Moving over in April!!!

Hey Kay,

Are u from manchester? I am from manchester currently in kuwait! Also me and my mum are members at the al corniche club, you will be best in salmiya or even kuwait city if ur okay with driving 15 mins or so. With apartments there are so many in kuwait 2 bedroom quite reasonable and gorgeous view in salmiya! Hope this helps

Aryam

Kayvictoria wrote:

Hello everyone!! Hoping you are all very well!!

Will be moving over to Kuwait sometime in April...so excited!!
My partner and I will be working in retail operations with Alshaya.
Taking into account we will likely join the Al Corniche beach club (both fitness mad), can anyone advise what is the closest living region to that?

I went to Kuwait in Jan for final stage interviews and went to Salmiya and Salwa, also Mishref. All appealing! Slightly concerned with rents 500kd plus...however I was shown 3bed apartments...which we won't need! Is the internet included in most apartments?

Anyone know the cheapest way to have a car...buy or rent?

Sorry for the ramble and the questions...hope to hear back soon!!
Many thanks

Welcome to kuwait & later i will welcome you guys in alshaya also.

first off, welcome to EB in general and Kuwait in particular Kay, may ur stay here be a relaxed and enjoyable one.

since u'll be arriving in April, be sure to pick up a b-day gift for me Tauri & proud (j/k)

if u'll be in Al Corniche, ur best bets would be Salwa, Salmiya, Maidan Hawally Or Sha'ab Al Bahri (Bahri means sean front), all these areas are on the Gulf Road, and many a fitness buff would usually cycle along the gulf to get to places (of course I do NOT advise actually crossing the Gulf Road except @ traffic signals where it is relatively easier).

unfortunately as is mostly the case with western expats, u were probably being swindled by whoever was showing u around no offence to them; the thing is, rents for 2BR and up in those areas, for a decent place, lets say 350 as a start for luxury. Internet is usually available in most buildings, its 5KD extra i believe, and the trash collection services are also 5KD. when u first find a place to rent u'll be asked for a one month security deposit, and also the har-ess (caretaker/landlord who collects rent) will be expecting a backhander. keep in mind that this person will be useful as they wash ur car, carry groceries etc. also at the same time, do not be overly generous at first until they prove their worth. they demand 50, i see that 20 should suffice as a payment for the first encounter.

as for buying a car; let me ask u this - how long are u staying for? depending on the duration, buying > leasing. however, with leasing u do not have to worry about selling the thing before u leave. fuel in Kuwait is DIRT cheap, literally 1L of fuel costs less than 1L of water. also depends on u, do u want an economic car, sedan etc. or a 4x4 gas-guzzler u cant get anywhere else for the same price?



PS a small car will cost u around 90~110, fully insured, new model.

do check out www.q8car.com or just Google Mazda/Toyota/Kia/Nissan Kuwait dealership and check out the prices.

Welcome on EB  Kayvictoria

Thank you so much people!!!

Aryam, yes I'm from Manchester- cannot wait to get out of this cold wet climate! Maybe we can take some classes together??...you enjoy the beach club?
Legacy, you are a legend!! I will bring you English tea and biscuits for your birthday, haha!
Happy to run with a small car, but with the madness of roads perhaps a large 4x4 would give more 'power' haha!
Salmiya is sounding the best place for us.
Cannot wait!!

Welcome to the board!

2BR rooms around Salmiya or Maidan Hawally would only cost a min of 270KD, usually without the electricity or water bill. There's tons of new buildings built around these areas (since I live here) and definitely tons of rooms for lease. You can just go around the whole block and you'll easily find what you're looking for through the billboards posted on almost every new building.

Internet plans (wifi USB type) costs around 7KD to 30KD depending on speed and they're all provided by the telecom companies here: Zain, Viva, Wataniya and the new ISP provider Mada.

Welcome to the Forum

As for Apartments u  can find good ones small also for 150-200 if ur lucky ;3

as for internet u got landlines companies such qualitynet fastelco kems gulf net and what not they offer a 1MB i think at 80kd or 85kd all same price's

u got the portable devices from the local comapny for mobile lines like watanyia-zain-viva which they can give u a 3g USB device with internet on it but sadly all of them  got internet limit

you also got the new mada internet which they have a new service cheapest one for 10kd a monht 2MB i'v download so far over 700GB ore more in a mere of 2 month u can see the review here : http://ksalue.blogspot.com/2012/01/xeno … uwait.html

i only got it for downloading-chat-browsing-streaming so far so good no limit so im not scared unlike viva-zain-watayia

Al Corniche is agood gym since all i hear about it is from females dont know any males that go to it

As for Car's dont ever rent a car buy a car or get a used one Toyota  since it got cheap parts also for repairs

hehe tea and biscuits! YAY~ I tend to leave the teabag in the cup until its finished, heavy tea drinker

ok, seeing as how Salmiya is your preferable place, i'll be sure to skim thru the daily ad rags that they give out here and highlight any good apartments that could be suitable for u.

in terms of cars, and i kid u not as i JUST had this first hand. 3 car collision on the Gulf Road - a Corolla, a Cherokee and a Suzuki. Corolla got rear-ended, fender messed up beyond repair and the trunk popped. Suzuki - total write off - bonnet was crumpled beyond recognition.

the flavor of this accident was the car in the middle. the cherokee. guess what? from the front - the number plate got dented a little. from behind, the fender has a hole in it. otherwise, no other impression that this car was in an accident.

so yes, 4X4 is the way to go, and leasing would be a good idea.

enjoy the forum and feel free to ask anything that comes to mind.

