Living in Egypt

[Jeremy Sturgess]

I have now made over 40 trips to egypt in the last 36 months. originally i was coming at least monthly to visit my young son who came here with my ex wife in 2004 to live in cairo. in the beginning everytime i got to LHR for the flight i used to curse my ex wife for moving to cairo as i was still v angry. She said it was my fault and egypt was the only place she could afford to live on the alimony I give her - which by the way is multiples of the 600E the survey suggests is enough to live on. A High maintenance woman if ever i met one !.

Anyway 4 years later we are back together again - we both worked out it was never going to be any easier with anyone else and besides we love each other! And after a while I started to really like egypt. Things I really like are

- all the staff you can actually afford to keep in egypt which makes ones life so much easier. im hopeless around the home and i know i could never go back to just a part time cleaner in the uk. Driver, Cook, Cleaner, Nanny and extras as needed for $600 per month maximum. And the staff feel very lucky to work for us as they are well paid comparitively so there is no attitude.Come to think of it perhaps thats why Im getting on so well with the ex as she hated housework and was always complaining and now she does none.

- the much slower pace

- no crime to speak of

- being able to smoke everywhere and even if there are no smoking signs around these all appear to be purely optional !

-the friendly people. we have made some very good friends in the egyptian community and with expats . I have been truly humbled by how welcoming and friendly our egyptian friends have been and any initial prejudices i may have secretly harboured have completely dissappeard

- good social life and actually being able to get out whenever you want because babysitting is on tap 24 hrs a day.

- El Gouna where we (and many of our local and expat friends) have houses


Things i dont like

- i rarely eat well except when we are invited to our egyptian friends housesfor homemade cooking

- hard to find a decent bottle of wine to buy

- miss a pint of guinness

- the pollution in cairo

- the quality of driving by some of the locals and particularly the way they tend to not turn their headlights on at night. Whats that all about ? Are they trying to save electricity.

- the roads

- the tendancy to play very loud music in some very odd settings when all you want is a quiet drink

- poor choice of sports at my sons school. no cricket,rugby or hockey



Having said all the above I cant imagine wanting to live anywhere else now as the quality of life is excellent. Apparantly its a dictatorship here in egypt but let me tell you for my mind it works ! I feel safer here in Egypt than I ever did in London.

I would say to anyone looking for a better life and fed up with Browns britain to give Egypt a try.

 

[lyndsay552]

Excellent post Jeremy, really enjoyed reading it.

Lyndsay

 

[Lsab]

I second that.

I imagine that there's a world of difference between living in Cairo and El Gouna? Of the two, the latter does it for me. All my husband's family live in Cairo and I can't cope with it for long periods - I'm just not a city person.We will eventually live in Egypt, when my husband retires and it's a prospect that never appealed until I found this forum (thanks everyone)! We had been considering other areas - Alex for instance and Ein Sokhna because of it's proximity to Cairo - but, again thanks to Totally Property, all our research is centred on the Red Sea.

 

[queenie40something]

I third that.

Jeremy how does your wife cope with the shopping? Are there enough shops to keep her happy?
I imagine she is very happy with the costs of the beauty treatments eg facials etc as I find them very cheap but just wondered how she copes with filling her wardrobe.

In Sharm there is not alot of choice for women especially when it comes to shoes and I know I will miss the shopping centres we are all used to here.

I agree with the food in Egypt and when I am in Egypt I always want a decent roast with fresh cabbage and I miss decent cheeses as well such as brie, stilton and a good cheddar.

 

[Jeremy Sturgess]

I think she shops for clothes in the mall below the 4 seasons hotel at garden city but i try not to get involved !

I third that.

Jeremy how does your wife cope with the shopping? Are there enough shops to keep her happy?
I imagine she is very happy with the costs of the beauty treatments eg facials etc as I find them very cheap but just wondered how she copes with filling her wardrobe.

In Sharm there is not alot of choice for women especially when it comes to shoes and I know I will miss the shopping centres we are all used to here.

I agree with the food in Egypt and when I am in Egypt I always want a decent roast with fresh cabbage and I miss decent cheeses as well such as brie, stilton and a good cheddar.

 

[Lsab]

There's a huge modern mall in Cairo called CityStars. It's got everything you could need including a supermarket, multi screen cinema, cafes, all the clothes shops you could need etc etc.

 

[realestatemart]

There's a huge modern mall in Cairo called CityStars. It's got everything you could need including a supermarket, multi screen cinema, cafes, all the clothes shops you could need etc etc.

OHHHHH as my wife like to go there for shopping alot and spend all the money i try not to go there alot

 

[vix]

What is the distance pls btween Cairo n Hurghada?

 

[M Butler]

Margaret

I have just joined up today having come across this website while looking for properties in Egypt. Great wealth of information to be had.


We have been living in Maadi, Cairo for 2 years and I have loved every minute of it. Unfortunately my husbands posting is due to finish in May but he will hopefully be taking early retirement.

Do we go back or stay here? We have decided to stay in Egypt but had then to make up our minds where to live and we have opted for El Gouna. We have visited a couple of times and have started to look at properties. We are coming back down again next week (1st April) for one week and hope to find our home in the sun.

Do I miss anything from home? Marks and Spencer comes to mind and the obvious thing - supermarket choice of wines. Shopping for clothes I thought would be a problem but in Cairo I have been able to have items made to measure. Couldn't afford that back home. I never feel threatened, even when venturing downtown. Egyptians always have a warm welcome for you in their shop - whether you buy or not.

All things considered, we have a lifestyle in Egypt that we could never afford to have in the UK, Spain, Portugal, etc., and as my husband is about to become a "pensioner", (I had better add that he is only 53) as far as I'm concerned, it's a bit of a no brainer!!

