# Moving to Egypt, Neeeed help & any advice :)



## Charlotte&Liz

Hi there, We are two British girls looking to move to Sharm el sheikh in February 2012 to work for atleast 8 months. We have enquired about a few apartments but any other information would be appreciated. If anyone knows any more links or websites to rent apartments please let us know  Also we have been looking into jobs but have read on most forums that it is easier to get a job once you are there by handing your cv out everywhere. Is this true?  We intend to take enough money to live on for a month, do you think we will be able to find a job in that time? And we will obviously need the working visa, we just dont know where it is we have to get this from. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thankyouuu


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## MaidenScotland

Charlotte&Liz said:


> Hi there, We are two British girls looking to move to Sharm el sheikh in February 2012 to work for atleast 8 months. We have enquired about a few apartments but any other information would be appreciated. If anyone knows any more links or websites to rent apartments please let us know  Also we have been looking into jobs but have read on most forums that it is easier to get a job once you are there by handing your cv out everywhere. Is this true?  We intend to take enough money to live on for a month, do you think we will be able to find a job in that time? And we will obviously need the working visa, we just dont know where it is we have to get this from. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thankyouuu



Hello and welcome to the forum

my advice is
you need at the very least 6 months money when you come.
have a good read of this forum.
Don't come, until you have a lot more money behind you.

Maiden


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## Charlotte&Liz

Thanks for your reply  although i dont think we would need 6 months worth of money because if we hadnt found a job within the first month or two we wouldnt be staying. 
Charlotte & Liz


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## MaidenScotland

Charlotte&Liz said:


> Thanks for your reply  although i dont think we would need 6 months worth of money because if we hadnt found a job within the first month or two we wouldnt be staying.
> Charlotte & Liz





You asked for advice and as someone who lives here I gave it, sorry it was not what you wanted to hear


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## PaulAshton

Charlotte&Liz said:


> Thanks for your reply  although i dont think we would need 6 months worth of money because if we hadnt found a job within the first month or two we wouldnt be staying.
> Charlotte & Liz



1. There are hardly any jobs for Egyptian's let alone foreigners

2. Resident / tourist visas state (if granted) "no work permitted" employer's get 
fined for employing those without work visas and they are not being issued (in most cases) for tourist work, this is being enforced and the police do check

3. Often landlords will require a resident visa / 1 year tourist visa (if granted) and one month deposit as insurance and are reluctant to rent for short term


Expect rent to be 2000 - 3000 LE per month
Bills for water, electric, gas 400 - 600 LE per month
Food - 800 - 1000 LE per week for the both of you (prices rising)
AFTER rent is paid you really need about 5000LE to live on each month for any quality of life (for the both of you) and that's scratching around
Wages, if hired are 3000 LE per month (or less) hardly enough to cover rent and it is not very likely your employer will pay for rent

Whilst some things are 1/3 the price you would pay in the UK you need to fight for that price, other things are the same price as the UK or higher and you need to be a really tough cookie to live here

You are doomed, save your money, this is not a place to work as you will work to live LONG hours probably with someone who has bad or perverted intentions, even skilled work is low paid and the hours unsavory

Many Egyptian's have been made unemployed and have had to head back to Cairo etc and they will be the first to be given the jobs back, not many or any jobs in animation either and they look for experience

You need 6 months or more of money, expect the unexpected such as money for flights back home or health related

If you feel you must work and live abroad try an EU country, however tourism in Spain is dire as well

I am trying to save you lots of headache and grief not to poop on your parade, find out for yourself

You must have had your tourist goggles on, so in answer to your post NO you won't be staying past one month


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## Lanason

Charlotte&Liz said:


> Thanks for your reply  although i dont think we would need 6 months worth of money because if we hadnt found a job within the first month or two we wouldnt be staying.
> Charlotte & Liz


Welcome to the forum - my question would be:-

what can you offer that cant be done by an Egyptian? :confused2:

cus at the moment Work Permits are getting harder to come by. If you rent a place you will need to pay months rent plus deposits etc.

