Cost of Living in Maadi

[brian d]

Hi - Can anyone give us an idea of the general cost of living in Maadi? We may well be coming in a couple of months time for up to 3 years.

Other general question re Cairo - what are the normal working days? Is alcohol freely available? Is Maadi the best place for a South African expat to live? How safe is it? Anything for the wife to do whilst husband is at work? What about at weekends? Is there an expat club etc. How about dealing with banks transfer of money etc?

PRetty basic stuff but would appreciate any reply.

Brian

[Margaret Butler]

]Hi - Can anyone give us an idea of the general cost of living in Maadi? We may well be coming in a couple of months time for up to 3 years.

Other general question re Cairo - what are the normal working days? Is alcohol freely available? Is Maadi the best place for a South African expat to live? How safe is it? Anything for the wife to do whilst husband is at work? What about at weekends? Is there an expat club etc. How about dealing with banks transfer of money etc?

PRetty basic stuff but would appreciate any reply.

Brian

Hi Brian,
I have been living in Maadi for over 2 years. The normal working days are Sunday to Thursday. Alcohol is available when you arrive in Egypt at the duty free shops. You are allowed to claim this 4 times per year per passport over 21 years of age and your allowance (if claimed at the airport) is 4 bottles of spirits/wine, 600 cigarettes and up to 250 US dollars worth of other goods. Don't know what the perfume allowance is. You are allowed up to 48 hours after landing within which you can claim your allowance but if you do it in local duty free shops (there is one in Maadi) you can only claim 3 bottles of spirits or 3 or 4 bottles of wine. A case of beer counts as one bottle of spirits. You can buy local wine and beer at special shops and one supermarket in Maadi.


Maadi is safe as we have road blocks at the entrances to the area. They do not stop everyone all the time but I think they act as a deterrent. There is a large expat community here with a Rugby Club (licensed) and another expat club (also licensed). International style restaurants usually sell alcohol except during Ramadan when no alcohol is sold at all. We have a Community Services Association based in Maadi which is the hub of most things and your wife would find everything to do there. They have a website but I can't give it to you until I have made 4 posts on the forum. Weekends you can join a golf and leisure club in Katamaya, you can go desert camping, horse riding at Giza, mountain biking in Wadi Digla (Maadi), play rugby, tennis, in fact whatever you want to do you can find it here.
Banking I am not so sure about as we don't have any bank accounts here. We just use cash machines and use internet banking and it works well for us.

Do you want to know about the cost of living in Egypt or Cairo or Maadi?

Hope this helps. Anything else I can help you with, just ask.

cheers and good luck,
Margaret

[scooby21]

Thanks Margaret

I have been following your posts on this forum and the property one with interest as we are due to leave the UK and we have family in Cairo and think we are going to Maadi but have also seriously considered Hurgarda, its great to hear an expat happy with the life style in Maadi, Is there any aras in Maadi that are not so great to live in ? we are thinking of buying,
thanks again

[Margaret Butler]

Originally Posted by scooby21

Thanks Margaret

I have been following your posts on this forum and the property one with interest as we are due to leave the UK and we have family in Cairo and think we are going to Maadi but have also seriously considered Hurgarda, its great to hear an expat happy with the life style in Maadi, Is there any aras in Maadi that are not so great to live in ? we are thinking of buying,
thanks again

Hi there,

Depends on how much you want to spend and what type of accommodation you are looking for. We have been looking around Maadi ourselves as we were not sure whether to buy here or in El Gouna.

Villas are hugely expensive, apartments are more affordeable but can still be pretty pricey.

Maadi is sort of divided into 2 areas Maadi Sarayat and Maadi Digla. Prices in Sarayat are 8,000 to 10,000 Egp. pounds per sq. mtr. and Digla is 6,000 to 7,000 per sq. mtr. Then it depends on the street, building and then on what the finish is like inside. This should raise or lower the final price by around 10%. However, and there always seems to be "however" most properties are not advertised via Estate Agents as no one wants to pay commission so you have to find a way in via the Boab (caretaker) - each building has one. There are lots of Agents available also and this is probably the safest way for foreigners to buy - my opinion only.

Locations that are popular with ex-pats are Sarayat and Digla although there are a lot of new apartments going up in New Maadi. The estate agents were very good with us when we arrived about which areas they took us to. They know where foreigners would like to live and where they might not like to live. I have a list of good agents. If you would like a copy you could pm me.
We might still buy in Cairo. We have still not counted it out completely!!

Hope this helps,

Margaret

[PurplePlumb]

Hi Margaret,We are British Expats and moved to Egypt in April.* We have a nice rented place in Maadi but way to big for our needs and are looking to move.* We struggled to* find any good estate agents etc.However, I have just came across your post and I was wondering if you mind letting me have a copy of good agents that you used.Kind regards,Samantha

[Rayahubbell]

Originally Posted by Margaret Butler

]Hi - Can anyone give us an idea of the general cost of living in Maadi? We may well be coming in a couple of months time for up to 3 years.

Other general question re Cairo - what are the normal working days? Is alcohol freely available? Is Maadi the best place for a South African expat to live? How safe is it? Anything for the wife to do whilst husband is at work? What about at weekends? Is there an expat club etc. How about dealing with banks transfer of money etc?

