Just found out I am moving to Cairo, Egypt!!?

Question

My husband found out today we are being sent to Cairo for his job. He is American I am Canadian. Any advice, what should I expect when I get there??? We also have two boys 7 and 12....

Answer 1

I am European and have visited Egypt once, but not as a typical tourist. I also have some Egyptian friends, so I think I might help you with a few things...
First of all, I want to encourage you. As someone who has visited the country, I want to assure you there is nothing specific you should worry about. Actually, there is one thing... Traffic. But I will go back to that later.
According to the statistics, Cairo is one of the safest cities in the world. And my personal experience is according to that. When I was there (in the last october), I was sometimes wondering the city on my own, alone, even at night, and I had no problems at all. Plus, I was wearing western-style clothes all the time.
About people (shop keepers or men) trying to talk to you... I am tired of people (mostly western) complaining so much because of that. I mean, what is a problem with that? People keep trying to talk to you? So? If you don't want to talk to them, then simply don't. Just ignore them, that's it. Yes, they might shout after you, but you will survive that, right? But if you want, you can talk to some of them, you will meet some interesting people that way (I did), maybe even make some friends (did, too).
About shopping... First of all, you don't have to bargain at all. There are stores without bargaining. Second, if you shop at places where there is bargaining, the catch is to know the real prices, so you will know what to ask for. Ask the local people about the real prices and don't be surprised even if they are ten times less than the first price offered by a shop keeper. And of course, don't hesitate to insist on the prices you have been told are real.
Learn a few words of arabic, it can be very usuful... Not only in the situations nobody speaking english, but also to show local shop keepers you are not a tourist and you know local customs (and prices). Finally, whenever you reply "no, thank you" in arabic, it will have more effect than saying it in english. People will most probably stop convincing you whatever the subject was.
About place for living... The parts of the city prefered by foreigners are Maadi, Heliopolis and Zamalek. I suggest you Maadi because of the least pollution. On the other hand, consider where the work of your husband is. Cairo is a really huge city and the traffic is horrible, so it is not the best thing to choose to live far away from one's work place.
Ok, now, after all of this encouraging, let me worn you of something... The-above-mentioned traffic. You have to be very careful about that, especially at the beginning, as there traffic is completely different from the western one. The main rule is there is no rule! Forget about traffic lights and similar things. Cars do not stop and when you want to cross some busy street, you are at your own. But there is a catch: until you don't become familiar with that, join some Egyptian who is to cross the same street. Don't be ashamed to ask for help, that is completely normal there and they are very friendly. Besides, it is not rare case that they come to ask you if you need help if they see you standing helpless at the edge of the street.
All in all, people there are kind and tolerant. As long you respect them, they will respect you. Don't have prejudice and you will have no problems. By no means isolate yourself. Interfere with local people and make friends with them. You will have a great experience.
Egypt is an amazing country! You will enjoy. Your children probably even more.
Have a good time!
P.S. If you think that I could help you with anything else, please feel free to e-mail me anytime.

Answer 2

Hey!
Well, I recently moved to Cairo, Egypt -- and like someone else mentioned, it was really hard at first. I experienced culture shock and it was actually quite traumatising. I think however, it was mostly due to the schooling.
Do NOT, under any circumstances, place your children into small private schools here that claim to be "American system". The teachers are not qualified, the students are horrid- and the level of education will not be worth all the money that you will end up paying. Do look into Cairo American College, it's offers the best education in the country.

Places like Zamalek and Maadi are very foreigner friendly, especially the latter...so it would be best if you moved there.
Mohandiseen has got some great restaurants and cafe's. I wouldn't worry about food here, it tends to be good everywhere really...just don't buy anything off the street.

Traffic is insane here, so you need to take care when crossing the streets, drivers do not respect lanes, and they will not slow down for you.

Make sure you don't do what I did, and that's isolate yourself. You tend to like a place more when you've got good company-- so get out and socialize, enjoy the country. You end up loving it after a while.