By all means come but don't expect to be staying past the first 4 weeks. Treat it as a "long holiday" then you wont be disappointed. arty:


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## charleen

I mean realllllly! I hate to sound rude but don't you two girls watch the news? Just decided to head on out and find a job in sharm now? Then what head on over to another fun country like ....Iran? Please rethink your choice for the moment...:ranger:


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## Charlotte&Liz

charleen said:


> I mean realllllly! I hate to sound rude but don't you two girls watch the news? Just decided to head on out and find a job in sharm now? Then what head on over to another fun country like ....Iran? Please rethink your choice for the moment...:ranger:



Thanks for your advice (if you can call it that). We realise that this wouldnt be easy at all and wouldnt be a holiday. We have both worked abroad before and know how things seem to work but just wondered about the job front. Again, thanks for help for the ''advice''


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## charleen

MaidenScotland said:


> You asked for advice and as someone who lives here I gave it, sorry it was not what you wanted to hear




I just don't get it why someone would choose to move to a country under such turmoil and think their are jobs??? The ecomony is crashing and they are upset with our advice? What are we supposed to say?


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## MaidenScotland

charleen said:


> I just don't get it why someone would choose to move to a country under such turmoil and think their are jobs??? The ecomony is crashing and they are upset with our advice? What are we supposed to say?




You will find that often.. people tend to want you to give them a fantastic review of how things are and then get upset when you tell them what they dont want to hear.

A quick read through the forum shows the state of the country.


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## Charlotte&Liz

MaidenScotland said:


> You will find that often.. people tend to want you to give them a fantastic review of how things are and then get upset when you tell them what they dont want to hear.
> 
> A quick read through the forum shows the state of the country.



I do appriciate your comments and just to confirm i am not upset with the message that you saying but that i think there are ways of saying things, i dont expect the sarcasm when we was only asking advice on the situation. If this is the case we will re think the decission and its just something we are looking into a the moment. Obviously we wouldnt want to leave the jobs we have in the uk to go over there and not find a job.


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## PaulAshton

Charlotte&Liz said:


> Thanks for your advice (if you can call it that). We realise that this wouldnt be easy at all and wouldnt be a holiday. We have both worked abroad before and know how things seem to work but just wondered about the job front. Again, thanks for help for the ''advice''


Afwan

Perhaps try Sharm Bride Hotel it is a unique and tranquil complex, the staff even might be able to discuss employment prospects in the area


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## MaidenScotland

Charlotte&Liz said:


> I do appriciate your comments and just to confirm i am not upset with the message that you saying but that i think there are ways of saying things, i dont expect the sarcasm when we was only asking advice on the situation. If this is the case we will re think the decission and its just something we are looking into a the moment. Obviously we wouldnt want to leave the jobs we have in the uk to go over there and not find a job.




You are quite right but in our defense we are constantly posting about the state of the economy, the visa situation, lack of jobs and now of course the protests when a quick look through the forum would have answered everything you asked. 
Good luck on your hunt for work overseas

Maiden


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## Charlotte&Liz

Lanason said:


> Welcome to the forum - my question would be:-
> 
> what can you offer that cant be done by an Egyptian? :confused2:
> 
> cus at the moment Work Permits are getting harder to come by. If you rent a place you will need to pay months rent plus deposits etc.
> 
> By all means come but don't expect to be staying past the first 4 weeks. Treat it as a "long holiday" then you wont be disappointed. arty:




Thankyou for your relpy  We have both worked abroad before and usually found that with constantley asking if anyone knows of any jobs and handing cv's in we have found one. Would you say this wouldnt be the case here?


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## Charlotte&Liz

PaulAshton said:


> Afwan
> 
> Perhaps try Sharm Bride Hotel it is a unique and tranquil complex, the staff even might be able to discuss employment prospects in the area


Thanks for your relpy  I will have a look into that


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## Charlotte&Liz

charleen said:


> I just don't get it why someone would choose to move to a country under such turmoil and think their are jobs??? The ecomony is crashing and they are upset with our advice? What are we supposed to say?



Just out of intrest do you live there?? If so why are you still living there if the country is in such a bad state? And if not why are you on here giving your ''advice''?


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## MaidenScotland

The majority of our posters live and or work in Egypt. I myself work here but I do a job that an Egyptian can't do so I am not taking much needed work away from a local person. Many are married to local men/women and have a family, Egypt is their home.


