A
Altaria
New Member
Greetings all!
I'm Lucy. I'm a 19 (20 later this month) year old University student from Tasmania, Australia. Two years ago I turned down an opportunity to study in Egypt and I've been kicking myself ever since. I'm an archaeology major, and while I thought I could at least get a start here with my BA I found the system, the subject matter and the staff themselves to be... well, terrible. Very unfortunate that.
I've travelled around a fair bit. I visited Egypt in 2008 and was mystified by the beauty of the place, the culture and of course the rich history of the country. I've since travelled in other Islamic countries but have yet to return there.
I recently met a Pakistani couple who I became fast friends with. After learning about my studies and how disappointed I have been with them here, they introduced me to a relative who studied archaeology in and now operates out of Alexandria and he has been assisting me in applying for, and preparing to study there as an undergrad myself.
:marchmellow:
While at this point in time everything is still in those sketchy stages (I have a lot to take into consideration lifestyle-wise - finances, my long term relationship and my family, etc) I am quite serious about going ahead with this and have been doing a lot of research.
While I have had a fairly thorough rundown on the study part of it - and the difficulties I will need to overcome, I'm still a little baffled where it comes to the transition itself and real estate as my friend can only give me so much information about it.
I've been reading through your forums and have found some really helpful threads and comments but to get the best insight possible I wanted to post my enquiries here.
Please bear with me. I'm sure you've read and responded to these same questions many times but any advice and opinions you can offer will be much appreciated.
Firstly - as a single student seeking a 1-2 bedroom apartment, flat or villa in clean condition with kitchen and bathroom facilities for PURCHASE (which is my preference) - what would be a fair price for me to pay? My budget could extend as far as roughly 60,000 USD. From what I've looked at online that seems possible but I don't know whether or not I can trust the websites I'm browsing.
I'd like to live within a reasonably close distance to the city center (no longer than an hour away). Are there any reccomendations regarding location? Somewhere relatively safe, open to foreigners and such?
Assuming I was unable to afford a property, what would be a fair price for rent? How do I know who is safe to rent from (assuming the laws protecting those who rent property may be considerably different there)?
What is public transport in Alexandria like?
Is it more preferable to purchase a furnished property or buy your own?
What are the water restrictions in Alexandria like?
How easy and expensive is it to have internet access from home?
What are the average costs of utility bills?
What are the tax rates like?
As a single young woman, how would you reccomend I go about seeking property and handling the services and costs involved? What kind of legal assistance - assuming it is needed - would be best for me to consider?
Is there any other advice you can offer that I may need? Is there anything involved in the process that I may not have considered or isn't always obvious?
Lastly, after moving to Egypt - how did you personally cope with the change?
I might add that I spend much time with my muslim friends and I have visited many Islamic countries so I don't think I'll struggle too much in that regard. And if my last experience was anything to go by, Egypt is hardly as strict with religious law as other countries and is far more tolerant of non-muslims as long as you give them the respect they deserve as a guest in their country and are not an ignorant twit.
I hope I wrote that out as clearly as I meant to. I'll probably come up with more questions later but until then I'll be reading your input.
Thank you all.
I'm Lucy. I'm a 19 (20 later this month) year old University student from Tasmania, Australia. Two years ago I turned down an opportunity to study in Egypt and I've been kicking myself ever since. I'm an archaeology major, and while I thought I could at least get a start here with my BA I found the system, the subject matter and the staff themselves to be... well, terrible. Very unfortunate that.
I've travelled around a fair bit. I visited Egypt in 2008 and was mystified by the beauty of the place, the culture and of course the rich history of the country. I've since travelled in other Islamic countries but have yet to return there.
I recently met a Pakistani couple who I became fast friends with. After learning about my studies and how disappointed I have been with them here, they introduced me to a relative who studied archaeology in and now operates out of Alexandria and he has been assisting me in applying for, and preparing to study there as an undergrad myself.
:marchmellow:
While at this point in time everything is still in those sketchy stages (I have a lot to take into consideration lifestyle-wise - finances, my long term relationship and my family, etc) I am quite serious about going ahead with this and have been doing a lot of research.
While I have had a fairly thorough rundown on the study part of it - and the difficulties I will need to overcome, I'm still a little baffled where it comes to the transition itself and real estate as my friend can only give me so much information about it.
I've been reading through your forums and have found some really helpful threads and comments but to get the best insight possible I wanted to post my enquiries here.
Please bear with me. I'm sure you've read and responded to these same questions many times but any advice and opinions you can offer will be much appreciated.
Firstly - as a single student seeking a 1-2 bedroom apartment, flat or villa in clean condition with kitchen and bathroom facilities for PURCHASE (which is my preference) - what would be a fair price for me to pay? My budget could extend as far as roughly 60,000 USD. From what I've looked at online that seems possible but I don't know whether or not I can trust the websites I'm browsing.
I'd like to live within a reasonably close distance to the city center (no longer than an hour away). Are there any reccomendations regarding location? Somewhere relatively safe, open to foreigners and such?
Assuming I was unable to afford a property, what would be a fair price for rent? How do I know who is safe to rent from (assuming the laws protecting those who rent property may be considerably different there)?
What is public transport in Alexandria like?
Is it more preferable to purchase a furnished property or buy your own?
What are the water restrictions in Alexandria like?
How easy and expensive is it to have internet access from home?
What are the average costs of utility bills?
What are the tax rates like?
As a single young woman, how would you reccomend I go about seeking property and handling the services and costs involved? What kind of legal assistance - assuming it is needed - would be best for me to consider?
Is there any other advice you can offer that I may need? Is there anything involved in the process that I may not have considered or isn't always obvious?
Lastly, after moving to Egypt - how did you personally cope with the change?
I might add that I spend much time with my muslim friends and I have visited many Islamic countries so I don't think I'll struggle too much in that regard. And if my last experience was anything to go by, Egypt is hardly as strict with religious law as other countries and is far more tolerant of non-muslims as long as you give them the respect they deserve as a guest in their country and are not an ignorant twit.
I hope I wrote that out as clearly as I meant to. I'll probably come up with more questions later but until then I'll be reading your input.
Thank you all.
