How does a Libyan get by and raise his family

Why, there is a lot of socializing for the local women: raising 10 kids, shopping veg in the market and chatting with each other like my neighbors do - (we live in an apartment) open the window, show off half of the body and shout to the lady half out of the opposite window.

And to be serious, once we were given a lift to Janzour by a local official (this is how he called himself, how we turned in the car is another long story ) and he told us that "accommodation is no problem in Libya. If a Libyan has a family and no place to live, he goes to the government and makes the relevant statement, after which he almost immediately is given the key to an apartment absolutely free". The medical services are free at the governmental clinics. And for the expats too. He also told us that the education is free. The petrol is tremendously cheap. And taken that for going out a local woman needs just (in very tight cases) one black gown under which she can wear whatever she can afford, the very cheap bread and relatively cheap eggs and milk, cheap flour. No need for warm clothes, rather cheap electricity and, dare suppose, water supply and the communal services in general, a Libyan family can live on this salary, at least they do somehow. And buy cars, contributing to the terrible traffic here.

As for our landlord, the building in which we rent, belongs to his family (or maybe just him) and except for the three apartments rented by expats the rest of it (6 floors x 2 apt/ea - 3 for expts = 9) are occupied by his brothers, cousins and other relations. I wonder if it is only the landlord's family who benefits from the rent or the total community, but anyway this is how the making-living issue is solved. And he recently managed to marry a daughter/son, I guess the parents are to pay for the wedding party.

Thanks! I have lived in Jeddah, and am well aware of those yelling females, and males... great lighthearted tips though. I have lots of those long black gowns and I am not saying what we wear under them LOL....( Abiya) I hope to never have to drive there if it is anything like Jeddah. I just wondered how the heck they pay for these cars when they havent money hmm maybe as you say they all rent to about 3 expats ( WE ARE  GOING TO BE RICH BABY) Afford a car and drive like retards... I dont believe they have loans as we do here in Canada and if so they pay a lot up front to get one. Black markets are well known in the middle east but thats another thread maybe. Well great to get some feedback..I was beginning to think this site was for an elite group, or something.

Hey there,,

Honestly rate of salary u have informed is true,, but expats earn much more and especially if u looking for another field of work out of nursing field ,,I m sure u will find great opportunities as long as u r expat here  .
if u have look to Libya before 2000 ,, that time was hell ,, cos all ppl have just one sources for  shopping " food or clothes " which follow up to the government ,and hardly u can set up ur own business but recently u can find  private shops own by Libyans with  international brands ,,, and the salary between 250 to 400 .. for new graduated who work with governmental organization but any one work by his own can earn much more than this salary
Banks give loan for car or house, and there r some other kind of banks give  loans if u have got an idea of a good project. 
what I recommend about work is , Libya is developing country ,  and as Canadian female  married with Libyan guy ,,things will be sooo easy for u here ,,so try to bring something new to this country " ur husband will help "  and defiantly u will earn load of money  .

cheers

Yeah right. And then Dorothy woke up and found she wasn't in Kansas anymore...

Nursing jobs in government hospitals will pay pittance for salary.

Your best bet, if you are a Libyan, would be to get a job in any of the multi national companies mushrooming in Libya as a secretary, receptionist or whatnot.

The pay is good and judging from your English skills in the posts, you wouldn't have any problem landing a decent job paying 1500-2000 LD / month.

If you have the right political connections, things would be smooth sailing for you here. Most foreign companies get their arms twisted to hire someone or the other as a favour. At any given time I have a pile of CV's from various influential sources to place in the company.

Most locals are pretty enterprising and a majority have a job plus some business on the side for extra income.

Good Luck.......

Thanks S..
I am A canadian born in Canada raised in Canada have many generations here. My first language is english. I have been looking threw the UK sites for Nursing jobs and actually they pay very well,with benefits and housing....Rather difficult to get on threw them being I am in Canada. As with most expats it is always better to secure a contract from abroad, rather then within. I am sure if I choose to come there and make pretend I am DOROTHY as sandman so happily added ( thanks) I could do as the locals do hope to find a contact..and hope to get hired and hope to make enough. With that being said, Thanks guys. great info!