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## jojo

Why dont you go and have a cheap holiday there, ask around, see if you can find jobs - if not go back home, if you do then take it from there??? 

The problem is that Egypt is in a bad place right now. those who are there are there because they arrived prior to the unrest and generally have homes and lives there which they cant just walk away from - besides its there home now, so they wait and hope things will pick up. That said, alot of our regulars left when the flair up started at the beginning of the year.

I guess no one likes posting such grim news, but if you ask on the forum, you will get the information that you need - so you can make an informed decision based on the facts. But try a holiday and see where that takes you and what you think of things

Jo xxx


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## charleen

Charlotte&Liz said:


> Just out of intrest do you live there?? If so why are you still living there if the country is in such a bad state? And if not why are you on here giving your ''advice''?


I have lived here for 10 years and I am not going to pick up and leave as my husband and daughter have lives here too. I have even told my own brother not to come now, and he was looking to work here too. I am sorry to sound..unhelpful but if you watch tv you would see that things are uncertain..for egyptians and others already here. Some foreigners can pick up and leave but we are an Egyptian/American Coptic family and have so much here now. Leaving your home and leaving a country you are at for a year or two are totally different ideas.


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## txlstewart

The biggest problem is that only 10% of the workforce can be expats, which requires a larger percentage of Egyptian workers. This increases payroll costs. With tourism down due to the recent events, it is harder to justify hiring an expat.


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## PaulAshton

Charlotte&Liz said:


> Just out of intrest do you live there?? If so why are you still living there if the country is in such a bad state? And if not why are you on here giving your ''advice''?


Because if you don't need to work it's a great place to be

Egypt seems to accept wealthy foreigners / investors taking up temporary residence that needs to be renewed.

What part of "high unemployment" "low wages" "expenses that exceed unskilled wages" "down turn in tourism" "work visa's rarely issued" and "employers being fined for hiring foreigner's working illegal" don't you understand? People here have tried to help you and you have come back with attitude putting brackets around the word of "advice" Apologies you did not get the "advice" you wanted to see :confused2:

Find out for yourself as you spiral downwards

The Associated Press: Egypt's economy slumps under weight of unrest

Excerpts

""No one comes any more," he explained. "What can I do? I have to make a living," he said, bemoaning the hammering of Egypt's vital tourism industry, one of the country's top money-earners, since the revolution"

"Egypt's tourism sector has accounted for roughly 10 percent of gross domestic product and employs Egyptians in a range of supporting industries — from guides and camel touts to hotel workers and artisans.

"Most shops have either let go of most of their employees or cut their salaries by at least 50 percent," said Khaled Osman, who owns a shop near the pyramids employing about 20 people. Since the revolution, the unemployment rate has climbed to almost 12 percent in the third quarter of 2011, compared to just shy of 9 percent a year earlier"

"Only Red Sea resorts such as Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheik are still going strong, with *occupancy rates of about 70 percent*, according to Amani El-Torgoman, tourism operations manager at Travco, one of the region's largest travel companies. But even there, it has come at a price.

"We're running after clients with best offers and last minute offers," said El-Torgoman, noting that most properties had cut their rates by as much as 50 percent to lure in visitors with all-inclusive packages that can go for as little as $50 per night"

"While the latest clashes in Cairo have yet to be reflected in tourism figures, officials expect the hit to be hard and to build on top of an already declining interest on the part of Europeans, the bulk of visitors.

Irina Tyurina, a spokesperson for the Russian Association of Tourist Agencies, said the sales had dropped by 57 percent over the past six months compared to the same period of last year"


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## Charlotte&Liz

txlstewart said:


> The biggest problem is that only 10% of the workforce can be expats, which requires a larger percentage of Egyptian workers. This increases payroll costs. With tourism down due to the recent events, it is harder to justify hiring an expat.




Thanks for getting back to us  yeah i did read that somewhere. It looks like we are going to have to see if we can go somewher else or take a bit more money with us. Would you know of anywhere abroad that would be easyish to find a job? Sharm was our first choice but we would also want to look into other places. 
Thanks again!