Wow! I am so grateful for all of the replies - you guys are amazing!!

Forgot to mention - we intend to be in Kuwait at least 2-3 years (if we settle in etc it could be much longer).
Perhaps buying a 4x4 after a few months would be an option. I've read about so many accidents...very dangerous.

I recieved information that we should be careful which block to live at in Salmiya as the daily communte to Shweikh and Alrai could cause hassle/alot of time due to 'rush-hour'
Maybe I could cycle into work sometimes!?....

Does anyone know the rough cost of basic mobile phones? I would only be using one for a few local calls/texts. To call home I'll be on my computer with skype.
I guess pay as you go exists? Minimum top up 5-10kd?

Best wishes!!

even less - are u talking about payment plans or actual cost of device? coz both are dirt cheap.

u pay for validity, the 3 carriers here are wataniya, zain and viva.

viva has the best offers but the worst service as it is the newest.

if ur gonna be in Salmiya it is best to be closer to the 5th Ring Road to make the commute quicker, altho the drive back is best to take the 6th ring road as the 5th gets jam packed real fast.

if u dont mind cycling for 20K+ be my guest, unfortunately the highways (ring roads) are no place for cyclists :S by law, and by common sense!

Sound advice, thank you!
Budget for apartment upto 325kd, so hopefully get a decent place with that.
Went onto that link you provided earlier...looks like leasing is a reasonable deal.
How often are the sand storms? Watched a couple on YouTube and doomsday came to mind!! Terrifying. Haha!!

severe ones are once a year; dust generally blows around Kuwait during the summer, but it helps keep the scorching temperature down. it depends on ur definition of "storm" it will change once u stay here for a while. ur guaranteed to break the cold, wet, dreary cycle tho!

Hi
And welcome to Alshaya. I joined in September last year and my wife is just going through the residency process.
Corniche is a great club.... but the most expensive.
Palms is good, cheaper but out of Salmiya and further away from the office. (If you want an indoor pool though it will be the corniche for you).
Cycling?? I go out early mornings on a Friday or Saturday and you can easily rack up 60km before the traffic starts.
You don't need a 4*4. I have leased a 4 door saloon for two years for 135kd per month.
Phone - you can get a contract for 10kd per month and, for instance, an Iphone 4S will cost you a one off 150KD.
If you want any other info - Alshaya/Residency specific give me a shout on my private e mail
[email protected]
Mark

Hi Mark, thanks alot for the information.

Will definatley bring the bike over...not sure about 60km though. Haha!
Visited the Cornishe club when I came over in Jan, really liked the gym and squash areas, we will spend many days off there I'm sure.

Found a good deal on a mazda, but I'm too paranoid now and want as much metal as possible. Ha!

Good luck on your move.  I am not due to arrive until August, but wish it was in April.  Thank you to everyone for all your great advice to KayVictoria - I found it so informative. This is a wonderful group of people always willing to give practical and accurate advice.  Let me know how it is when you get there for driving, I love the freedom of driving, but was thinking about not driving once I got to Kuwait (I keep reading about not only the accidents but the traffic tickets).

lol, does that kitty have lipstick on?!

oh wait, false alarm, its licking its lips my bad!

welcome to expat-blog Lisa

if you have any queries, feel free to ask right away, like u said, this is a nice community where people give u accurate advice.

so, about driving in Kuwait. the thing is, people do tend to exaggerate, ive driven elsewhere in the world and seen driving in other countries - there is the good, and the bad. overall, i would rank kuwait on the good side; why? presence of traffic lights that people USUALLY tend to respect; cameras on major roads causing people to conform; people stick to their lanes, initially. like if theres a 3 lane road u will find 3 cars driving side by side.

sure, there are the occasional speed-freaks who throw caution to the wind and take sharp turns at break neck speeds; there are those that will tailgate you (the correct expression on the roads of Kuwait tho is @** sniffing). they exist in all societies and on all roads. u just have to learn to spot them, and get out of their way - for your own safety.

driving in kuwait is a pleasure; truthfully. its easier than other places, and even the crazies are sane compared to some ive seen elsewhere.

tell u what; when u get here, invest in an old model Yukon, and just drive that baby the way you want, people will get out of ur way. its survival of the biggest here.

The problems with driving are over rated.
It looks a bit scary and, there are a few idiots around but, once you get used to it it is ok.
The key is to start driving as soon as you get out here. I was driving within a month (not necessarily with the right paperwork!!) and it has been fine. I'm now 'legal' by the way.

Again, thanks alot for all the information!!

I have another question...how long would it take (approx) to drive from Salmiya to Shuwaikh? And also to the avenues?
Logistically trying to figure out the better region to live in. Hawalli seems interesting, though have read many mixed reviews; built up/busy. But we don't mind that!
Thanks guys

Going  from Salmiya to Shuwaikh would depend if it's a rush hour but usually it takes around 20 minutes? It's a little less than 25 minutes to Avenues.

Thank-you!
We are now waiting for our paperwork to arrive, then head to the Kuwait embassy in London (along with medical report) to get passports stamped...then a week later we come over!! On track for end of April