My wife and I intend to spend one year in Bahrain and were
wondering if anybody out there has been?
If so we┤d appreciate info on this country...
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Hey you will love Bahrain. my parents have been living there for two years and they love it. You have to make the effort to get involved yourself though, otherwise you could get very bored. But if your willing to make new friends and generally have a good time it will be great. I'm heading over there in a few weeks and I can't wait. The people are lovely, try and get in contact with some native Bahraini's they will be more than willing to show you everything about their culture. Don't just get stuck in the rut of western life, it much more interesting to see the 'real' Bahrain.
If you need to know anything else write to me on
I_am_over_it@hotmail
Have a good time!!!!
I think that you will enjoy your year in Bahrain. I was
there with my family from 1991 to 1993. For more
information on Bahrain try the English language newspapers
on the web ie http://www.bahraintribune.com and
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com.
Also, try to get your employer to organize and pay for your
accomodation as it will be easier and cheaper for you.
While you are at it ask your employer to assign a local to
assist you to arrange for your visas, local drivers
licenses, electricity and telephone connections as it can
be very time consuming to try to organize all that by
yourself.
It is very hot from about April to November. There is a
short winter from December to January where you will need
to wear a windbreaker and have a small heater in your house.
English is spoken in the shops and by taxi drivers and the
locals are friendly while still retaining their own culture.
Read other messages on this noticeboard for more advice on
Bahrain.
Best wishes
Gary
Bahrain is really great and the advice above is spot on for
the most part, though not ALL taxi drivers actually speak
English, but they do understand enough to get you where you
are going. Watch out, some of them are major rip-off artists
- so ask at the hotel what the prices are and then make SURE
to agree the price before you get in the taxi.
As for accomodation, it is definitely a good idea to get
your employer to pay for it. Try to have the power and taxes
included as well. Mostly because it is tedious paying these
bills. The housing costs for expats are extremely high in
Bahrain, so make sure you get a good amount for housing -
specially if taxes (10% of rent each month) and power are
included in your sum! Shoot for about 700 BD - and try to
stay at least over 500 for the basic rent, as good houses
and landlords cheaper than this are hard to find.
You don't say if you have children. If you do, try to get
school fees included in your contract too, as these can be
very high.
There are a couple of really good and active clubs in
Bahrain. The best one, imo, is the British Club
http://www.arabian.net/british/ which has lots of different
sections such as drama, tennis, diving. The club is open to
citizens of other countries than UK.
There has been a bit of "trouble" in Bahrain due to a kind
of democratization agression - there were at one time small
bombs being set off and many locals being arrested. This was
in the time of the old Emir Isa bin Salman al Khalifa. His
son is now the Emir, and I don't know if things are better
or worse. Things had quieted greatly even before the old
emir died. You might want to browse
http://www.hrw.org/hrw/pubweb/Webcat-11.htm and
http://welcome.to/bhro/ It seems to me that things must
have calmed down greatly, as I find it hard to find reports
from this year at all.
My husband and I lived in Bahrain for 3.5 years, returning
to Norway last November. Feel free to ask any questions not
answered by the threads referenced above.