Moving to Luanda...

Welcome on board Rosio!

I think I've already seen a couple of topics about Luanda on the forum

Are you moving for professional reasons?

Hey there, Rosio.
I am Angolan and part of my family is still in Luanda...
If I can help, let me know... but I sometimes don't know that much ;-)

Thanks Julien!
My husband has been relocated to work in Luanda. So, we will see how is this place. I have seen some pictures, and looks OK.

Jo Ann, I have been browsing internet and everything is in portuguese. Since I speak spanish, I can undertand it very little. Do you know how to do for housing, I mean, is there any agency that you know the number to contact them? House and school are my main concern.  And thank you again!

I don't know of agencies, we do it the old fashion way "someone who knows someone". Normally firms indicate you where to find (or am I wrong ?).
Rent starts from 1'000$ up, to find less is a miracle as Angolan sometimes charge like 1'000$ a room. Check this site (I don't know any other) : http://www.casasemangola.com/search/qse … =1&1211_0=
About schools, in another thread, a mother said that the international school in Luanda have waiting lists. I went to the French school, but it was easier because my older siblings were already in (when you have a relative, you don't have to wait). How many kids do you have ? What languages do they speak ?

I believe expats living in Luanda would be of a greater help than I ! :-)

Hi Rosio..  I think We are in the Same Boat.. I Live in Kazakhstan and now would like to Visit Luanda.. I was in Dubai Last week (Flies Frequently to Dxb).  Went to the Angolan Embassy and they hardly can give any good informations..  Same with the websites.. Not much of info anywhere.. 

Suggestions from others are Highly appreciated.. Thanks in Advance..

hello guys,

i am living in Luanda, Coquiros.

i must tell you whole story,

this is a country with big natural recources like oil and diomonds. The airport welcomes every foreigner with open arms and pockets.  you have to bribe around 500 $/person for entry (for the legal ones, having excellent visit records) otherwise you will have to wait for more than 3, 4, 5, and some times 10 hours on the airport and they will threat you for deporting.

then when you manage to come out from the airport, you will see nice old buildings and in progress good shaped buildings.  then when u will go the super market, prices of the daily commodities chears you with a tag of more than tripple than dubai. Then when you will try to have your driving licence, you will have to pay 500$.

ok about living in Luanda, a slight fluctuation in the electric powers (which may continue to 17 days constantly) will help you to sweeten and be healty.  You have to fill your petrol tank with leisure time, because it will surely spend your at leat 1 hours at the gase station. so fill it full and drive it less.  use the generator is must.

if u want to repair something, like your car, a.c., TV or something like this, better to purchase the new, and last for the street guys, they are young, total in health, strong, so whenever they beg you, give them something, otherwice they will arrange someone to kik your car, snatch your money or valuables and so on.  so be fast to get in your car and from car to your residence. dont look towards them and keep going.

dont go out in the night time, i mean on foot, always use car with locked doors.

ok something good for Luanda.

i am happy over here, chilling out at Miami Beach is good, Coconuts hut is nice place to see the chicks, and Rialto pizza is awsome.  then here you can have the best coffee at Hotel President, swimming pool of Tropico Hotel is nice. Always purchase from the inter market, its really nice.

i thing this would be enough dose for today.

chao amigos.

imranjee wrote:

hello guys,

i am living in Luanda, Coquiros.

i must tell you whole story,

this is a country with big natural recources like oil and diomonds. The airport welcomes every foreigner with open arms and pockets.  you have to bribe around 500 $/person for entry (for the legal ones, having excellent visit records) otherwise you will have to wait for more than 3, 4, 5, and some times 10 hours on the airport and they will threat you for deporting.

then when you manage to come out from the airport, you will see nice old buildings and in progress good shaped buildings.  then when u will go the super market, prices of the daily commodities chears you with a tag of more than tripple than dubai. Then when you will try to have your driving licence, you will have to pay 500$.

ok about living in Luanda, a slight fluctuation in the electric powers (which may continue to 17 days constantly) will help you to sweeten and be healty.  You have to fill your petrol tank with leisure time, because it will surely spend your at leat 1 hours at the gase station. so fill it full and drive it less.  use the generator is must.

if u want to repair something, like your car, a.c., TV or something like this, better to purchase the new, and last for the street guys, they are young, total in health, strong, so whenever they beg you, give them something, otherwice they will arrange someone to kik your car, snatch your money or valuables and so on.  so be fast to get in your car and from car to your residence. dont look towards them and keep going.