Hello Habbabi

I am also married to a Libyan and believe me anything to do with bureaucracy for example the family book takes a million years and is very difficult to do, particularly as there are no signs on the buildings telling you where to go to do these things!! I have been coming to Libya for 5 years and have only recently had settlement documents. I am just about to start the process of getting my driving licence so maybe I will be driving in about 10 years from now.

Salaries are really low, but the cost of living is fairly reasonable. Food is cheap, water about 60LD per month and they have just introduced a charge for electricity which is quite reasonable at the moment. Gas is bottled so you buy as you need. Petrol is really cheap. The draw back, no loans and you have to buy your house, car etc for cash. There are also no credit cards.

At the moment there has been a property boom so prices for houses are not cheap but there are many available for sale and to rent, although rents can be as high as 2000LD per month!!

Hope this helps and good luck if you decide to move. I doubt very much you will find a nursing agency. Even the doctors work for peanuts here or make their way abroad to work!

Thanks meryl,

cannot come there to see it yet let alone move, not until the family book is openned....No doubt things move slow there and complicated is an understatement not to mention the bloodie cost of it all, Translation is not cheap...nor is DHL and when you are told the wrong information at the office in libya it costs MORE! Get this paper and then we will tell you what you need, nothing like telling a person what they need from the beginning their.

Good luck with your licence, you might have prove you can read and write arabic first then they will tell you what is next..

If proving your married to a libyan is hard what will they want for a settlement application...I hope it goes smoothly for you.

Land is expensive there so I have come to find out, even undeveloped lots are! It will take a few centuries to save for that with the salaries there.a citizen can only own one piece, I can see why; they cannot afford more then that.

No luck on the nursing agency they are hiring for tripoli but not benghazi as far as I can tell they want UK nurses or phillipino nurses. Private Nursing isnt affordable for most there so thats out. would seem IT and engineering are the industry to be in over there.

I can also see why they dont marry young and they dont move out of the family home. They get engaged but dont marry for years.

One would have to certainly be able to live megerly and have the patience of jobb.LOL.

Salam Hababbi,

I am married to a Libyan as well (Joining the club LOL).

I have justr moved here. Well 8 months ago. I came on a 3 month tourist visa, and then applied for residency. A lot of paper work, and running around but we got there. We did not need a family book for this. We are still in the process of applying for one.

People survive here, because we lead simple lives. There is not many expenses here. Food is cheap.People do not go out much. There is not much that would swallow up your cash. A take away pizza for exAMPLE COSTS 2Dinars....now thats cheap.....The Gas is expensive though 75 dinar per bottle.

It was my first time even coming to Libya, so I was going in blind. But I picked up as I went along.

I am sure you will not have a problem getting a Job. Try some of the private clinics.Especially the ones that cater to ex-pats.

Loans are available. Most people here get a Loan, start building their house.And build in stages.Paying off each loan, and then renewing it.

Crdit cards have justcome in , with AMAN BANK. however I am not sure if shops accept them......

Talk soon. Ma Saloma:)

what is a family book?

Hey Justice ,

Every Libyan family has a ''Family book''. Basically when a Man Marrys he applies for a new ''Family Book''. All his details are on it and a photo, his wifes details, and then every child afterwards gets put on it. It is basically all the familys Birth Certificates in one book. And it is needed for everything and anything to do with paperwork LOL.

Fran Mc wrote:

Salam Hababbi,

I am married to a Libyan as well (Joining the club LOL).

I have justr moved here. Well 8 months ago. I came on a 3 month tourist visa, and then applied for residency. A lot of paper work, and running around but we got there. We did not need a family book for this. We are still in the process of applying for one.

People survive here, because we lead simple lives. There is not many expenses here. Food is cheap.People do not go out much. There is not much that would swallow up your cash. A take away pizza for exAMPLE COSTS 2Dinars....now thats cheap.....The Gas is expensive though 75 dinar per bottle.

