Moving to Cairo (Maadi)

[Weekend]

Hi all,

We are considering moving to and working in Cairo (Maadi) next year and we need to make decision by the end of Nov. We have a 3 year old child. We would appreciate your advice on the following questions:

1) What type of accommodation can we get with LE6000 per month in Maadi?

2) Is it common for expat in Maadi to live in a house or apartment? Is it common to have garden or balcony?

3) What British international primary school are there?

4) Do most expat drive car or is it more common to travel on public transport (taxi)?

5) How is the medical service? Does anyone has experience in delivering baby in Cairo? If yes, is it safe/good? Which hospital is good? How much is it?

Thank you very much and really appreciate your help.

[synthia]

Welcome to the expat forum! Egypt sounds like quite an adventure. What will you be doing there?

[Weekend]

Hi, synthia,

We just found out that the company will provide accommodation which is a great relief.

My husband is considering taking up a job in a consultancy firm but we are not sure whether Egypt is right for us.

We are planning to have another child sometimes next year or the year after but we are not sure how's the hospital like in Egypt. Do you have any good hospital to recommend?

Are there many Chinese/Malaysian expats in Cairo?

Are there many Chinese/Thai/Indonesian/Malaysian restaurants in Cairo?

Is it easy to find Indonesian/Thai/Malaysian cooking ingredients like chilli, lemongrass, etc?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[synthia]

I'm not in Egypt, so I can't answer your questions. I hope you get a response from others on the forum.

[moraldo]

well it is nice to hear that you are considering to moving to cairo weekend.
for you to move to maadi is quite common most of the foreign are staying in maadi or in zamalek in cairo,for sure you will be able to find something good with 6000 pounds a month ,that`s even more than enough,there are chinese restaurants and thai restaurants in cairo for sure,u will find all kind of restaurants here,for the medical service yes there are excellent hospitals here and excellent doctors so it is totaly safe to deliver a baby here,and yes expat can drive a car but i am sure that it will be difficult in the begning since Egyptians do not follow the road rules firmly but i am sure u will adapt after a while...
hope this helps though i know it is a little bit late...

best of luck...

[vool07]

Hi,
The only warning is to deliver a baby in egypt, it is not safe at all, i can't advice you about the rest because i am from alexandria (north Egypt), but it will be a lot safer and easier if you have your own car.

[synthia]

I went to Egypt ages and ages ago. I remember going around with two other people and having to rotate who would sit in the front seat, because up there you can see what the driver is doing and it was terrifying! I certainly wouldn't start driving right away, until you are used to the local driving customs.

When looking for hospitals in foreign countries, the Adventist hospitals are always good. Check if there is one in Cairo.