Luanda is a total chaos and it's not something new. There are neigbourhoods where there has never been tap water or electricity. Living in Coqueiros has its odds.
I could agree with you in some of what you said, but the bribe in the airport... that's the first time I heard about it.
Luanda is more expensive than Tokyo and London. So the prices are 'normal'.

Why did you move to Angola by the way ?

Dear Ann,

Nice to see your sharp reply.  Beleive me Ann, i swear to God that my employer has paid 600$ for my entry even i have a good track record for about 6 countries.  I have to wait there almost 3 hours, because they were demanding 1500 $ otherwise they are gonna deport me.  And after some days two of our new employees arrived at the airport and we pay 800 each.  my employer told me its like that, just bargain with them. and in my flight two indians were also flying with me they told me to put some dollars in the passport otherwice mointo problema.....and yes it happens, because i dont beleive in the bribe...


and for your last question....

i am appointed as Manager Accounts over here by a company.

and offcourse i am happy to see a reply..

keep replying, this will let me think that i have an angolan freind...chao amiga

Ann one thing more, This coquiros is considered amongst the good areas of Luanda, because the president house is almost here, i am living in the next building to the foot ball stadium here. but still i am facing alot of problems. i dont understand why the rich government dont think about it, why they are imposing alot of taxes on the imports, because just the consumer is affected by it not the invester.

and where they are putting that large amounts....i dont understnad really.....

lol ranjee, you forgot to write that coqueiros is on the bottom of the city and the president lives on the top of the city.

jo(aninha) can I start?

Oh PP, you're here ! :-)
Go ahead ;-)

PP

PouPa La,

yeah its bottom.  and i rally understand now that its a reall bottom.

can anyone tell me how to hire a house and which is a good area than this one. cost is not a matter of worry for me.  and and there must be little power failures, two three days are acceptable.  because from thursday the power for this bhilding is shit off again and it will remain uptill tuesday (i think another 17 days)...plz help me get rid of this building.

Ann i think you can do this..

If you are still wanting to move from Coqueiros please call me mobile 923 318 094. There are other good options at Maianga, Maculusso or Bairro Azul with a generator included on the rental price. Irene

Hi,
I'm new here, but I am working my way to get an education that would benefit me in Angola. What are some high demand jobs out there currently?

Hi Dear I also live in Luanda/ Angola and it's a nice place to live is there something personal that I can help you guys with? and when are u guys moving? if you guys have kids there is the International school where the kids can go to.

Regards,
Felicia Ernesto

I've been living in Luanda for about 10 months now & have found this thread interesting.

Personally, no one I know has ever had to pay bribes or other fees at the airport, but then everyone I know comes with a correct visa (which is a saga in itself). The wait at the airport can vary from just over 1 hour to 3 or more (bags need to grow their own legs and walk themselves to the carousel, it takes so long).

I teach at the international school, but the expat population has grown much faster than the school can, so there are waiting lists for almost every year level & for some classes, you can't even get on a list any more - so don't make any assumptions that your kids can just enrol in the school once you show up.

We have found people here friendly & helpful - our biggest issue is that we can't speak the language so communication is hard. We take "sensible" precautions but have never felt threatened or unsafe.

Accommodation is amazingly expensive - no one should consider coming here unless accommodation is part of their package or if they have already found a place to stay - we have flats that cost way more than our total salaries!

It's a beautiful country - and very different from most other places.
Sue

Hi, guys and gals, I am taking the chance to move to Angola in due course, all the help and new friends are needed !! Cheers...I'll be back.
Edbraz

Edbraz, what are you going to do in Angola ?