Answer 3

When I was a sophomore in high school I moved over to Egypt for my dad's job. Was a very nice country. I didn't like the school though. I went to Cairo American College, which is where your kids might go and since it is a prep school the work load and work itself was very hard for me. I was a straight A student here in America and felt like I was barely going to make it there. I'm not talking about getting a B either I was getting D's. I had seven hours of homework a night and only four classes a day! Other than that a great country, the Khan el Khalili is a great place to shop, I urge you to visit Hurghada and Sharm El sheik, it is literally paradise, well as close as I will ever come to paradise. I would just let your kids know that the school it thats where they are attending will be a big change in work and culture shock. Watch out crossing the street I was hit by a car over there by a lady with a veil over her face. Also beware of the traffic, Cairo is very over populated and most are very old junky vehicles and it's the city that never stops it goes 24/7. People make left hand turns out of the right hand lands and vice versa. People honk for no apparent reason it is very loud and always honking. It was quite an experience though! Hope I helped!

Answer 4

Cairo is among the world's good megacities. As beautiful as it is mad, and as full of old finery because it is half dilapidated, Cairo is often a town that travellers enjoy and hate in similar actions therefore find out in which band you is likely to be with the help of this place hotelbye . In Cairo you will find, beyond the current hubbub, a record that spans centuries. Full of vigour, Cairo is wherever you probably get a feel for Egyptian road life and no visit to Egypt is total with out a stay static in the city Arabs contact Umm al-Dunya (The Mother of the World). The definitely incredible number of antiquities exhibited in Cairo's Egyptian Museum helps it be one of many world's good museums and certainly a place for everybody's to visit.

Answer 5

Expect a complete culture shock. It is hot, crowded, and polluted. I did not like how many people I knew (Irish, English, North Americans, and Aussies ) were followed around by street children. I am OK, as I am Mediterranean in colour and I blended. If you, your husband, or children are fair, it will prove annoying when out anywhere in Egypt. It may be traumatising, initially, for the children. They will miss their friends, family, TV shows, food, etc. It will take a while to settle in as the journey is far and the time difference is great (+7 hrs from Eastern time). I found it hard, being female, whilst in Cairo. I couldn't go out alone like I was used to, I didn't want to drive there, they didn't have my favourite shops, the food was different (I just ate at McDonalds, Subway, KFC, Chilli's TGI Fridays, etc.), I couldn't speak English. It was safe when I was there 6 years ago: they had amred soldiers everywhere. They have Christian and Jewish places of worship in Cairo, and they are heavily guarded.
A great thing about living in Egypt is you are able to take amazing trips abround the beautiful country: Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria, the Sinai, Abu Simbel, Edfu, etc. I recommed a Nile cruise and/or am organised bus tour. That is the safest option, as you have children with you. You are also near Cyprus, Greece, and Italy. I think you can even cruise to Cyprus from Alexandria.
Believe it or not, Egypt has a good train system. I went from Cairo to Luxor over night. It wasn't bad. The only thing--nobody spoke English!
To sum, it WILL be hard at first, but you will love it and look back on good times living in Egypt. The people, both locals and expats, will be very helpful and friendly. You can always order familiar foods, DVDs, etc on the Internet. Egypt may be miles away, but it is high-tech, thus, making distance seem like nothing!
:o)
Good Luck to you !

Answer 6

Hi,,,, there are many ex-pats there,, so you will not feel alone... You will love Cairo...... it has a mystic about it.... go to the egyptian museum,,,,, the pyramids and sphinx... and the citidal... that Saldin built..... then,,, go shopping in the Old Market,,, it is like stepping back 500 yrs in time..... it is called the Kail Kalillii (kyle.. ka lee lee).......you will really like it... but dont spend all your money there,, there are many real shops to purchase your gold items... the gold is 18 and 24 k.... not the 10 and 14 we have over here, and pay the same price for.....you can barter also.... on things....