 

[M Butler]

I third that.

Jeremy how does your wife cope with the shopping? Are there enough shops to keep her happy?
I imagine she is very happy with the costs of the beauty treatments eg facials etc as I find them very cheap but just wondered how she copes with filling her wardrobe.

In Sharm there is not alot of choice for women especially when it comes to shoes and I know I will miss the shopping centres we are all used to here.

I agree with the food in Egypt and when I am in Egypt I always want a decent roast with fresh cabbage and I miss decent cheeses as well such as brie, stilton and a good cheddar.

Queenie40something.

Hi there,
Shopping in Cairo has changed even during the 2 years that I have been here. City Star Mall has just about doubled in size recently. Is is huge. City Mall in New Maadi is just completing a large extension with new shops such as Next, Mothercare, Bodyshop and new European outlets, all moving into Egypt.

 

[Peter Mitry]

Hi Margaret and welcome to the forum; it is always good to get new members who have already experienced living in Egypt as it provides a great insight for the many others who have bought off plan without even visiting! I am English/Egyptian and absolutely love the country and the people. We are moving to Hurghada this year and it is great to read your comments about life in Egypt. My wife, quite naturally, has a few misgivings but I believe that they will melt away after a very short time. My partner is already based in Hurghada and if you need any help you can contact him on (002) 0101 230041. His name is Nick Pendrell.

 

[lyndsay552]

Hi M Butler and welcome to the forum.

Please can you advise us about the cost of things in Cairo?

Details of the price of clothing compared to the uk would be great.

Lyndsay

 

[queenie40something]

Hi Margaret and welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the information. I think if you came back to the UK you would be shocked at the price of everyday items - and of course the weather.

 

[M Butler]

Thanks Peter,

I have learned quite a lot while in Cairo but I expect life will be quite different in El Gouna. For one thing, we never realised that there would be a problem with flights from the UK but as we will be living here a lot of the time I hope it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Also, we have only be renting in Cairo so we are trying to navigate our way around the Egyptian sales system which is how I came upon this site. I will also be able to drive again which I point blank refuse to do in Cairo!!!

 

[M Butler]

Hi Margaret and welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the information. I think if you came back to the UK you would be shocked at the price of everyday items - and of course the weather.

Thanks Queenie,

I travel back quite regularly to the UK and I am absolutely stunned at the cost of living that I used to take for granted.

cheers,
Margaret

 

[M Butler]

Thanks George,

We don't really want to go off plan at the moment as we are hoping to move down some time in May (all going well). I will give you a call next week.

cheers,
Margaret

 

[realestatemart]

Thanks George,

We don't really want to go off plan at the moment as we are hoping to move down some time in May (all going well). I will give you a call next week.

cheers,
Margaret

Ok Margaret waiting your call and I have 2 villas in El Gouna for you

 

[M Butler]

Hi M Butler and welcome to the forum.

Please can you advise us about the cost of things in Cairo?

Details of the price of clothing compared to the uk would be great.

Lyndsay

Hi Lyndsay,

Depends on what you want to buy really. If you go for anything imported it is expensive but we have many outlet shops here that sell loads of casual cotton items that are made in Egypt and exported all over the world: eg. Next, M&S, Gap, Debenhams, Tesco, Asda, Izod, A&K, Gin Tonic, Disney, Nike, Adidas - I could go on and on. If you think cotton, it is probably manufactured here. You can buy T shirts from £1.50 upwards, trousers from £3.00. Towels by Christy/Fired Earth/John Lewis start at around £1.00. Bedding is also a good buy if you know where to go. 400 thread count cotton sheet sets (2 king size sheets 4 pillowcases) for around £19.00. I saw men's Arrow shirts the other day for £5.00.

Then there are the fabric markets which are so cheap you have a hard time trying to haggle. You can buy by the metre or by the bale. It is very reasonable to have anything made up for you from sofa covers to evening dresses. A complete set of loose sofa covers, including fabric is around£110 - not fireproof of course.

As I am writing this I am thinking that I will probably be visiting Cairo from time to time.

Hope this helps. If you need anything more specific just let me know.

cheers,
Margaret

 

[realestatemart]

Hi Lyndsay,

Depends on what you want to buy really. If you go for anything imported it is expensive but we have many outlet shops here that sell loads of casual cotton items that are made in Egypt and exported all over the world: eg. Next, M&S, Gap, Debenhams, Tesco, Asda, Izod, A&K, Gin Tonic, Disney, Nike, Adidas - I could go on and on. If you think cotton, it is probably manufactured here. You can buy T shirts from £1.50 upwards, trousers from £3.00. Towels by Christy/Fired Earth/John Lewis start at around £1.00. Bedding is also a good buy if you know where to go. 400 thread count cotton sheet sets (2 king size sheets 4 pillowcases) for around £19.00. I saw men's Arrow shirts the other day for £5.00.

Then there are the fabric markets which are so cheap you have a hard time trying to haggle. You can buy by the metre or by the bale. It is very reasonable to have anything made up for you from sofa covers to evening dresses. A complete set of loose sofa covers, including fabric is around£110 - not fireproof of course.

As I am writing this I am thinking that I will probably be visiting Cairo from time to time.

Hope this helps. If you need anything more specific just let me know.

cheers,
Margaret

may b we organize forum trips to cairo every month as shopping trips

 

[lyndsay552]

Thanks for all the info Margaret, i will definately be doing a few trips to Cairo once we move over. Is it reasonably easy to get from the airport to the major shopping centres? Just thinking that if I could get an early flight up and a late flight back to hurghada I could get a full days shopping done!!

Lyndsay