some help about Nairobi

Hi and welcome to Expat.com!

I have introduced your topic as a new thread on the Nairobi forum for better visibility.

Hi Nice4u,

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1. Nairobi is a relatively safe area. Car jackings and muggings occur randomly and people are not specifically targeted. Unless people know you as one who carries HUGE sums of cash/valuables every so often, nobody will bother with you. You are most likely to meet with street children or beggers in the less affluent parts of the city

2. Living expenses are generally ok. I have worked mostly with expatriates from the Americas or Europe and most find the cost of living here to be low. I can see you are from India. According to your email, we can break it down to as follows:

Housing - Depends with which part of the city you live in and also your budget. In Nairobi, the Asian community tend to reside in one location, the Westlands/Parklands area. Rent here is typically between $550 - $1,800 for a 1/2/3/4 bdrm apartment. shared accommodation may be even cheaper.

Car - Depends with the type of car. Second hand imports available locally will cost anything between $7,000 - $ 20,000 for 4x4 or good salon vehicles. New car dealers have slightly higher prices.

Domestic help - It will be hard to get Indian domestic help, unless you are willing to spend $600 per month on help. Kenyan househelps will charge an average of $70 - $200 per month depending on what you want them to do and hours of service. Drivers will charge anything from $200 per month for an 8am -6pm job.

Vegeterian food - This is here in plenty and what you have back home, you will probably also get here. Spices too. Most restaurants though do not have specialized vegetarian menus apart from the Indian/Chinese or the 4/5 star hotels.

Where to live - Mostly depends on several factors. Your budget, distance to work and your taste.

Domestic travel safety - Whether using public or private means, domestic travel is relatively safe. Drivers in Kenya though tend to be careless and a lot of minor accidents occur frequently. If you obey traffic rules, there is nothing to worry you about. [ Moderated ] but some first class coaches on the same trains are comfortable and cheap and suited for intercity travel. Domestic air transport is available to several places in Kenya whether chartered or public.

Cost of self cooking is very minimal. Just like everywhere else in the world, it is cheaper to cook than to eat out, much cheaper. Cost of eating out is on average 5-10 times more.

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Hi,

Largely agree with the previous post.

Nairobi is safe, as long as you take precautions:  Don't drive around at night too much, certainly don't walk on the streets after dark, or through the parks, alone.  Keep out of the poorer areas.  Don't act as if you are lost.  Don't walk around talking on your mobile, or pugged into an mp3.

As with many large cities, you just need to be aware of what is going on around you.

Get a Safaricom sim card and then register to use 'M-Pesa'.  This is a mobile money service, where you have a virtual account on your phone.  Many goods and services can be paid for, using this including shopping.  It means that you do not have to carry cash.  It is secure, so if your phone is lost or stolen nobody else would have access to your money (unless you have the passwords stored on the phone itself).

Employees:  I think it unlikely that you would be able to hire an Indian domestic help.  Kenyan Indians don't employ other Indians, on the whole.  I understand that the government are on the point of increasing workers rights, to Ksh 8000 per month minimum wage, plus housing allowance and two days off a week, annual leave etc.  If you want a driver, check them out carefully.  A driving licence does not indicate competency to drive.  In fact make sure any employees check out properly - they are going to have access to many aspects of your life.  If possible, get your workers through personal recommendation.

Accommodation:  You mention a villa.  These are available, but tend to cost considerably more than apartments.  Recent years has seen a construction boom, with many individual properties being replaced by apartment blocks.  It depends on what you want and your rental budget.  For example; Westlands has a large Indian community.  For the type of properties available, you can check out the websites below.  There are others:

hassconsult.co.ke/hass/index.php

villacarekenya.com/

knightfrank.com/property-to-let/kenya/nairobi

nairobirealestates.com/public/rentals.do

I am not the best person to advise on prices, as I own my house!

Vehicles:  A imported saloon car is fine for the city.  If you want to travel upcountry only occasionally, then you can rent a 4x4.  If you want to get out of Nairobi regularly, buy a 4x4.  Nairobi is full of dealers, selling imported vehicles, prices generally start at around Ksh 500 000 - 600 000, for a small saloon. 

The shopping malls have notice boards where vehicles are posted for sale.  Buying new is very expensive, but the advantage of buying a local market vehicle (new or used) vs an import is that it is 'africanised' to cope better with the local conditions, and over time, should be more durable.

Domestic Travel:  We drive about quite a lot, with no problems at all.  The biggest risk of being in Kenya is actually being injured/killed on the roads, rather than being mugged/attacked, especially on public transport.  Some of the northern places can be unsafe to drive to, but flying is an option.

Food:  Much cheaper to cook at home.  Although food prices are increasing, you can keep costs down by shopping at markets, rather than supermarkets.  We spend around Ksh 8000 - 10 000 per week on the family and animals. 

Hope this helps.