glad to be here
Amsterdam. This year will be my 36th year but I still have the London accent.
Amsterdam. This year will be my 36th year but I still have the London accent.
The Location of Urbanites Worldwide
- Thread starter Rock Bottom
- Start date
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
I think it would be a good idea to have a map showing locations.
It could be something for Crispy to do when he's bored.
It could be something for Crispy to do when he's bored.
AnnO'Neemus
Is so vanilla
I'm in Doha, Qatar.
pseudonarcissus
fluttering and dancing
finally moving from Houston, Texas to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil full time tomorrow. I'm still British though
roryer
道可道非常道，名可名非常名
It's dry there isn't it?
Only one bloody off licence in the whole city if I remember correctly.
miniGMgoit
OverWeightUnderAchiever
Yeah. I've moved from Melbourne to Darwin.
mhendo
Aussie in San Francisco
You have my deepest sympathy.
Col_Buendia
sort code
I'm now in Bogota, Colombia, for the foreseeable future. If any urbanites are in this area I'd be very tickled to hear from them. The rest of ye can just suffer the envy... 
ska invita
back on the other side
The people of Thailand have been taking a poll on what they think of you - add your vote here: http://www.thanonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=18&Itemid=452
Errol's son
Well-Known Member
Luanda, Republic of Angola, for last five years.
extra dry
Happy to be here
Even the adverts are in foreign
Leaving Thailand by Dec. to back to South Korea...it is where the cash is at.
Yu_Gi_Oh
天天好心情
extra dry
Happy to be here
Oh lucky you!What kind of gig are you getting?
The usual ESL teaching...this time I have my wife with me so I m kind of wondering how it is all going to go.
We both need to get a move with pension saving and looking 20+yrs ahead but still needs to be started.
Yu_Gi_Oh
天天好心情
Well I'm the wife, and it can be lonely, if you're you're going to be in Seoul or Busan or whatever then I'm sure there will be enough for your wife to get on with though.
The pension stuff is scary innit! 
Good luck with the move. 
TitanSound
Mr Beardy Drummer
I'm currently in my office, in the exotic climes of Finsbury Park. So far this morning, I've seen some crackus headus and some lesser special brewus. I've a feeling some major kestrel's will be joining us later.
extra dry
Happy to be here
can just picture you in a hide with a flask of hot coffee..(best Bill Oddie voice) looking for the lesser spotted red stripe busker...
Expensive place to live in... What is it like? I have heard that everyone lives in a gated community of some sort with security guards left, right and centre.
Errol's son
Well-Known Member
It is a land of contrasts.
You have the cosseted expat who works for a multinational versus the independent entrepreneur. You also have the wealthy elite Angolans versus the rest of the population.
The cosseted expat will be forced to live in a certain area of town in a gated community by his employer. He may well pay US£15000-US$25000 a month in rent. The independent will rent in a less desirable area but will still be able to get a place in a brand new housing estate aimed at Angola's middle classes for US$1000-US$2000 a month. I live in the latter. I don't have a guard. Most of my neighbours are expats or middle ranking Angolan civil servants. My street has several police officers living on it so crime is not a big problem.
In terms of cost, the cosseted expat will be given a card and told to only shop in a certain high quality supermarket that imports foods such as French cheeses, Italian coffee, Heinz Baked Beans and Sharwoods noodles. It will also have a fair selection of vegetables and meats that are all imported. His food bill will be astronomical as it is all on expenses and he has nothing to do. The rest of us minimise our consumption of imported vegetables and buy locally and adapt the food we cook to use local ingredients and the cost is not too bad. My grocery bill is less than it was in the UK. I do have to eat more fish (locally caught) and I miss eating roast lamb...
When it comes to entertainment, there is not much to do. There is a golf course and a cinema and there are a few bars with swimming pools. But really there is little to do other than go to bars or go to the beach and have a BBQ. The cosseted expat may well not be allowed to do this. The gated communities normally have swimming pools and BBQ areas so they are confined here at weekends. Their cars have tracking systems and if they go anywhere other than the supermarket or a friend's house in a neighbouring gated community security intervene and put a stop to it. There are bars aimed at wealthy Angolans which are as expensive as in London's upmarket bars, which I tend to avoid unless corporate entertainment necessitates. Meanwhile in my local bar, a pint of local beer on tap costs US$2.00 - so much cheaper than England.
It is expensive to set up a business here but bizarrely you can live here quite cheaply if you want to... I guess this is partly down to the fact that it is temporary and one does not anticipate living here for ever. If you are a cosseted expat here it is very like boarding school. Whatever way you want to look at it, it is a bit of a hardship location as you have intermittent power, red tape, corruption, horrific traffic congestion, limited entertainment options... But I still quite like it.
