Essentials to live in Cameroon

Christine

ViP

Member since 29 September 2008

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Christine

12 February 2016 10:09:46

42879

Christine

12 February 2016 10:09:46

42879

Hi,

As an expat living in Cameroon, what would you advise the ones about to pack to bring along?

What are the items you can easily find in Cameroon? On the other hand, what is less common or quite expensive?

Share with us what you would recommend to bring in one's suitcase or container when moving to Cameroon.

Thank you in advance,

Christine

jeremi v

Member

Member since 15 December 2012

Yaounde

jeremi v

15 February 2016 16:51:18

jeremi v

15 February 2016 16:51:18

Yaounde

Things like i-phones, camera's and laptops are usually more expensive than in western countries, plus the quality of electronics in general is questionable [mostly Chinese]. Also getting your laptop fixed can be costly and most of the time it's not fixed properly. Getting or fixing glasses or contact lenses is pricy; bring some spare ones is a great idea, plus bring you eye-subscription in case you need to buy new ones.

Basically everything is easy to find in Cameroon [there are many western supermarkets, pharmacies and shops], just be careful in some areas. The most important thing you can bring is common sense...

If you can choose where to live I would definately recommend Yaounde. Douala is a hot and dangerous city but Yaounde has a great climate and is many times more safe and pleasant than Douala.

mufedjo

New member

Member since 19 April 2012

mufedjo

01 March 2016 16:10:17

mufedjo

01 March 2016 16:10:17

Most of what you find anywhere in western countries is available in Cameroon major 2 cities: Douala and Yaounde. The problem is the price which is often very stiff. So my advice is simply to bring a lot f money. If you have enough, there will be no shortage of anything.
Food is plentiful, diversified and of excellent quality, being natural ("organic") in markets. Processed foods are available in foodstores and supermarkets and there are quite a few of these in Yaounde and Douala. Fresh liquid milk is unfortunately not available, it is always canned or in powder form.
Used automobiles are plentiful and cheap, new ones are very expensive.
Corruption is endemic and illegal. If you want things to move at their normal speed through government and even private services, you pay a bribe. It is illegal and you can theoretically be jailed for engaging in it, but even police officers will tell you on the street that they do not feed their families with the law. It means what it means.
MY CURE ALL RECOMMENDATION: BRING A LOT OF MONEY OR MAKE A LOT OF MONEY WHILE THERE. You will be able to buy anything including sex. Everything is available for sale.
If you feel it may be beneficial for you to get further details via a direct phone conversation, call me at xxx (I just returned to the USA from a 3-year stay in Cameroon)
P. Kamguia, MD.

Moderated by Bhavna 8 years ago
Reason : Please avoid posting your contact details on the forum.
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Guestposter88

02 March 2016 22:43:18

Guestposter88

02 March 2016 22:43:18

Hi, money is not the answer to everything! It takes time to find one's way around and find the best deals.
It is true that Yaounde's climate is better than Douala's. I couldn't say whether Yaounde is safer - maybe it used to be.
Easy things to bring over would be:
- Plastic freezer bags to store food and even other items
- lightweight shopping totes as you will be charged for plastic bags in stores
- aluminum foil (the quality is bad here even though Cameroon produces the raw material!)
- decent clothespins (plastic)
- small paper tissues packs
- towelettes individually wrapped.
- small flashlights, power packs. Best are the kind that can be recharged on the grid rather than using batteries.
Unfortunately many items here are imported. And yes, there is a lot of low quality merchandise made in China.
- As the first responder wrote, bring your electronics. Just be aware that we are on 220V here (unimportant for laptops and smartphones, fortunately). A Kindle is a good investment if you like to read. Backlit as there are lots of electrical outages.
- If you can purchase small appliances in France, bring them along. Big appliances too - in a container.
- I packed my kitchenware and dishes, flatware, etc. in a container. Sheets and towels also.
- I did NOT bring furniture: too expensive to ship and there is nice wood here, you can have furniture custom built. Get recommendations for good woodworkers.
Let me know if you would like more information. I am in Douala.

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