It was my first time even coming to Libya, so I was going in blind. But I picked up as I went along.

I am sure you will not have a problem getting a Job. Try some of the private clinics.Especially the ones that cater to ex-pats.

Loans are available. Most people here get a Loan, start building their house.And build in stages.Paying off each loan, and then renewing it.

Crdit cards have justcome in , with AMAN BANK. however I am not sure if shops accept them......

Talk soon. Ma Saloma:)

We recharge our gas baloon for 3 dinars. Where did you get 75LD price?????

''We recharge our gas baloon for 3 dinars. Where did you get 75LD price?????''

Hey Masterr,
Well here in Zliten it cost 75dinar per BOTTLE of gas....The big ones, for a cooker. It costs 60dinar if you get it refilled.That is where I got the price from.

Lucky you eh 3dinar........

It costs around 50 dinars for a bottle, when it is empty you swap your empty bottle for a full one for 2 dinars (for a better quality bottle) 1.5 dinars for a battered one.

Ok but not here in Zliten.....

There has been a shortage of the canisters so they have been selling for as much as 100 dinar.  The government resently approved importing more to deal with the shortage.  Once you buy the canister you can refill it in most cities for a few dinars.  When we moved to Tripoli it took us awhile to find one to buy. We ended up paying through the nose.

This is the reason why most people keep the cylinders looked in a box or chained to a wall. It's been common to have people come over the wall and take your gas cylinder, easy money.

Yeah it is really a case of ''Supply and Demand''.

We were thinking of switching to electric but the electricity gets cut here in Zliten A LOT....LOL.....so that just wouldn't work.

Where do you get them filled so cheap???? Any where East of Tripoli it would be cheaper.

Are you SURE you want to move from Canada to Libya?
Are you SURE you know what you are getting into?
My advice would be to come visit with your husband first before making any decisions...

Re: how does a Libyan get by.  I do not see Libya as being cheap at all, especially if you want to have a decent lifestyle (and your husband did not inherit a house etc.).  Housing prices are up.  Many food items (mainly imports) cost as much or more than they do in Canada.

I was also wondering how Libyans get by considering in most cases women do not work and families have a HUGE number of kids. Salaries are low but somehow people manage to have weddings (that cost up to 20K), buy expensive cars in cash, many men have 2 wives, 2 houses and 2 sets of kids.  One of the answers is business ownership.  The other answer cannot be posted on a public forum

Cheers!

I suppose if you want to be lavish and have every wealth in life then it may be very difficult and it depends on what you consider a decent life. If going out every night and having constant entertainment is what one is looking for then no libya is not the place to be. If enjoying your family and being happy with what you have is what one is looking for then it may be possible.
Frankly the price is going up on everything everywhere in the world. I pay 4 CAD a kilo for chicken breasts, almost 7 CAD for 4L of milk and 2-4 CAD for a loaf of bread!That stuff is local here. AND GAS IS OUTRAGEOUS.
Still and for all it comes down to how one wants to live.  Libya certainly has a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the world I have come to learn that. If it is anything like Saudi Arabia then I certainly do have good idea of what I am getting into. Thanks for the warning;)

And yes I am sure there is a lot of Monkey business going on as well.

Welcome aboard smallworld!

Cost of living aside, the bigger factor is what is your husband's family like.  They may be very involved in your life, making it difficult to live as you are use to.  Some are great and others are very, very traditional which can be hard for someone coming from Canada.  Luckily my husband and his family are great, but there were some bad days my first time living here.  We have adjusted to a difference pace of life and now when my kids are asked which is better, Libya or Canada they do not automatically say Canada like before.  They now love them both. Best of luck and take care!

