etc) and spaghetti sauce in brands I knew (and you'll pay a good bit for as well...now I make it from scratch) and saw that ground beef wasn't at all expensive.  We ate our first bit of spaghetti and something was way off. It was gritty and had a nasty fat coating.  It took me several more tries to realized that local beef was nasty.
So now we get beef from Gourmet Egypt. You order it online and it is delivered to your home.  Simple.
Local chicken is fine.  They sell it just like at home.
You can also get turkey.  It's fine too.
Pork is available, but it's going to cost you.  Unless you're here for the US Gov and can go to the Commissary. If you have Commissary privileges just know that you need to share the wealth and slip your buds a bacon or a bottle of wine from time to time.  It's just the nice thing to do for us less fortunate oil people.

Please US Govnt workers...can I have some more?

Alcohol?
Warning: Local Egyptian wine is on average really rank.  It's very hit or miss.
If you're going to get Commissary privileges then you have nothing to fear.  And just remember that thing I said about helping the less fortunate out...

If you're a regular Joe then you have to either stick to the local stuff and pretend it's good (it is not good) or stalk anyone who has returned to Egypt from an out of the country trip.  You have two days to take them to the Duty Free shop and get your 3 bottles (4 at the airport) of whatever you like.  If you have family coming in then you have hit pay dirt.  There was no shame in our game when we asked if Benjamin's passport counted and we could get 3 more bottles.  They said no, he was too young.  I wanted to point out the 7 year old driving the car and smoking outside, but figured I'd leave it.

You know how if you go to a friends house for dinner you typically pick up a bottle of something to bring? Yea, doing that here is a huge commitment.  You have to really like those people.  Because parting with your hooch is difficult to do.  A friend of mine said how they brought a bottle over to a dinner party and the hosts didn't serve them the wine they brought, so she sneaked it out the house when they left.  Normally that would be really rude, but I can't say I blame her. I would of been right there sneaking my wine under my coat.  And if I have to burn a buddy bridge for some wine then so be it.

If you're a beer drinker then you have three brands to choose.  All three are local, but not that bad.  I like them okay.

Will we make friends?
Absolutely!  However, you're going to have to step out of your comfort zone and introduce yourself to people.  I joined a Mommy and Me class our first week here to meet other moms, find out what they do with their little critters and get contact information. I got the name of a lady who ran the local playgroup and off I went. I was meeting a friend and she received a text from someone she didn't know saying she was a fellow Aussie and wondered if they could have coffee sometime.  We all agreed that if that happened to us back home we would think them a stalker, but here it's totally normal to do stuff like that.

At a friend's Halloween Party

Yaaaar! A Pirate, his monkey hiding in the bush looking for treasure.

Halloween party at his nursery school.  The pirate thing had been done, so we went with Drew Brees.

Dying Easter Eggs with new friends

There are other organizations where you can meet other expats too.  Visit the CSA (go to their New to Egypt class- you will not regret it), the BCA and Ace Club. I'm also friends with some women I met in my spinning and Pilates classes.  I met them at Body Fit Cairo.

Also, the expat community in Cairo is wonderful.  The majority of the people I have met have been completely helpful and generous with their advice and time.


And here are some discoveries that I've found...

Getting around town with a stroller is hell, but you just have to do it.  If you're staying at home with your little guys then you'll need to be mobile with them.  You'll soon discover that people here walk on the roads for a reason.  They walk on the roads because 9 times out of 10 there is something wrong with the sidewalk.  They're finished but then the tiles come up, so you have a gaping hole in the middle of your path.  They have street lights smack in the middle of the sidewalk, so you can't get around them.  Getting off and on the sidewalks takes all your upper body strength because the sidewalks are at least 2 feet from the street.  It's a total pain in the ass to get around.  A necessary pain in the ass thought. So, get a jogging stroller.  The best quality and needs to be the easiest to fix if it breaks.  You will not regret it.

