New to the blog but, not the country....

Hey there Allen, welcome.
I'm moving your topic to the Kuwait board.

Okie dokie, sure thing!  Goodnight

There is only one thing that I wonder about living in Kuwait Allen. Are you really happy there? Do you say "How lucky I am to be here!" ? I will move to Kuwait soon, the people that I am talking to in this web site have many negative thoughts about Kuwait. They say it is really hard to live there, what do you think?

Hi everyone....

If anyone need any help about Kuwait pls ask.

Denizkiz ... you will have a nice a good time in Kuwait...dont worry about what you heared!!!

Regards
Diver

Denizkizi,

Hey girl! I know you directed the question to Jumpmaster, but I just thought I'd jot down my take on it....

It's what you make of it. That being said, you would feel more or less as happy as you are where ever you are right now. It all depends on who you know and your attempts to network - which you could do via the Aware centre in Surra, or by taking up some classes, or doing some of the cultural stuff here that always has a facebook notifcation. And read blogs in Kuwait, they always have updates on whats up.

Thank you Kaya001! I will definitely consider about your suggestions! They sound nice! By the way, how long have you been in Kuwait?

Personally...yes, I'm happy here.  Considering where I live (home of record).....Oklahoma....Kuwait is a step up!  I'm originally from California and no, Oklahoma isn't THAT bad.  It is just very slow to me.  I was born and spent my formative years in the Bay Area near SF/Oakland.  I miss the music, the food, the culture, the Wine Country, the ocean (surfing), the mountaints (snowboarding)....all difficult to find in Oklahoma.  That being said, there is a wealth of food here.  Yes, Kuwait doesn't have much to offer the average Westerner.. the two main pastimes here are shopping and eating...usually both....for the Kuwaitis at least.  You'll do your share of shopping, eating, and wandering around.  I plan on getting SCUBA qualified in the next 3 or 4 months.  Europe is, on average 4 to 6 hours away......EUROPE!!!!  Can you dig it?  Most of the tropical Asian destinations are a moderate flight time away.  The historical areas of the old Muslim world are nearby, be they ancient or not so ancient.  Egypt and it's offerings are less then 3 hours away....the list is endless.  If you are coming here as a teacher, you will have a VERY considerable amount of time off...plenty of time and opportunity to travel.  Once you're here for a few months, book a long weekend to Qatar, Oman, the UAE or even Bahrain.  You will see that the rest of the GCC is NOT a mirror of Kuwait.  Kuwait has it's downside....very little tourism = less incentive to clean the country up.  My first visit to Qatar and it was like night and day!  Irregardless, Kuwait (or being an expat at all) is truly what you make of it.  You can come here and be miserable or come here, roll up your sleeves and not only make a pretty good living but, be able to see and visit places, do things, eat food that would be an expensive and time consuming journey if taken from the U.S.  Like earlier writers said...make friends...NETWORK, etc.  If you have any questions, drop me a line.  I'd be more then happy to offer what advice I can give and help you out if needed.  Each person's perspective on what they know about Kuwait and how they function here will be different.  I, unfortunately, have a very "Western" slant since the bulk of my time is spent on U.S. military bases in the company of mostly Americans.  I USED to live "in town" (in a city called Sulaibikhat) and I miss my apartment terribly.  I currently live on a camp so, my access to town is somewhat limited.  I will be getting a flat or apartment by July and a car as well...currently using a company car that apparently turns into a pumpkin at midnight, because that is the time we have to have it back on base...haha!  So, once I'm back on-the-economy, I can return to living a normal (for Kuwait) life.  If you like to shop, be prepared...you'll be in heaven.  Okay, as you can see, I don't know when to shut up.  It is time for bed, goodnight!

Allen

Allen, I will have moved to Kuwait by early September. So please sign me and my husband up for the scuba, too. By the way it is really relaxing to learn about Kuwait from you! The more I read your opinions about Kuwait the more I am getting excited to move there. Thank you so much! )

i was dozing here in my chair when i heard that tone the computer makes (via Yahoo Messenger) that I've received a new email.  First thing I thought to myself "who would be writing at this time of night?".....haha.  When I saw that it was from you, "ding" the light went off in my head...it's still daylight there where you are at...haha.  So, you and your "other half" are coming here in September?  It'll still be hot then but, it won't last for long.  Before you know it, the weather will begin to cool off and it won't be so bad here.

As for the SCUBA cerfication at the Palms Hotel...there's no worries about signing up now.  There won't be a huge waiting list to join up so, don't worry about securing a spot/seat in the class.  They are very flexible when it comes to your scheduling needs and will accomodate their time to work around your work schedule.  Just remember that this particular school is at the Palms Hotel close to the big traffic circle at the east end of 5th Ring in Salmiya. 

Feel free to write anytime if you have further questions.  I'll send you a private email so you can write to me at my email address if you like.  Until then!

Allen

That sounds great Allen, thank you! I will write to you soon! Take care!

Been here almost 5 years, and been with the same job since.

Allen, you've certainly covered everything there :-)! What base do you work with?

Sorry it took so long to reply....totally slipped my mind.  I work at Camp Virginia.  One of many camps in the middle of NOWHERE !!    It is late, I must get to sleep, goodnight!

WOW....was it HOT today !!!  I know...I know...it never "officially" gets above 50-C here but.....  know this, my good friend here on camp has a very sophisticated thermometer/weather station device.  It's digital and pretty accurate.  During the winter months, the temperature it shows is spot on with what they broadcast on the local radio stations but, during these hot summer months, it never EVER rises above 50-C....and we all know why!!!    So, today while outside at work, we were out there until 1530.  From 0600 until the hottest part of the day....WOW, it was hot.  Granted, we are WAY out in the desert only minutes from the Iraq border and I'm sure it's hotter here then "in town" but, JEEZ.....when we read the highest recorded temperature for today it was 139.9 degrees F....that's nearly 60-C !!!!! Holy cow....I must have drank....at LEAST 8 litres of water, 1 liter of gatorade, and poured about 4 litres of water on my clothes.  Oh well, enough ranting about the heat......  if I don't like it, I can go home, right?  Have a good day and "Happy Ramadan"....or however I should correctly be saying it!

Allen

It was def. hot and nasty today.
I would have guessed a 45C here in Mangaf with at least 40-50% humidity.
Blaeh.

Yeah...next to the coast is super humid.  I was 'visiting' my new apartment in Mangaf just two days ago (and before my vacation of mid July to early August)...and wow, just oppressive humidity.  It sure will be nice when I can actually move in down there and enjoy my apartment.  Right now it's just an incredibly overpriced storage unit....haha.

Grin, two days ago was nothing compared to today.

blah blah blah....lol... come out here and enjoy our 135+ degree heat...haha.

Nope, thanks