Hi Khrys,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!
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.