Angolasue, I know ! What's up with the rents lately ? It's just insane !

This forum seems to be the correct find for me.

I'm an Indian, presently in Indonesia, earlier in Bahrain & Oman.

My company is planning me for their project in Angola (location-Not sure). As i do not know much about Angola, i wanted to know about the work culture there, and could a vegetarian survive?

rdfg16 wrote:

Hi!
I just registered to this site. We are from Panama but living in Dubai, U.A.E. for almost 2 years. Before moving to Dubai, we used to live in Baku, Azerbaijan.  Now, there is a possibility that will move to Luanda, Angola. I have been browsing through internet searching for blog, post or expats sites that could tell smthg about how is life in Luanda, but without luck so far.  So, please if anyone  knows facts about living in Luanda, write me.
And of course, if someone needs info regarding Dubai or Baku, I would be happy to help!\.
Rosio.

Hi my name is Roy i have just returned from Luanda i sent 7 weeks there, I am going to give you the facts in numbered order.
1. Food is very expensive.
2. The traffic is terrible it is a nightmare no joke, 20 kms  can take u 2-3 hours.
3. Accodation is expensive.
4. Luanda is very dusty.
5. Water is a problem and so is electricity.
6. Drink only mineral water.
The up side is the the south island really great beaches, warm water and no waves.(They also have great beer)
You can buy just about anything off the street.
                      Regards R.C.Drodskie

Hi all,

I 'v just been offered a job by drilling MNC, I would much appreciate if any one would advise me on

1. Cost of quality basic food would be for a family of 3
2. Cost of employing a personal driver
3. Golf memebership in luanda
4. Internet ans satellite tv

would be very helpful in negotiating my package

Cheers
K

A question was asked about vegetarians in Angola. Both my partner & myself are vegetarians (we don't eat seafood either) & have found it OK here. Most restaurants are very meat or sea-food orientated - so we avoid them. We certainly would avoid any buffets. There is a very expenisve Indian restaurant which has good vege food (but is the most expensive Indian we've ever eaten in anywhere around the world (including Tokyo) - however all "nice" restaurants are expensive, so it is relative). We've eaten at a good Chinese restaurant & found enough to eat (although not a huge selection). We also go for pizza occasionally - there are a few places that have vege options. So - we don't eat out that much, but there are options. We mostly cook at home & can find many suitable things in the supermarkets (although red lentils are very ellusive & cooking cheeses & vege stock are non-exsistent). You can (currently) buy vegetarian burgers, sausages etc very reasonably & they now make a staple part of our diet although we have never eaten food like this before.
We bring in a ton of supplies with us every time we leave the country - red lentils, stock powder, paneer & Halomi cheese etc. You'll rapidly write your own list. But food variety is improving all the time - just be prepared - we can easily spend US$200 for a week's food. (Cheese is very expensive). Hope that helps. (I don't think hardly any Angolans can be vegetarians).

angolasue wrote:

(I don't think hardly any Angolans can be vegetarians).

I know *one* Angolan vegetarian, but he is Buddhist and lives in Portugal which helps !
We Angolans believe in too much meat and seafood, I'm afraid...

Kronos08 wrote:

Hi all,

I've just been offered a job by drilling MNC, I would much appreciate if any one would advise me on

1. Cost of quality basic food would be for a family of 3

As mentioned previously, food is very expensive here, even basic staples are 3x the price you'd pay anywhere else in the world.
I would say that for 3 people you could easily spend $200 a week, probably more.

2. Cost of employing a personal driver

Depends on the quality of driver you want, my company pays around $250 a month to our driver, my friend's company pays $1000 a month.... you get what you pay for!!

3. Golf memebership in luanda

Doesn't exist really, there's a mud/sand course a way out of town that I think is $50 a round, allegedly there's a new grass course being built a little further out of town, but I've not heard anything of that project for more than a year now.

