Hey everyone.
My husband and I have moved to Kenya on October 18. I am Egyptian. He's Scottish. I actually didn't want to come at all. Until the last second, I was hoping that we would change our plans. But then we came, and I was really pleasantly surprised. I will tell you the five things I love and hate the most about Kenya so far. And would love to hear the other people's opinions. By the way, we are settled in Nairobi.
1. The breathtaking nature and greenery everywhere. It just soothes my nerves. I come from arid Cairo, so being surrounded by beautiful nature like this is amazing.
2. I love how the culture here is very rich and vibrant. It's a deep complicated country and I like that.
3. The people are very polite and helpful
4. I'm an animal lover, so all these national parks and animal orphanages are a paradise to me.
5. Swahili! I'm learning the language right now and I am enjoying it very much. It has a lot in common with my own.
Hate/dislike
1. Terrorism. Ok I have that problem in my country but it would have been nice to move to a place that was safe for a change.
2. The security problem. In Cairo, people start thinking about going out at 8 pm! And the city never sleeps. And it's completely safe. So, just being stuck home starting from 6 pm every day is really suffocating for me.
3. I've been fighting it hard to meet and make friends with Kenyans. It bothers me a lot. I don't want to live in an expat bubble.
4. The work permit. Still waiting for mine. It really sucks not being able to work and be active as I am used to.
5. A lot of apartments don't allow pets. It took us ages to find a landlord that agreed. And I am still worried about getting trouble when I get my pet, even though I have permission.
So would love to hear other people's opinion on Nairobi and Kenya in general.
What do you love/hate about Kenya?
regarding your work permit, did u applied one with the Kenya immigration department??
Regarding your pet, i u really love pet, you may ought to live in an estate where u will have your privacy even with your pet.
Welcome Nairobi Kenya.
d
I can't say I really dislike anything much in Kenya. My future wife is Kenyan but I'm not really a full expat although we have a flat together in Kenya and one in Europe. Whenever I'm there I feel fully integrated. I spend about 3-4 months a year in the Nairobi area.
Plus
* Nature (obviously)
* The weather. 25C day time and 15C at night all year round is perfect. I don't mind the rain and overcast skies at times either.
* The laid back and generally friendly people. Despite the sometimes stressful hustle and bustle people are able to take it with a sense of humour and lightness.
* The food. Give me some good sukuma wiki and mokimo any day...
* I admire the courage and resilience of the most disadvantaged people and their ability to stay peaceful.
* The joy for life expressed in music, art and creativity.
* The talent for improvisation and making the most out of very little.
* Tusker baridi
* My Kenyan friends
Minus
* The rip off bank interest rates.
* Certain reckless and selfish drivers.
* The potholes which could be fixed easily with a minimum of effort and cost.
* The lingering complacency towards important issues.
* Certain aspects of corruption which are still in effect today...
glad you have tasted the Kenyan food;mukimo also known as kienyeji
Regarding corruption, i suggest that we all stand together to fight corruption.
Despite that, glad to hear you love Kenya, my motherland
I am married to a Kenyan citizen. We divide our time between Kenya and the UK. We have homes in both countries.
Positives:
- The climate.
- Always being made to feel very welcome and 'at home', by Kenyans.
- I always feel healthier when in Kenya.
- The less frenetic pace of life - people seem to have more time for each other.
- Strong family values and ties.
- The food tastes better and I love the dishes.
- Kenyan resourcefulness, which enables you to have anything made at modest cost.
- Great quality locally made furniture - no chipboard, MDF, etc.
- Great service, at shops, when fuelling the car etc............like the UK used to be!
- Industries, such as construction are not strangled by endless red tape and legislation, as they are in the UK.
- A healthy land and property market for investors.
Negatives:
- The assumption that as I am a mzungu, that I (and my wife) have money to burn and prices that magically shoot up as a consequence!
- Kenyans assumption that 'if it is imported it must be good' along with a failure to appreciate the quality of locally made stuff.
- Linked to the above; the acceptance of the market being flooded at all levels by poor quality goods and fakes from a certain far eastern country.
- Poor public transport - especially rail.
- Appalling driving standards and limited attempts to tackle this issue and reduce road deaths.
- Controlling the speed of traffic through use of large bumps ............... everywhere.
- Poorly resourced police force, leading to corruption being rife.
- Leaving Kenya to travel to Europe!!
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