Learn Arabic,,,,, it is fun also..and do Not cross your legs and have the bottom of your shoes show.... .tell your Husband this also.... it is an insult to Islamic people......dont shake with your left hand... or accept a left hand shake.....it is an insult......
Learn the word Western Toilet..... that is important to know....if you go out away from the big cities.....

good luck

Answer 7

I love Egypt! My husband is Egyptian and I lived there a short time. If you can learn some basic Arabic. This will help you alot. Cairo is a fairly modernized city. You will see many Egyptians in western fasion as well as those covered head to toe. If you find that you do not like being pestered by vendors you can easily dress muslim. Even if your children are fair if you are dressed muslim you will recieve far less hassel. They may assume you are originally of Lebanese Decent or that you are one of the more rare light colored Egyptians. I'm about as white as you can get but If I dressed in an abaya and hijab even in a tourist area I was rarely bothered. Cairo has great transportaion by cab, train, or subway, you may even want to hire your own driver and buy a car. It's fairly cheap! If you make Egyptian friends you will find that they try to feed you all the time. Also expect that any friends you guys make there even if their christian may tend to segregate sexes, so you will be in one room with the women and your husband will be in another with the men. Also the men tend to go out and leave you stranded there for hours when they say it's going to be a few minutes. Everything seems to take longer in Egypt. 5 minutes quickly turn into 30 and an hour quickly turns into 3. There is a lot of traffic and people walk in the streets. Even when there are sidewalks people often don't use them. Also there are no real public trash services so people throw trash in the streets all the time. You may want to buy a good air purifier for your home because the air in Cairo is so polluted that you may feel like choking sometimes. Your kids will probably enjoy many of the fantastic sites to see in Egypt. I would reccomend taking them to the Pharonic Village which is like a little park that's a recreation of ancient times. It's got peopel dressed as ancient egyptians doing the things ancient egyptians did. In some ways very much like a rennaisance festival. Also Cairo has a huge mall that your kids may enjoy going to to hang out. I would reccomend taking a trip to Khan el-Khallili bazaar and you will find tons of cool things to buy. Luxor has many good tourist sites but the people in Luxor try to take you for all your worth so hagle with them a lot on price. Also if they know your american than the price system works like this. If it costs 5 egyptian pound to an Egyptian it will cost 5 american dollars to you (A pound being worth less than a dollar right now I believe). Do not pay for services before they are given or you will most likely be taken advantage of people tend to treat you so good till they get paid and then they could care less because they already got their money. Egyptians tend to be very friendly and it is a fairly safe place for your children. However anytime you are dealing with customs, the government or police you should expect to have to pay them a bribe to get anything done. The egyptian police are some of the worst police officers ever and you can't do much about it because they have the guns. If you want to know more about Egypt or what you can do there feel free to e-mail me and I'll be happy to talk about it with you.

Answer 8

I'm American been here for 10 years everyone that knows Egypt is completely correct on their information. If you like send me an email maybe we can keep in touch. Oh I have 4 kids, my boys are 13 and 7 years old and my girls are 9 yrs and 9 months. They may wish to have playmates and I don't let mine around any kids unless they are from good upbringing. Keep in touch.

Answer 9

well, here's my advice

1. dont send ur kids to a public school, send them to a private one.. they're expensive, but u get what u paid for!

2. in egypt, u dont have to be veiled or anything.. u may (of course) wear skirts, tops and everything u like.. however, it is advisable that u dont wear shorts or half stomach tops and run around the streets

3. cabs tend to ask for more money when ur a tourist, so if ur alone, u'd better agree on the price first before getting in, and if i were u, i'd ask an egyptian first what the reaosnable price would be

4. other than that, its a very normal country! like any other! there r club, coffee shops, department stores, shops, fast food, movies, plays, concerts....... the whole package!
u'll learn the language in no time.. and u'll find egyptians very kind and helpful!

Answer 10

Well, let me tell you something. I have lived in different countries and different cultures. If you go with your mind set for observing,understanding,living and enjoying your new place....you will love it.
If you go with your mind set to your own thingys...i.e. you want same things and same life you used to....then I am afraid it will not be pleasant experience. So, it is in your own hands to make a great cultural,educational,and life experience for your family specially the children, and it is also in your hands to make it a hustle for the job. Good luck.