4. Internet and satellite tv

Internet in the house is normally by means of USB 3g modems - the fastest service is 1Mb down 256 up - this costs $250 a month and has a 10Gb limit - it also is regularly off for days at a time.
Some houses can get cable Internet, this is the same speed but about half the price and more reliable.
Satellite TV comes from South Africe (DSTV) and the full package will be around $70 a month... a PVR / multi-room setup is also available. It works well and is a total saving grace down here.

would be very helpful in negotiating my package

Good luck with the negotiations... remember that there is no such thing as too much money when it comes to living in  Luanda.

Cheers
K

Helo Derek,

Many thanks, much appreciated. I am working in Singapore for an oil and gas company, so you anyone needs any info I'll be glad to help

Cheers

Guess what, one more new expat! Hi there, good blog Julien. I already have quite some info thanks!

I might move to Luanda in a short time (from West Africa) and we should have a short trip with my wife to visit the place before final decision. I'd like to make this trip worth and target what to do and where to visit. Our kids should go to the international school so we would probably look for a place in Luanda Sul or in the area and I would commute.

Now here are my first questions, would be really great if you could help:

- Do you know any adress/contact to surf and get infos about houses in Luanda Sul?
- Any good doctors/hospitals in the area?
- I read that one should have a driver in luanda: is it true? (although it might be safer for everybody if my wife would get one...)
- Are SUVs needed?
- What would be the price range for a correct second hand SUV (any adresses?)?
- Do you know how long it could take to drive from the Sul area to the Harbour area-and back in rush hours?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Tintin

Please confirm with the international school's enrollment office that you can in fact send your children to the school. Do not assume this as many year levels are full and have waiting lists.

Sue

thanks sue we'll get on it right now.

are ur kids there 2 ? Any good area around school?

Cheers

Hi everybody,

Great blog, thank you....

After one short year in Abidjan, my husband, 2 children and I are moving soon to Luanda. Moving with kids is not the easiest so I would appreciate any information you can share with me. I have learned a lot already from this blog especially about the International school. We will pay a short visit to Luanda prior to our final move. Can we have recommendations on housing /family neighbourhoods close to the International school and info on the impact of electricity and water.
Is it easier to find a furnished or non furnished accomodation ?
Is it better to bring your own furniture or is it possible to have it made there?
How is the medical, dental situation there?
What kind of sports clubs, memberships are available ?

Of course, I have plenty more questions to ask and would really appreciate any helpful information that will accommodate our move.
Thank you very much.
The Wee Leprechaun Lily

Hi every one, I am in my second rotation in Luanda now(work 35on/35off) as you will see in my profile I am from Brazil, basically  I am looking to meet people make friends I want to escape the bobble of just hanging out with my coworkers.
For those that like to exercise, few tips are the gym at Tropicos(very good), swimming at  Nautico(for serious swimmers), and became a member of H3(Hash House Harriers) look up over  the net, there is a blog hash in Luanda.
As far as the “problems”  well nothing is perfect, I try to filter as much as I can, and just think about how much I make dayly.lol
I read at some other forum a comparison between here and Rio, yes we do have similar problems but in a very different scale, but I am not here to discus that.
So if anyone is up for a squash game or few beers at the Island let me know.
Cheers

Hi to all,

Well, chances are high that I get this position located with the UN in Luanda, Angola..As the newbies, I want to know about most things and have read what's been discussed already. Currently, I live in Rome and the traffic is awful - not sure how comparable it is with Angolan awful traffic. Are cars used a lot mostly for security reasons?

But, what interests me most - what chances for employment would my husband have: an Italian and an Economist by background...

Also, as already mentioned on the forum - life seems expensive in Angola..is absolutely everything more expensive than elsewhere? What is an average rent price of a decent small flat for a couple?

I also have the feeling I would be the only Croatian living in Angola...or am I mistaken? :-)

Hi Leprechaun

I will try and answer your questions since we moved here when our duaghter was just over 2 years old.

I am answering your questions below.
Can we have recommendations on housing /family neighbourhoods close to the International school and info on the impact of electricity and water.