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## Charlotte&Liz

PaulAshton said:


> Because if you don't need to work it's a great place to be
> 
> Egypt seems to accept wealthy foreigners / investors taking up temporary residence that needs to be renewed.
> 
> What part of "high unemployment" "low wages" "expenses that exceed unskilled wages" "down turn in tourism" "work visa's rarely issued" and "employers being fined for hiring foreigner's working illegal" don't you understand? People here have tried to help you and you have come back with attitude putting brackets around the word of "advice" Apologies you did not get the "advice" you wanted to see :confused2:
> 
> Find out for yourself as you spiral downwards
> 
> The Associated Press: Egypt's economy slumps under weight of unrest
> 
> Excerpts
> 
> ""No one comes any more," he explained. "What can I do? I have to make a living," he said, bemoaning the hammering of Egypt's vital tourism industry, one of the country's top money-earners, since the revolution"
> 
> "Egypt's tourism sector has accounted for roughly 10 percent of gross domestic product and employs Egyptians in a range of supporting industries — from guides and camel touts to hotel workers and artisans.
> 
> "Most shops have either let go of most of their employees or cut their salaries by at least 50 percent," said Khaled Osman, who owns a shop near the pyramids employing about 20 people. Since the revolution, the unemployment rate has climbed to almost 12 percent in the third quarter of 2011, compared to just shy of 9 percent a year earlier"
> 
> "Only Red Sea resorts such as Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheik are still going strong, with *occupancy rates of about 70 percent*, according to Amani El-Torgoman, tourism operations manager at Travco, one of the region's largest travel companies. But even there, it has come at a price.
> 
> "We're running after clients with best offers and last minute offers," said El-Torgoman, noting that most properties had cut their rates by as much as 50 percent to lure in visitors with all-inclusive packages that can go for as little as $50 per night"
> 
> "While the latest clashes in Cairo have yet to be reflected in tourism figures, officials expect the hit to be hard and to build on top of an already declining interest on the part of Europeans, the bulk of visitors.
> 
> Irina Tyurina, a spokesperson for the Russian Association of Tourist Agencies, said the sales had dropped by 57 percent over the past six months compared to the same period of last year"




Thanks for your reply! As i said in previous comments, it is not the message that i am upset with but the delivery of it. I thought this was a forum where people that were unsure of making the decission to move to a different country or had any other questions/querys could come to get information. But as i have experienced this is not the case with answers such as yours. The attitude i have replied with is aimed at those that have gave attidtude and sarcasm towards us, the people that have actually communicated in a humanly mannor have got the same back. I dont know if it is because we are just 2 girls in our early 20's that people seem to want to talk down to us but we are both very experienced travellers therefore we know this wont be a holiday of any kind but more of a life experience. We wanted to know to Eygpt as we love it there, the culture and the people. Thanks again for your comments we will take them on board.


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## MaidenScotland

Charlotte&Liz said:


> Thanks for getting back to us  yeah i did read that somewhere. It looks like we are going to have to see if we can go somewher else or take a bit more money with us. Would you know of anywhere abroad that would be easyish to find a job? Sharm was our first choice but we would also want to look into other places.
> Thanks again!




There is nothing stopping you going to Sharm but you must take at least 6 months money to live on.


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## PaulAshton

Charlotte&Liz said:


> Thanks for getting back to us  yeah i did read that somewhere. It looks like we are going to have to see if we can go somewher else or take a bit more money with us. Would you know of anywhere abroad that would be easyish to find a job? Sharm was our first choice but we would also want to look into other places.
> Thanks again!


No where is easy however if you look at a place that has winter and summer tourists such as Canary Islands (Playa del Ingles, Puerto Rico) or Tenerife (Playa de las Americas) you may have more luck and also be able to secure employment before you arrive - if you are proactive

It's also EU


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## Widget

Girls, 
Maiden and everyone are right, things are tense (to say the least) here right now, and if you do decide to make the move, then yes you will need to have enough money to survive for 6 months (wages don't cover the monthly outgoings, unless you get a job with accomodation and meals thrown in = animation = no life/spare time whatsoever).

Tourism has not really recovered properly in Sharm since the Shark attacks and then the revolution, so jobs are few and far between. If you are multilingual and have customer service experience then you could land yourself a job as Guest Relations, or in one of the dive centres, but since the revolution there has been a big call (and quite rightly so) for more of the jobs to be given to Egyptians.