Well I think my luck has all run out.... It would appear that after months of getting papers stamped getting misinformed sending off the papers to what we thought was the right embassy..which turns out isnt, AND NOW ALL MY ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS NEEDED TO GET MY VISA ARE LOOOOOOSSSSST! And no one is accountable because " we put them in the mailbox outside the embassy" HOLY $***! This has just put me over the edge. People say they are ready to help you out and then when you ask they ignore you like the plauge, or just screw things up so bad you are destroyed what a world!

hababbi wrote:

Well I think my luck has all run out.... It would appear that after months of getting papers stamped getting misinformed sending off the papers to what we thought was the right embassy..which turns out isnt, AND NOW ALL MY ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS NEEDED TO GET MY VISA ARE LOOOOOOSSSSST! And no one is accountable because " we put them in the mailbox outside the embassy" HOLY $***! This has just put me over the edge. People say they are ready to help you out and then when you ask they ignore you like the plauge, or just screw things up so bad you are destroyed what a world!

Sorry to hear of your problems & disappointments.
Unfortunately it would be a case of "welcome to Libya".

Sandman6, Mudman, you make this forum worth coming back to. Hugs and kisses!!

Canadian whose paperwork was lost by Libyans, welcome to Libya, indeed!

I must add, hababbi, don't despair. Libya is all about connections. If you have the right ones, then come. They will do your paperwork for you (in fact, if you get really good "واسطة", you wont need any paperwork). Laws, rules and regulations are only applicable to the wasta-less.

habbabi

Here is what you can do: 

1. Get your marriage certificate authenticated by the Libyan Embassy in Ottawa and hold on to it - you'll need it in Libya. It's called Apostille.

2. Get your passport translated into Arabic by a certified translator (if you have not done so already) - he/she will basically just write your info in Arabic in one of the pages and add a seal.

3. Get a visitor visa for 90 days - just have your husband write a letter saying you are inviting you, his wife, to Libya and will cover all the expenses etc. 

To do that:

- Send in the aforementioned invitation letter from your husband, a copy of his Libyan passport & your original passport, & a prepaid courier envelope (with a payment of $25 USD or so money order - verify that part) to the Libyan Embassy IN THE USA!!!! (trust me on this)

You can call them, ask for the Visa section and they'll confirm the requirements for a 90 day SPOUSE visitor visa.  Make sure to emphasize that you are a wife of a Libyan otherwise they'll tell you some "funny" requiements.  Also make sure to ask for a multiple entry visa.

http://www.libyanbureaudc.org/

Once you send in the docs to Washington you'll have your visa in under a week... they are great!

Once you are in Libya (and still wish to stay) your husband can get you your permanent residency.  You'll need your certified marriage certificate at that time. 

Good luck!

P.S. If you don't mind me asking what where the docs you had to prepare for your visa?

Oops I meant

3. Get a visitor visa for 90 days - just have your husband write a letter saying HE IS inviting you, his wife, to Libya and will cover all the expenses etc.

It was the libyan embassy who lost my documents! my marriage certificate in fact the original which they told me they could certify and then told me they could not because it was stamped from foreign affaris in norway. At first they told me the document was not even there with the other paper work.I told them no impossible it was sent in the envelope. along with my birth certificate and all the translations. they found the birth certificate told it had to be stamped by foreign affaris i told them IT IS! then they looked and said ok we can do this one but your money order is for too much money you have to send another money order for just 40 dollars! i told them just send the papers back i will send the birth certificate later. I needed the marriage document to send to copenhagen.  NOW Everything is GONE!
my husband had to present it to the passport office in order to get an authorization number for me to apply for the visa in ottawa! thats was what they told us to do in libya.
I have a copy of the marriage certificate but it isnt certified. And it isnt the one with the stamp from affairs on it. What a mess. Ottawa is trying to say it is lost by Canada post because they mailed it. And when I called yesterday they were not too concerned they told me to wait until Monday.
WELCOME TO LIBYA NOT FUNNY AT ALL!!!!!
I do not even know where to begin anymore. All this just to visit.

hababbi

When i tried applying for a Libyan visitor visa from the Libyan embassy in Ottawa they gave me a complicated list of requirements and thanks God I called the embassy in the US to double-check and their requirements are SO SIMPLE.  Forget Ottawa!!  Call Manal (sp?) at the embassy in Washington.   Maybe you can get away with certifying your copy of the Marriage certificate from a Canadian notary.  (Sorry I'm not sure what Norway or Copenhagen have to do with this ... thinking maybe you guys were married in one of these places.... )

No one is trying to mock your debacle; we're just trying to help you get throw it. Wish you best of luck, and our sympathy goes out to you.
And I think what smallworld suggested is a good place to start. Life aint over, you know.