The company that sends you here will arrange accomadation for you I hope before you get here. Arranged accomodation are normally of good standard, even in the city. Many of the places that you will life in should have a backup generator which would help alot with the electricity problem, there are quite frequent electicity outages. You cannot drink the tap water, you will probably end up in hospital. But all the shops supply fresh drinking water, you can also hire fresh water from companies here in Angola, one we use is Saudabel, they deliver at my front door.

The international school is knows as LIS. www.lisluanda.com There is only the 2 schools for expats that teach in English and Portuguese, there is also a French school somewhere, you would be very lucky to get a place into LIS, we have been here 2 years and could not get a place for our daughter, we got place in another school in the city, Escola. But LIS is in an area known as Tela Tona which is about 30 km outside Luanda City. If you cant get into LIS then try Escola. They are really not bad either for pre-school. http://www.isbi.com/istd-viewschool/440 … SCOLA.html

Is it easier to find a furnished or non furnished accomodation ? Both, you can choose, many places are furnished or unfurnished, I would not bring any furniture from overseas since it might get damaged at the harbour or might be stolen, if not this then you might find endless delays to get it released and there might be a huge storage cost, dont go this route.

Is it better to bring your own furniture or is it possible to have it made there? Answered above

How is the medical, dental situation there? Dental is fine, they can do anything a normal dentist can do, they have a Familia de Segrada hospital for expats and locals on the Ihlia, but you need to be a member of SOS International to make use of the services, they have good SOS docters, same standard as 1st world doctors, there are off course cubans and chinese doctors also. Not so good. For serious emergency situations they can help you also, but the best is to get out of Angola and go to Namibia or South Africa in these cases, but the SOS doctors would normally suggest when this is needed. It can sometimes really take very long to get to the drs due to traffic, what we do is park ar Chill Out and then walk to the clinic which isnt to far away.

What kind of sports clubs, memberships are available. I am not to familiar with this, but there are quite a few martial arts, soccer and probably volleyball, but nothing as huge as overseas.

Hummingbird wrote:

Hi every one, I am in my second rotation in Luanda now(work 35on/35off) as you will see in my profile I am from Brazil, basically  I am looking to meet people make friends I want to escape the bobble of just hanging out with my coworkers.
For those that like to exercise, few tips are the gym at Tropicos(very good), swimming at  Nautico(for serious swimmers), and became a member of H3(Hash House Harriers) look up over  the net, there is a blog hash in Luanda.
As far as the “problems”  well nothing is perfect, I try to filter as much as I can, and just think about how much I make dayly.lol
I read at some other forum a comparison between here and Rio, yes we do have similar problems but in a very different scale, but I am not here to discus that.
So if anyone is up for a squash game or few beers at the Island let me know.
Cheers

Man!!!! rio its paradise on earth compared with luanda or any other place in angola.

in fact luanda its a dusty huggly city with no infraestructure of any kind, extreme poor quality of life and very very expensive... bad deal for any traveller.

Does anyone know of any capoeira schools in Luanda?  I am currently visiting Luanda, and have about two more weeks remaining here, but I plan to find a way to move here by 2012.  I live in Miami Beach (yes, South Beach) and will start looking for jobs here in Luanda.  I actually did a lot of my growing up here, so to me, although the current conditions (infreastructure, traffic, corruption, unstable electricity, unstable water, dust, trash, etc...) are still a lot better than how it was in the 80Žs and 90Žs during the war.  I just started capoeira in Miami, and would really like to continue it in Luanda (if I am able to finda job here).

Hi to all,

I just joined this forum and found information vert informative.

A310

Welcome on board ahmed310

my name is filipe fernandes
i'm of angolan,portugues nationality
i'm live in birmingham,3
crystal house,oakfield close
b66 3jt
look for job in angola as a bricklayer in plastering,
the constrution,or paint the boat and
rig petrol probe,i have letter of outhorization to
work at sea.
i heve much exprience working plantaforma

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