PRetty basic stuff but would appreciate any reply.

Brian

Hi Brian,
I have been living in Maadi for over 2 years. The normal working days are Sunday to Thursday. Alcohol is available when you arrive in Egypt at the duty free shops. You are allowed to claim this 4 times per year per passport over 21 years of age and your allowance (if claimed at the airport) is 4 bottles of spirits/wine, 600 cigarettes and up to 250 US dollars worth of other goods. Don't know what the perfume allowance is. You are allowed up to 48 hours after landing within which you can claim your allowance but if you do it in local duty free shops (there is one in Maadi) you can only claim 3 bottles of spirits or 3 or 4 bottles of wine. A case of beer counts as one bottle of spirits. You can buy local wine and beer at special shops and one supermarket in Maadi.


Maadi is safe as we have road blocks at the entrances to the area. They do not stop everyone all the time but I think they act as a deterrent. There is a large expat community here with a Rugby Club (licensed) and another expat club (also licensed). International style restaurants usually sell alcohol except during Ramadan when no alcohol is sold at all. We have a Community Services Association based in Maadi which is the hub of most things and your wife would find everything to do there. They have a website but I can't give it to you until I have made 4 posts on the forum. Weekends you can join a golf and leisure club in Katamaya, you can go desert camping, horse riding at Giza, mountain biking in Wadi Digla (Maadi), play rugby, tennis, in fact whatever you want to do you can find it here.
Banking I am not so sure about as we don't have any bank accounts here. We just use cash machines and use internet banking and it works well for us.

Do you want to know about the cost of living in Egypt or Cairo or Maadi?

Hope this helps. Anything else I can help you with, just ask.

cheers and good luck,
Margaret

Hi Margaret,

I have been living in Dokki for the past 6 months and thoroughly enjoy it, however I would like to join an expat social club and find out a little bit more about the community. I have made some fantastic local friends, but am missing the finer things in life.. like golf... can you give me some idea of how to join?

Thanks

Raya

[Margaret Butler]

Originally Posted by Rayahubbell

Hi Margaret,

I have been living in Dokki for the past 6 months and thoroughly enjoy it, however I would like to join an expat social club and find out a little bit more about the community. I have made some fantastic local friends, but am missing the finer things in life.. like golf... can you give me some idea of how to join?

Thanks

Raya

Hi Raya,
The website for the CSA is Community Services Association (CSA) > Home. You will find all the information you need from there. As for golf, you could join Katameya Country Club or the Marriott Mirage Club - both on the ring road.

Hope this helps,
Margaret

[Caroline66]

Hi everyone!
I wanted to introduce myself as I am moving to Maadi to take up a teaching position in September. I have read with interest the many things that are on offer in Maadi and to be honest I can't wait! I found a room with an American couple through Craigslist and am planning to join the American College to swim and play tennis. I also came across a website on the music and dance available in Maadi - it all looks great and I can't wait to make new friends and acquaintances.
I already own an apartment in Hurghada, next door to El Gouna and on days off with Kite Surf down there.
Life just can't get better!!!
Caroline

[thorflowers]

Originally Posted by Caroline66

Hi everyone!
I wanted to introduce myself as I am moving to Maadi to take up a teaching position in September. I have read with interest the many things that are on offer in Maadi and to be honest I can't wait! I found a room with an American couple through Craigslist and am planning to join the American College to swim and play tennis. I also came across a website on the music and dance available in Maadi - it all looks great and I can't wait to make new friends and acquaintances.
I already own an apartment in Hurghada, next door to El Gouna and on days off with Kite Surf down there.
Life just can't get better!!!
Caroline

Such a small world- I am also going to be moving to Maadi in a couple months for a teaching position. I love reading posts such as what you just wrote. Just wanted to say that you enthusiasm is catching!

[Whitedesert]

Originally Posted by brian d

Hi - Can anyone give us an idea of the general cost of living in Maadi? We may well be coming in a couple of months time for up to 3 years.

Other general question re Cairo - what are the normal working days? Is alcohol freely available? Is Maadi the best place for a South African expat to live? How safe is it? Anything for the wife to do whilst husband is at work? What about at weekends? Is there an expat club etc. How about dealing with banks transfer of money etc?

PRetty basic stuff but would appreciate any reply.

Brian

Hi Brian, Right now apartments (flats) are not that expensive. A lot of especially US citizens have left and their is an oversupply of stock. Being a South African myself (8 years in Cairo) and knowing what you would generally want, you should be able to get a two-bedroomed unit (good block, fairly well maintained) for about 1000 to 1,200 US. 3 bedroomed for maybe 1,400 to 1,800 per month. I am obviously speaking from the point of view of a headhunted person in a senior job paying a US salary with car and driver included, but for us Cairo is cheap for most other things except clothing, but that you buy back home at Woolies anyway. Dont stay in the outer places (New Cairo/6th Oct), yes cheaper out there and you get more and cleaner air, but isolated. Degla, Maadi is the best place to live if you want to live close to most of us other Saffas, if you want to see other Saffas that is!