Not quite sure that Paul Ashton's figures regarding cost of living are totally accurate:
- Expect rent to be 2000 - 3000 LE per month - yes or could be less or more, all depends what area you choose to live in
- Bills for water, electric, gas 400 - 600 LE per month again depends on the complex
- Food - 800 - 1000 LE per week for the both of you (prices rising) Paul! What do you eat?! We spend around 400LE a week on food, and that feeds both me and my husband, maybe 600LE if we do a huge shop and completely restock the freezer! 
- Wages, if hired are 3000 LE per month (or less) hardly enough to cover rent and it is not very likely your employer will pay for rent that all depends on where you get a job, animation earn peanuts but get their accomodation and food paid for them, Guest Relations probably earn around 3000LE, I'm lucky enough to be on a good wage, but even so it all goes and there is hardly anything left at the end of the month


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## expatlady

Charlotte&Liz said:


> Thanks for getting back to us  yeah i did read that somewhere. It looks like we are going to have to see if we can go somewher else or take a bit more money with us. Would you know of anywhere abroad that would be easyish to find a job? Sharm was our first choice but we would also want to look into other places.
> Thanks again!


What the others here have written sounds very sensible: please don´t come thinking that you will get a job (with pay to live on) within a month.
With the global economy in a downturn, tourism is one of the hardest hit areas. Spain (including the Canaries) and Greece is especially hard hit: just look at the youth unemployment rate. Again: very hard to get a job to live on.

One country which is not hit is my home-country: lots of expats come there to work. And the minimum wage is higher than most places. You have to be able to take the weather, though! Which, at this time of the year can be absolutely just awful.


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## PaulAshton

Paul! What do you eat?! We spend around 400LE a week on food, and that feeds both me and my husband, maybe 600LE if we do a huge shop and completely restock the freezer! 

Not much!

When in Sharm el Sheikh we like Ragab & Sons better than Metro or Carrefour but stock up and do a big shop in Cairo as it's cheaper

If you know somewhere cheaper in Sharm let us know, we are talking about Egyptian brand (equivalent to blue panda pop and tip top ice lollys) and not import either

With my latest business venture having a downturn and the other being postponed due to latest developments one is feeling the pinch 

If things get any more expensive I will have to start driving one of those ‘modified’ bedoin trucks from the Hay Noor area with a plywood spoiler that’s been brush painted a different colour than the rest of the vehicle selling "maya chut"


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## jojo

PaulAshton said:


> No where is easy however if you look at a place that has winter and summer tourists such as Canary Islands (Playa del Ingles, Puerto Rico) or Tenerife (Playa de las Americas) you may have more luck and also be able to secure employment before you arrive - if you are proactive
> 
> It's also EU


At least you dont need to worry about visas or civil unrest - yet!!???, but Spain and its islands is in financial crisis and apparently has mass unemployment.

Quite frankly as things are at the moment, its safest if you have a job to sit tight until the world has sorted itself out a bit. Or if you;re looking for adventure, whst about some voluntary work in a third world country?? or back backing???

Jo xxx


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## iCaesar

PaulAshton said:


> Paul! What do you eat?! We spend around 400LE a week on food, and that feeds both me and my husband, maybe 600LE if we do a huge shop and completely restock the freezer!
> 
> Not much!
> 
> When in Sharm el Sheikh we like Ragab & Sons better than Metro or Carrefour but stock up and do a big shop in Cairo as it's cheaper
> 
> If you know somewhere cheaper in Sharm let us know, we are talking about Egyptian brand (equivalent to blue panda pop and tip top ice lollys) and not import either
> 
> With my latest business venture having a downturn and the other being postponed due to latest developments one is feeling the pinch
> 
> If things get any more expensive I will have to start driving one of those ‘modified’ bedoin trucks from the Hay Noor area with a plywood spoiler that’s been brush painted a different colour than the rest of the vehicle selling "maya chut"



Bedwins Drive a Toyota landcruiser thats +100.000Le worth 

To Charleen: I'd stick to what the Members recommended , move to where is more stable and safer than here. I guess most of us are still here because either we have investments here that we cant leave back , or contracts binding us here. 
Stay safe , this is not the time yet.


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