Finally Got a flight date!

Congrats CathyAnn,

Hope everything goes well!

What was complicated about the medical?

it just took a while to get the right paperwork...I wasn't given the link to the lmra until about the 5th time asking and my doctors wouldn't give me one without a form or something to work to.

i also hadn't accounted for paying for a medical and chest x-ray!

however it's done now and I have a flight, so it's cool

Thant sounds great. I am also planning to move soon. I will be moving with my wife and 2 daughters aged 5 and 1. We have been to Bahrain twice on holiday.

What kind of job will you be doing in Bahrain?

Welcome to the city of heat, sand storms and lovely people! I am a new expat here in Bahrain and currently going through all the stuff that new expats do so I might be able to help you with.

With regards to medicals in the UK I had, they cost me about £400 but the company said they are going to reimburse me. I gave them the receipt when I came here. Make sure you bring the receipt with you in case they agree to reimburse you, you will need to prove it. Maybe e-mail to your HR?

Whereabouts will your office be?

I'm teaching at ISC Manama, which I gather is quite far out from the main city (well far out for a very small island!) so I'm looking into getting a car maybe. The school haven't mentioned anything about reimbursement, but I'll keep my receipt anyway, just in case. Mine wasn't quite £400 it's still worth it.

I have no real idea of what I'm doing, so will probably (definitely) call on the help when I have questions!

MK, good luck with your move!

Welcome Cathy Ann to Bahrain and hope you ill enjoy it.

20th of August is a good date, as before this i think u'll find Bahrain totally different than most of what u heard about it, it is Ramadaaaaaaaaan ....

Hope to see you soon here and inform us if u need any info.

Have a nice and safe trip.....

   "SCARY "
why ?

CathyAnn wrote:

after organising a very complicated medical - I finally found out I move over on August 20th!

Scary/Exciting/Can't wait!!

Now time to pack up my life....

CathyAnn wrote:

after organising a very complicated medical - I finally found out I move over on August 20th!

Scary/Exciting/Can't wait!!

Now time to pack up my life....

Good Luck with your move ... In advance welcome to Bahrain

Hi Cathy Ann,

We are as ready to welcome you as you are to join us :p
I'm quite shocked to learn that chest Xray cost that much in GB !!! And there are price differences also... Based on what ? The size of the chest ???

Any way, you are leaving a crazy world to enter... another crazy world :p

Cheers

Olivier

CathyAnn wrote:

MK, good luck with your move!

Thanks Cathy, Very excited. Your school is one of the schools on my list for my 5 year old daughter and it happens to be right across the road off my office building.

You will be reaching at a good time, it will be time for Eid, good 5 day holiday period. I was in Bahrain 2 years ago during Ramadhan and stayed over until after Eid.

We arrive from the UK on the 20th too! I've just finished all the medical exams... Cost almost £300 which I thought was rather excessive!
We've still got no where to live but thankfully my employer is putting us up in a hotel til we get sorted. Are you shipping anything over? We've got a ton of toys, bikes etc tc but I'm really struggling finding a company who can get the stuff there fairly quickly and cheaply.
It's very exciting, and I def know why OU mean when you say 'scary' .. Bahrain looks great but the Utube videos of the present troubles make me worry..thankfully everyone on here has offered great advice about reas to avoid.
Have a great flight and hopefully see you there

Thanks for all the well wishes, I've been very busy packing up boxes, working out what to fit into a 30kilo baggage allowance, spending a small fortune on appropriate clothing!!!

less than one month!

Just to let you know FedEx is actually not that expensive if you are not moving everything in your house. Go to http://www.parcel2go.com/ website and you can send a 30kg stuff for about £200. That's what I did and it was useful. Check with your employer as they usually cover the expenses of the stuff you send here.

Welcome to Bahrain.

That's great news Brightonguy... I checked with Emirates and they charge £25 per kg. most shipping companies take too long. I was starting to panic! Did you send your FedEx to your place of employment? What about customs.. Was there a fee on arrival of the stuff?
Thanks

Yes, I got the same panic with Gulf Air when they said £25 / kg. That price is ridiculous

No there was no fees upon arrival, customs was not an issue for me at all, despite me sending some electronic items as well. When you purchase your parcel at Parcel2go website, it will ask you to fill a customs form, just fill it as 1 household items for 30kg and put a value of £1. You can purchase an extra insurance with FedEx in case your items gets lost so they can pay for the real value of your items to you.

I sent the items the day before I flew to Bahrain and it was here the day after I arrived. I sent it to the hotel (to my name) I am staying at and informed the reception that I would be receiving a package from FedEx. The package arrived at 9AM and the reception gave me a call, I asked them to bring it to my room and they did.

It was all smooth.

Just an advice though, do NOT send any candles. I didn't but I read some stories that the candles were like water by the time they arrived in Bahrain because of the heat And caused such a mess in the package

You will need a printer to purchase the shipment on Parcel2go website as you will print the shipment labels, customs forms, receipts and all that. And you will attach the label onto the package and give all the rest to the driver who will come and collect your package from your home. You can always send the PDF file for the invoice (which you can access from your account section in Parcel2go website) to your employer if your contract includes them reimbursing for the fee.

That's brilliant news Brightonguy, thanks for the info. We'd planned on shipping but the shipping company need a copy of my 2 year visa before our belongings leave the uk and I obviously don't have it yet. By the time I get it etc etc it's going to takes months to receive our stuff.
The kids are desperate to take their huge box of Lego and very heavy train set so using FedEx is going to be great. I wonder if they'll take a bike... Can just imagine the hotel receptionist face when all our packages arrive! Haha!
And the 4 week countdown begins...
Thanks

ooo, thanks for the info on FedEx that's really useful. I don't have much more than my baggage allowance that I want to take, just a couple of awkward items. It's impossible to decide what to put into the loft and what to pack though!

