Essentials to live in Jordan

Hi Christine
Dont bother to pack anything.you can find whatever you want here in Jordan
.but if u really want to pack you canbring shoes and skirts.
there are sales every where.for any thing u want to use in summer  or winter.

Do not listen to people telling you not to bring anything...I would advise you to bring as many things as a u can pack, except food; u can get virtually all kinds of food here.
If you're going to be here for a year then bring all the clothes that can take u for a year. Nice clothes are crazy expensive here due to heavy taxes. A nice jeans trouser that cost $20 in the USA or England or other European countries cost like 7 times more...yes...7 times more...perfumes are also quite expensive like hell.... I bought a perfume for 120 JOD here in Jordan and I travelled home to my country Nigeria and bought like 20 JOD worth...
If u r fashion conscious the get all your clothes and shoes and perfumes...undies and everything u need...except food...
For the record, I was told the same thing and as an expat, I thought I earn quite much and could afford it even if expensive...now I go to Nigeria for my annual vacation and get everything I need for a year...only thing I don't bring along is food.
Be advised.

It all depends on where u go shopping.if you go tothe malls in other days other than sale.yes it will be  ecpensive.but u can go down tiwn there are nice things in the shops when u ennter the collidor s they are well light.
You can only go to malls during sale time like now but not other days.
You know as ladies we always want new things even if you bring yr items you will find  another attractive item before u know it your luggage will be too heavy and you have to pay for excess when going back.so bring what you really want to last for a month or two , dont forget we have two distibct seaso of hot summer and cold winter , the rest you will buy frm here

It is essential to pack almost everything made of quality forcing me still to ordering from abroad. Even simplest things one expects to find in a library I would bring along. For example it is meanwhile possible to at least order quality cams, but dont expect to find a suitable (fast) memory card or even a big enough camera bag. If you are lucky u find a cam bag at all.  Everything with little demand due to desinterest is hard or impossible to find.
Fruits and vegetables despite a most suitable climate are affordable at the end of a season, mostly taste like left overs. At the end of the day it depends on what one needs in order to make ones stay a happy one... I once bought a perfume of JD 55 from a reputable place, I could as well have bought one of those for 1JD! I heard though they are reducing import  taxes from the EU, making one hope for better quality and availability...

Regarding somehow decent looking shoes for women, I guess its the biggest challenge. I can't  recall how many pairs we bought each JD 25. None really did last a week without damage. If one says now u need to go to the mall and pay 3 times as much in order to get a functional shoe, you may as well say nothing at all!

Also, they don't seem to have shoes in half sizes!  Or wides or narrow.  Shopping for casual clothes other than jeans is fine here.  The malls are too expensive for the most part but there are a lot of good outlet type stores for casual wear. A lot of the clothes run very small and tight though, so finding larger sizes might be hard.  Also, bring some nice dresses, especially long ones. There are always engagement and wedding parties to go to here!  As a side note, tailoring is affordable and fast here, so getting things taken in is easy.

All and all, I wish I would have brought with me less clothes and more household stuff (sheets, towels, pots and pans, etc). It's not that you can't find the things here, you just have to either compromise on quality or pay a very high price. Only thing I still can't find is a Swiffer Wet Jet, lol.

Pepto bismol if you like that (for stomach upsets). They have other brands but not that one.
A Kindle or other e-reader (books can be hard to find..I mean, there are lots of books, but maybe not the specific ones you want. A Kindle solves that ).
That's pretty much it.
When you go home, you will  miss things that they have in Jordan but maybe not in your home country (I am thinking of the world's best olive oil, Zaatar tea, and black seeds, for example).
Enjoy your time there and don't try to make it a clone of your life at home. It is its own unique and special experience.

I have always found that Jordan has pretty much everything home does(Canada) however it does come at a cost. Depending on the quality you want there are ample shoes and clothing stores. Some of the shops are cheap enough you can buy multiple items if they wear out. They have pretty much all the big stores you would find in other parts of the world and to save as others have mentioned shopping on sale might be best. I remember the last 2 times I was in Jordan I have purchased dresses and jeans from HM for 2jd each item.... I can't get that price in Canada. You may have to shop around but if cost isn't a big issue or you don't hVe weight restrictions I would say bring the items that you love and know you will wear and the rest of the items you can easily get while in Jordan. Good luck on your adventures ahead! Jordan is an amazing country and the food is sooo good 😊

In Amman, things are a bit expensive. My advice, bring things you need.  I'm buying from Amazon and they ship it to my address here why, because it is expensive to buy here.

Thanks...so what type of things do you get gom Amazon? Clothes? Shoes? Perfumes? Toiletries.
Didn't the shipping cost a lot? When you add up shipping, is it worth it?

Thanks for your time to respond.

You make it sound simpler as it is! You can not order from amazon with a local cc, meaning urs is foreign or u have a foreign account with a logistic company, or somebody orders for u from abroad. Then there are taxes, which are according to my experiences not worth the order unless what one orders can not be found here regardless from high taxes. Best of somebody sends private, taxes then maybe less...

ams is right, not to forget shipping costs!

Thanks for your reply! I'd rather just pay the extra luggage fee, cheaper in the long run.
Was wondering about vitamins, they were so expensive in the UAE. And a he heating pad was like $140 USD in the UAE. You can by a dual voltage one  in the USA for $37. I'm use to an electric blanket in the winter, are those available in Jordan because they don't have dual voltage ones in the USA??
Thanks for your input.  F I

From what I've seen vitamins are more expensive, and the selection is small. Tried to find biotin supplements and couldn't anywhere. Bring what you can.  They do sell electric blankets, but they kind of stink. Scratchy material, no timer, small size, etc.  the guy at the stor even advised me not to actually lay in the bed with it on, just warm the bed and turn it off before I got in, as they were not safe to do so. But, better than nothing.

