# Living like an Egyptian....is it doable?



## ricosadao (Jun 13, 2009)

Hi all..
First post here.
I am interested in living in Cairo for a year or two.
Money is (relatively) tight..

I would like to live in a lower-middle class neighborhood, preferably christian...
I am single....any ideas about the amount of rent for such a place?

I am well accustomed to street food and such...spent many years in tropical countries.
I live like a monk..lol...my only vices are cigarettes...local brands are ok for me.

So..to sum it up.....a studio in a locals-only area, locals-only restaurants..,a couple of packs of cheap cigs....NO insurance...visa fees...a couple of coffe's per day in cheap cafes....

How much per month approx. for this kind of lifestyle?

Thanks for any replies


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## Biffy (May 22, 2012)

Unfortunately you are probobly on the least likely place for peopel to be able to answer this.

I would hesitate to say that most of the expats on this forum (if not all - or else what is the reason to be out of your home coumtry - aspire to and experience a considerably higher standard of living than this - and any answer they give you would be guess work.

Egyptians live on anything from 500 LE a month (I don't know how ) to many more thousands. Depends on where you see yourself being.


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## ricosadao (Jun 13, 2009)

There must be a few cheapskates around in this forum...:ranger:

...or I will have to come and discover for myself..


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## CAIRODEMON (Sep 18, 2011)

ricosadao said:


> There must be a few cheapskates around in this forum...:ranger:
> 
> ...or I will have to come and discover for myself..


I agree with Biffy, can't say that I would like to live in the manner in which intend, but, hey, chacun a son gout etc. 

I would guess that accommodation would be around LE1,000 to LE1,200. Everything else about LE 1,000. Allowing for contingencies let's say LE2,500 per month.

To live this way you are going to have to be pretty fluent in Arabic.


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## GM1 (Sep 30, 2008)

CAIRODEMON said:


> To live this way you are going to have to be pretty fluent in Arabic.


And still you will be ripped of, just because you are a foreigner...


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## im_in_the_desert (Jul 21, 2013)

ricosadao said:


> Hi all..
> First post here.
> I am interested in living in Cairo for a year or two.
> Money is (relatively) tight..
> ...


Why would you want to visit a country which is no longer safe for its own people?


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## canuck2010 (Jan 13, 2010)

My filipina maid pays around $200 to share an apartment in Maadi. utilities are minimal, especially if you don't have air conditioning. Of course safety would be an issue, as there is little security these days. However, with the bad state of the economy, living on a minimal amount should be doable. I'd think places outside Cairo, such as Hurghada or Luxor might be safer to live on a minimal amount. In Cairo, check out Maadi area, there are now many empty apartments at reduced rates.


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## ricosadao (Jun 13, 2009)

canuck2010 said:


> My filipina maid pays around $200 to share an apartment in Maadi. utilities are minimal, especially if you don't have air conditioning. Of course safety would be an issue, as there is little security these days. However, with the bad state of the economy, living on a minimal amount should be doable. I'd think places outside Cairo, such as Hurghada or Luxor might be safer to live on a minimal amount. In Cairo, check out Maadi area, there are now many empty apartments at reduced rates.


Hurghada must be expensive as hell..
Maadi?....Nope...same there..

As for security, I would obviously wait for the current upheaval to fizzle out, then move.
If it becomes a long term problem,I wouldn't come there..


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## GM1 (Sep 30, 2008)

Why do you think that Hurghada is that expensive?


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## Biffy (May 22, 2012)

Some us may be cheapskates -but not to that extent.
If we had to live like the average Egyptian - trust me there is not one of us who would be here!!
Maadi, Nasr city forget them - you need somewhere like Omroniya, etc. And complete fluency in Arabic would be a must.

You have to understand that the tension in the Christian neighbourhoods is higher than in alot of areas of Egypt!

1,000 for a flat - we have friends from my husbands childhood who rent a flat for 150 le a month - but again to get that for a foreigner would not be easy.
Also places at this end of the spectrum don't come furnished, and are in what my Husband euphemistically calls 'local neighbourhoods'.


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## qworld (Jul 22, 2013)

lol


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## cutiepie (Mar 14, 2009)

It is much cheaper to rent long term in hurghada than in the bigger cities. It's amazing the difference in prices check out hurghada resident Facebook pages they have loads of rentals. Also still seems safer in the Red Sea.


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