Hello CathyAnn,

Let us know if you need any help in deciding what to take with you and what not.

thanks, there is one thing you could help me with...how does it work with mobile phones over there??

CathyAnn wrote:

thanks, there is one thing you could help me with...how does it work with mobile phones over there??

What do you mean exactly? You can bring your UK mobile phone here and it will work. But to prevent roaming charges, I recommend you getting a prepaid sim card for local calls and Internet etc. Check the reception in where you live first but I highly recommend VIVA, they are pretty good and have some good mobile broadband packages as well, which is what I need.

yeah that's what I meant, getting a sim over there rather than using my UK phone. Luckily my UK contract ends in september so I'm asking them to change it to pay as you go. I'll check out VIVA thanks!

Hi CathyAnn,

I am waiting for my visa, did not need a medical yet, if you don't mind could you PM the details of where you got your medical test, please

Just in case I need one.

Hi
Just ask your local gp to set it up, they usually sort it out and arrange the chest x ray etc

CathyAnn, Im also moving to Bahrain to teach at ISC Manama! I leave on the 19th.. What are you teaching there? I have so much to organise etc in the next 2 weeks !

alana91 wrote:

CathyAnn, Im also moving to Bahrain to teach at ISC Manama! I leave on the 19th.. What are you teaching there? I have so much to organise etc in the next 2 weeks !

Hi, I'm teaching infant, i think. or primary I'm not really sure. It's very unclear. I'm pretty much packed, but only because i've had to move all of my stuff into someone's loft. I am waaaay over the baggage limit though what are you teaching? it's exciting, not long now!!

hi cathy ann i have been living here in bahrain for a long time. in fact i was born here. any queries you have on bahrain that you need answered, it will be my pleasure to answer them. believe bahrain is much better than the image portrayed in the news.

I'm Not sure of the age group I'll be teaching yet. When you packed did you pack normal summer clothes like we would wear in the UK or did you take into account if they are strict out there? I've no clue.. 23kg is not a lot !! I've only just received my e-ticket and they said I'll be collected by the school bus driver ha. I have to get the visitors visa to start with but I'm worried immigration night be strict so I'm not sure to bring a copy of my contract and stuff? Not long now, I don't know what to do with myself I feel I've loads to do! Getting a but excited now though:)

Many companies do it but I don't think they're allowed to have anyone working on a visitor's visa. That's illegal. You will also need your health checks done in your home country before obtaining a work visa so I'm not sure how you'll go back to the UK again to have the checks done - it would've been much easier for you to have your checks done before you leave for Bahrain. I'd check this with your employer just to ensure these are all planned accordingly.

you've only got 23kg? ahh, I have 30...who are you flying with? yeah they said about getting a month long visa to me as well. Most of my clothes are conservative but I have the odd item that I just couldn't resist packing/ I also received my e ticket on sunday! what day/time do you arrive? I can't believe it's so close. I'm just slightly apprehensive of the heat in comparison to here!!

Brightonguy, I've already had my checks done in the uk (it cost enough!!) so maybe they're still in the process of getting the visa's sorted?

Hello CathyAnn,

My message about the health checks was for alana91.

With regards to clothes, you can bring anything you want. Bahrain is the most liberal country in the region and the only time you have to be careful with what you wear is during Ramadan month, which is going to end in 4 days After that, you're free to what you wear. So don't limit yourself in what you're going to bring. Make sure it's not so thick though, it's bloody hot here during summer, although I have been told it gets quite chilly during the short winter weeks So if you're not planning to go back to the UK again for a long time, have at least one thick jumper - just in case. But you have everything here, if you don't want to bring stuff, just buy them here, it's fine

Let me know if you need any further help.

brightonguy wrote:

Hello CathyAnn,

My message about the health checks was for alana91.

.

sorry to jump on the health check thing, we both have the same employer who's told us the same thing I wasn't being prissy.

and that's great to know about clothes! Thanks, (ALTHOUGH, it's now making me want to pack some more of my summer stuff, which when I'm already over the baggage is not the best idea.) 

I've been considering bringing one very thick jumper, largely for the moment I step off the plane when I go back to the UK for Christmas...I think after four months away in the heat below zero will be a shock to the system!!

Yeah I had to get a medical done beforehand and send a copy to my employer , I think the visa application takes a bit longer than what time we have so that's why we get the months visa to cover us until then?
Great news about the clothes ! I'm gonna be teaching PE but haven't been told what clothing I will have to wear etc? If its very liberal then it should be okay!
I get there around 9/10pm on Sunday night.. Flying with Etihad from Dublin so maybe that's why I've less:/ I'll manage I'm sure!
Do you arrive on the 20th? What time ? We start training on the 21st is that right? I'm apprehensive of the heat too, not used to it, I'll have my sun screen packed! Haha

i arrive at 8/9am on the 20th, yeah the training starts 21st i think. the heat will definitely be interesting.

Hi Nicola,

I will be arriving on the 24th. Struggling to a company to ship our excess baggage for a reasonable price.

Any suggestions?

Nicola302004 wrote:

We arrive from the UK on the 20th too! I've just finished all the medical exams... Cost almost £300 which I thought was rather excessive!
We've still got no where to live but thankfully my employer is putting us up in a hotel til we get sorted. Are you shipping anything over? We've got a ton of toys, bikes etc tc but I'm really struggling finding a company who can get the stuff there fairly quickly and cheaply.
It's very exciting, and I def know why OU mean when you say 'scary' .. Bahrain looks great but the Utube videos of the present troubles make me worry..thankfully everyone on here has offered great advice about reas to avoid.
Have a great flight and hopefully see you there