# Moving to Cairo; Advice please!



## stephie_elh (Feb 22, 2011)

Hi all,
My name is Steph and I'm planning to move to Cairo late this year with my Egyptian husband.
We will be living in 6th Oct City with his family while we get our flat decorated/furnished then in Obor (sp?)
I am on here asking if anyone has any tips for an American/brit on settling there.(even if they are willing to have coffee when I get there LOL)

1) I will (hopefully) have a degree in Biochem and Genetics from a good British uni by then and would appreciate any job hunt tips (my husband and his family seem to be well connected but mostly in business and finance so not sure how much good they will do).

2) I want to bring my cat from the UK to Cairo so any info on transporting her

3) General tips for living there! (as a female expat, there are some things I don't want to ask my husband about (girl stuff )and I want some independence )

Thanks a lot, I appreciate anything available.


----------



## stefnova (Feb 4, 2011)

stephie_elh said:


> Hi all,
> My name is Steph and I'm planning to move to Cairo late this year with my Egyptian husband.
> We will be living in 6th Oct City with his family while we get our flat decorated/furnished then in Obor (sp?)
> I am on here asking if anyone has any tips for an American/brit on settling there.(even if they are willing to have coffee when I get there LOL)
> ...


Hi, 

Have you been to Egypt before, It could be a huge culture shock for hen you eventually move out there. Is your husband with you in the UK or is he already in Egypt? Just asking as Egyptian families can be very force-forward and all up in your business! If he's very western like yourself then he might help you with the independence you'll need. If not that could potentially lead to a huge culture clash!

Do you mean El Obour.. If so that is where we have our place, if you haven't been there before, it's quite away from the city, although it has a huge Carrfour and 3-D cinema/mall and cafes, as well as a nadi, it's all still new a lot of the houses and villas are all still under construction, but it's quite a quiet place to live.

as a female, I'd advice you to keep your wits about you when you arrive. And have a read generally on some of the other threads on here for some more information before leaving.

Wish you all the best.

stef


----------



## stephie_elh (Feb 22, 2011)

I have been to Egypt before but I understand about the culture shock, I went through enough of that when I moved from the U.S to the U.K and that was without the language barrier!
My husband is here in the U.K. with me until I graduate from Uni, then we are hoping to move in December.
I have met his family and he is westernish but Egyptian enough that he wont totally understand my need for lots of outside socialization as his mom has never worked (despite having a degree!) and his sisters are educated but tend to socialist with his GIANT family. However, I don't think I can handle the TOTAL loss of privacy that exclusively associating with his family would bring.
I did mean EL Obour but can never remember the name without Sam here 


Thanks for the reply :0


----------



## stefnova (Feb 4, 2011)

stephie_elh said:


> I have been to Egypt before but I understand about the culture shock, I went through enough of that when I moved from the U.S to the U.K and that was without the language barrier!
> My husband is here in the U.K. with me until I graduate from Uni, then we are hoping to move in December.
> I have met his family and he is westernish but Egyptian enough that he wont totally understand my need for lots of outside socialization as his mom has never worked (despite having a degree!) and his sisters are educated but tend to socialist with his GIANT family. However, I don't think I can handle the TOTAL loss of privacy that exclusively associating with his family would bring.
> I did mean EL Obour but can never remember the name without Sam here
> ...



well I wish you all the best in your move to Cairo, relocating to any country can be pretty daunting. All I can say is really try and prepare yourself into moving in with his family! I don't know ho I would be able to handle it and I'm an Arab myself!

Good luck!!


----------



## stephie_elh (Feb 22, 2011)

I think if it was for more than a few months I wouldn't do it, but it is only till we get our place livable. Also, if it does get unbearable, his family have another flat in Heliopolis that they rent out and we could live there in the interim


----------



## bat (Dec 1, 2010)

stephie_elh said:


> I think if it was for more than a few months I wouldn't do it, but it is only till we get our place livable. Also, if it does get unbearable, his family have another flat in Heliopolis that they rent out and we could live there in the interim


hi bat here,
is it not possible to move into there flat in heliopolis,i think that would be the wisest move. as its nearer to heliopolis and abour ,6 october to far away especially since your still building.
job wise you will be encouraged to work with his family and if you do get a job when you get here it may well be on local salary.
anyway im up the road from abour in sharouk.
make sure you drive very important.
good luck


----------