American Muslim Sister wrote:

Thanks for your reply! I'd rather just pay the extra luggage fee, cheaper in the long run.
Was wondering about vitamins, they were so expensive in the UAE. And a he heating pad was like $140 USD in the UAE. You can by a dual voltage one  in the USA for $37. I'm use to an electric blanket in the winter, are those available in Jordan because they don't have dual voltage ones in the USA??
Thanks for your input.  F I

Could you please stick on the subject?
You're often off topic.
If you have questions which is not related to the subject, please create another one.

Thank you.

Thankful for the information.
Might you know about a heating pad? I live in a warm place in the USA..the cold gets to my back, however a heating pad does the trick!
Do you live in Amman? I could bring you your vitamins if you'd like. I should be in Amman the end of May 2016.
"Greatful"

@ American Muslim Sister,

Christine wrote:

Hi,

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

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

Share with us what you would recommend to bring in ones suitcase or container when moving to Jordan.

Thank you in advance,

Christine

It is recommended that you post information only related to the first post only please !

Thank you,

Priscilla

Forgive me if it's considered off topic, but just a suggestion for those wondering about prices and things. Most stores don't have websites but some do post weekly ads and specials on Facebook. Two suggestions would be to lookup "Carrefour" Jordan and "Smart Buy". They post their sales ads weekly at least and in English. Carrefour is kind of like Walmart they sell everything, food, electronics, etc.  Smart Buy is like our Best Buy in the USA. And AMS thank you for the offer, but I'm actually back in the states visiting this week myself!

Thank you.

Your post is very realistic and should be in bold print!!!  You never believe the simple things that are unavailable until living in the Middle East. Insect repellent (and when it is fly season WATCH OUT!), nasal spray, decongestants, WELL FITTING UNDERGARMENTS!!!!! Anti-persperints that WORK (and its hot!!!), vitamins, MAKE-UP is very expensive!!! Arm&Hammer Toothpaste. HAIR SPRAY costs $15 American Dollars a can- And the list goes on... Play it safe and just pay for extra baggage. BRING EVERYTHING YOU CAN!!!

LOL!  Omg yes deodorant in Jordan stinks!  Literally it does not work!  I have seen them selling Secret at one of the makeup stores in Mecca Mall, but I'm bringing back a years worth this trip. I've had no problem finding nasal spray at the pharmacy though.

YES!!!!!! I use Secret at home and last year brought it with me... This year I mistakenly forgot to stock up. Now my pits just sweat and stink!!!!!!
Recruiters really should be up front and honest.

barblam1 wrote:

Your post is very realistic and should be in bold print!!!  You never believe the simple things that are unavailable until living in the Middle East. Insect repellent (and when it is fly season WATCH OUT!), nasal spray, decongestants, WELL FITTING UNDERGARMENTS!!!!! Anti-persperints that WORK (and its hot!!!), vitamins, MAKE-UP is very expensive!!! Arm&Hammer Toothpaste. HAIR SPRAY costs $15 American Dollars a can- And the list goes on... Play it safe and just pay for extra baggage. BRING EVERYTHING YOU CAN!!!

I don't know where you shop but I can't agree on some points.
Last week I bought some bottles nail polish for one dinar each with acceptable quality.
Also other products are not expensive either but you must know where to buy. If you mean the well known brands, yeah, agree you pay the extra bonus.
For many years I use a certain brand of  deodorant and I stay fresh the whole day.

In general you can say that all imported goods are very expensive due high custom fees.
You just need to figure out which works for you.
For this reason I do not shop in malls and supermarkets like Carrefour, Miles and Cozmo.
Yes, they are conveniënt but you pay for it.

As for the subject goes: what for you is essential is for the other not. If you have doubts, bring in bulk with you.

According to my experiences Deodorant and perfumes do not last, their prices though equal to world prices and even sold as originals. I think i have already mentioned simplest things can not be found. I purchased a ipod shuffle some time ago for JD 45. I lost the tiny charger usb cable, costs here JD25! Ebay offers it for $1.99. As mentioned before, since there is no agreement with this country, not possible to order with local CC!

Primadonna!
I am finding you to go shopping with when I get there!!!
I have been in Qartar for 2 years and STILL cannot find things I want!!!
Thanks for the shopping information-

Ahlan wa sahlan 

Always... Cheers!!?

AMS, I wouldn't take it personally.  I think the original post was started by a moderator as for general information. I don't think you were really that off topic IMHO. Maybe a way to avoid this in the future is just to start your own thread when you have a specific question, then it's your own topic so no one can yell at you for being off topic lol!  . But seriously don't be afraid to ask questions, that's what a forum is for!  I wish I would have asked more before I made the big move!   Best of luck

Recruiters?  I married into this, no one to blame but myself lol.

Thanks so much!!
Cheers!!

Honestly I found the off topic allegation confusing too! But thats the moody world we live in...

Good morning all...I read through all the advise again, a big thank you! I think I got it on what to bring.
Good luck to all and once again thank you for your time and advice..
Hope I don't get hollered at for this "Thank you" post....lol...(off topic).
Cheers F.I.