Might be moving, need advice please

First of all, welcome on board! Most of your questions, don't specifically state a city within Egypt, but my guess would be Cairo. I'm not a Cairo resident, but I'll address your questions from the point of view of someone in Alexandria.

So let me try to address some of your questions.

1) No idea

2) There are quite a few vets around. No problem raising pets here

3) Customs vary by location. Currently, Egypt is being torn between extreme fundamentalism and wanting to experience a more western type of culture. For example, in the new Cairo terminal you have a heineken Bar serving alcoholic drinks, yet it is almost impossible to obtain a liquor license in Alexandria and there are no new bars for years. In addition, they are trying to shut down bars in Alexandria and anyone associate with alcohol is always under constant harassment.

Having said that, you'll find places within Cairo that are very liberal and places that are extremely conservative. Thus, act appropriate to the situation. For example, some males will not shake your hand and maybe not even look at you, whereas other males might expect to shake your hand and kiss on each cheek. In short, you'll figure it out by yourself eventually. Clothes again, dress to the location and situation; In exclusive beaches wear your bikini, in non-exclusive beaches be prepared to be fully clothed.

4. Tourism is the key bread earner for Egypt - so you'll be treated like a queen.

5. The latest in real-estate development is gated communities. In simple terms, they are a collection of housing units behind a wall with security who check incoming and out-coming traffic. They are trying to mimic the idea of gated communities being better than non-gated communities. It is not like a prison-style compound.

6. If your qualifications are basically being "American" - then you have the obvious jobs of being a teacher, secretary, public relations expert, etc.

So which state are you guys from?

It is very nice to meet you, thank you for the warm welcome!
Terry and I are currently living in northeastern Michigan, but originally from the suburbs of Detroit Michigan. As I said, this would be our first trip out of the US for this kind of employment. For him there have been 30-90 day deployments (USMC, USAF); and for me there have been tag-alongs.
Cairo was correct! Forgive me, as I did not realize that customs vary from place to place, even though I should have. We will possibly be living and he will be working in Cairo.
We both have children from previous marriages, ranging from 19-24, and they will not be moving with us. As I said, a few pets, one dog, three cats, eight domesticated rats. I am glad there are vets around, as I take everyone to the vet at least every six months for a basic check.
We are very 'northern US', but realize we probably have to tweak that a little more than we are used to. Is there a translator there, or a mentor that can teach me arabic? I want to at least be able to lightly converse with the Egyptians in their own tongue, out of respect. I do not want to be considered a 'dumb American' like I was in Brussles, because I did not know French!

We are so glad to have found this forum! Between this, and the company Terry will be working for, it will no doubt answer a lot of our questions! When we become established in Egypt hopefully, we can become mentors on here also!

Khrys said:

It is very nice to meet you, thank you for the warm welcome!
Terry and I are currently living in northeastern Michigan, but originally from the suburbs of Detroit Michigan. As I said, this would be our first trip out of the US for this kind of employment. For him there have been 30-90 day deployments (USMC, USAF); and for me there have been tag-alongs.
Cairo was correct! Forgive me, as I did not realize that customs vary from place to place, even though I should have. We will possibly be living and he will be working in Cairo.
We both have children from previous marriages, ranging from 19-24, and they will not be moving with us. As I said, a few pets, one dog, three cats, eight domesticated rats. I am glad there are vets around, as I take everyone to the vet at least every six months for a basic check.
We are very 'northern US', but realize we probably have to tweak that a little more than we are used to. Is there a translator there, or a mentor that can teach me arabic? I want to at least be able to lightly converse with the Egyptians in their own tongue, out of respect. I do not want to be considered a 'dumb American' like I was in Brussles, because I did not know French!

We are so glad to have found this forum! Between this, and the company Terry will be working for, it will no doubt answer a lot of our questions! When we become established in Egypt hopefully, we can become mentors on here also!

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Hi Khrys,
I've been living here for 3 years now, so maybe my experience will be helpful. When we first moved here we lived in what I imagine would be called a gated community, El Rehab City. It was actually more like a self-contained small town(security on gates and within city, many green areas, swimming pool, malls, supermarkets, restaurant area, souk, doctors, dentists and even own fire brigade). In some parts of Cairo it is wise to dress more conservatively i.e covered arms and no shorts or short skirts. In Maadi, where I live pretty much anything goes. At any of the resorts and at private pools you can wear bikinis without a problem.

As far as pets go the only problem may be the rats, as I don't know if there are regulations about importing rodents. You could probably find out on the Defra site, which gives info on importing animals. We brought a dog with us from Saudi Arabia and encountered no problems. Just make sure innoculations are up to date and you may have to have had a recent test for rabies done. Contact a vet here and they will probably be able to give you all the information you need.I have a fantastic vet here who truly loves animals.

If you have any more questions feel free to send me a private message.

Oh my, i might have unintentionally misled you all, and I apologize profusly.

I am not Terrys wife, I am Terrys girlfriend. We have been together 8 years, and we have not wed. To avoid the "What'cha waitin' for?" question that everyone seems to ask, we just refer to eachother as husband and wife. I do not feel the need to go in to a long explanation with everyone, like I will now:

I am still married, to someone else...Oh I know what you are thinking, and I am not that way. I was married to him for insurance purposes, because I am somewhat handicapped, and my medical bills would go through the roof. So for all intents and purposes, we just have the piece of paper stating that we are married as we each go on with our lives. Please do not think horribly of me, it started out with all the good intents (love), but disinegrated when he was unfaithful. Right now, I cannot find him to divorce him, it is like he fell off the face of the earth.

I am sorry I misled you, for that was not my intention. I was so caught up in the whole 'moving to Egypt' thing, I never thought of the 'Im not his wife' thing and called it as i always do.