Tea is king in Cairo.  However there are a ton of coffee shops that offer latte's and all the delicious foamy goodness you've come to love.  I didn't try to see if they had a Tall Non Fat Moca Peppermint latte.  One pump Peppermint, Easy on the Moca because who knows what I would of been served.

Sweets are everywhere and they're delicious.  Egyptians have a big sweet tooth, so you don't hurt for delicious baked goodies.  Ramadan sweets are the best.

If you recognize the brand it's likely it's going to cost you.  There are the exceptions to this like Coke and Heintz products.  But, just as an example: Ragu Spaghetti Sauce is like $6.00 here, Lucky Charms is $7.00 and Oscar Meyer sliced bacon was $20.00.

If you find something in the grocery stores that you just love then buy a lot of it. Something I've found is that just as you have grown to love it it's gone.  Stores can be totally inconsistant with what they have in stock.  They're going to have the usuals (bread, butter, milk), but not always the brand you like or in the amounts you need.  There is this drinkable yogurt here that Benjamin just loves.  For whatever reason it was nowhere to be found during Ramadan.  An entire month of having a crying toddler shouting "Go-gie!  Go-gie Mok!" (Yogurt Milk) was the worst. One weakness I have is for gummy things.  The more sour the better.  There is one brand of lovely gummy sour goodnss that can't be found anywhere anymore.  Since Ocotober, poof, gone.  If I see it again I'm buying 20 bags.

If you stand out in any way (me: 5 ft 10 inches, pale pale pale, and blonde.  Or "blonde" wink) then people are going to want to take a picture of you.  There probably going to want to take a picture of your kids too.  This will happen a lot when you go to the Pyramids or other touristy places.  You can tell them no.  I usually don't mind.  Unless I get a creepy vibe from them.  It's mainly couples or groups of girls anyway.

Having a maid/nanny/housekeeper is the most wonderful and amazing thing in the world.  We have been lucky to have 2 (one left to go back to Ethiopia) of the best women work for us.  Sara, our current maid/nanny/housekeeper, is amazing.  I have written about her several times in here.



If I could re-move here i'd bring...

Our bed.  Don't get me started on one of the dumbest things I've ever done and said "nah we don't need our lovely pillow top American style bed.  We will be fine without it."  You won't. Bring your bed.  If you bring it and don't want it call me. I'll buy it from you.

Benjamin's infant stuff.  When we moved we had a crazed 18 month old that woke up at 5am every morning. Having a second baby was the last thing on my mind.  Now we have a somewhat calm 2 year old and baby noise has started up again.  And all I can think of are his wonderful baby things stuck in some warehouse in Houston...and how we're going to have to beg to borrow things from our friends OR buy them at 30000% mark up.  Luckily Seth's company is awesome enough to send it for us.  Hopefully it makes it here by next month.

A lot of diapers.  Why I didn't buy the farm on diapers and have the movers send them is beyond me.  Live and learn.

Beach stuff!  You're only one hour away from the Gulf of Suez in Ain Soukna and five hours away from El Gouna.  Both great beaches.  Bring your totes, mini ice chests, sand toys and swim suits.

Bday and Christmas gifts for the following year.  Especially if they are large ones.

Think about the next time you'll be going back to your home base.  If it's two seasons from now (and you have little kids who will outgrow their clothes) then bite the bullet and get the mother load of the next size in clothes.  There is a Gap here- I haven't been to it- but if it's anything like the one in Dubai you're going to pay big time for the clothes there.  I kinda suspect that it's that way, hence why I haven't made the trip over to Mall of Arabia to check it out.

Favorite snacks you need? Protein Powder/Gatoraid/Cliff Bars (my husband cycles, can you tell?)  Get yourself to Costco and load up.  Don't pack them, have them sent with your other things.


Other blogs about living here...
Go with the Flow





*these are things that worried me before we moved here in April 2011.  Your concerns/questions may be different.  If your curious about anything you can email me or contact some of the other links I have on here.