Humor is great in the right place. Right now I am rather upset, maybe at any other time I would have not cared. Certainly I am thankful to be part of the forum here and I agree people here for the most part are great.
I will start from the beginning and try what smallworld suggested ," forget Ottawa" and hope for a better outcome.
Although I find it rather unbelievable that Canada Post lost a 2 day expresspost envelope according to the Embassy. Maybe the dog ate it.
Thanks all.

hababbi wrote:

Maybe the dog ate it.

Actually, it's a beaver. It also ate the U in "about"

Found a copy that was certified to be a true copy, by the court here. Now I just need to see if my lawyer will notarize it without the original. Thankfully I had scanned them to the computer!Sent off an email to Washington asking what I need to send with the app. and how much for a multiple entry visa.Got the translation company to send a new original( Thank GOD) All hope is not lost.
So smallworld just a few thoughts. I was thinking I had to apply through Ottawa, because I live here and am Canadian.Did you send your Canadian passport to them and they sent the visa through for you? I mean they didnt ask why you didnt apply in Canada?Did you need to have a ticket purchased? I am not sure but I think you applied to go see your spouse is that correct? Also we were married in Norway so thats why Copenhagen is involved in certification.

>>>
unbelievable that Canada Post lost a 2 day expresspost envelope according to the Embassy
>>>>

You don't have to believe what the Embassy tells you in this case. There is no magic here... Expresspost should have a tracking number.   Did you track? Did you call Canada post? (Honestly it's unlikely to be lost traveling within Canada.)

To be honest the embassy in the US is not too great at replying by email. So just call on Monday.

I happened to be in the US on business when I sent in my passport but I do not believe the Embassy cares why you are sending it to them... As far as I remember I might have even told them that their requirements are so much better than Ottawa's.  The woman in Washington is pretty cool.

You don't need to have any ticket. I didn't have any ticket.

Yes I had to go join my husband in Libya, but even if you just have to go WITH your husband I can guarantee it won't make any difference.  I'm sure they'll give you a visa very soon...

Sorry - I don't mean to be rude - but Copenhagen is in Denmark not in Norway...maybe some docs went to a wrong country?  

Take care

I know there is another reason for what has happenned. And no I do not believe them at all. They lost my marriage document in the Embassy and are looking for a scape goat. I knew that when I called them Monday and she said are you calling about the missing document when in fact I thought we had discussed it was not missing the week before. I told no I am calling because you were suppose to certify my birth certificate and i dont have it yet. She said oh I didnt know you wanted me to do that. Anyway it is all shadey they put me off thinking I would wait and when I didnt they looked for a way out. They were surprised when I asked to have everything sent back instead of giving them more time to locate the paper they lost.When I called to tell her it wasnt tracking at canada post she said wait until the afternoon. I told her to call canada post she said wait. And when I called canada post they told me the embassy has to call about it. So that was all they could think of to get out be responsible. I suspect it is still there and they are trying to find my paper. Copenhagen is in Denmark and that is where the libyan embassy is that deals with Norway documents.

I totally feel for you.....been there, done that.  I cannot believe that they still have not replaced those secretaries with some competent secretaries in the Libyan embassy in Canada.  It has gotten worse as time goes on.  We were getting a visitor visa for a relative and were told time and again that nothing had arrived.  A friend of a friend lived in Ottawa and went to the embassy.  He found more than three copies of the required document were sitting in the fax machine tray.  Pathetic really!  I had hoped that things had changed but guess not.

Yeah maybe I should just fly to Ottawa and pay them a visit in person.

Thank God I live in a rural community here, my postman called me this morning to tell the package I was looking for last week is in my mailbox!!!He must have remembered how worried I was so he took it upon himself to call me. Thanks guys for helping me here! Maybe the collective energies helped! I really empathize with the fustrations expats go through!