kuwait anyone?

[alexsmum]

dh has just applied for a job here. has anyone any experience of it? anything you can tell me?

bumping this for today!

Sorry, only have experience of working in Saudi Arabia...suspect Kuwait is a whole lot better

well, it's funny because i have experience of saudi and would probably be happier in saudi if only because i have some idea what to expect!
where in saudi were you?

Uncle and Aunty have just moved from Saudi to Kuwait. They prefer Kuwait. We will be going to stay for a while next year.

Sorry, had to go then. Aunty says that she prefers it as it is much more westernised, she can drive, walk down the street without feeling like she shouldnt be there etc.. Also, as I said, we are going to stay with them next year, which we couldnt have if they were still in Saudi.

my dad is in Kuwait and there is a large expat community - he is a rugby guy (or was!) and seemed to still have a good social life! I guess things like no alcohol etc are a bit bizarre but he's been there for about 5 years so must like it!
I visited about 10 years ago and they have/had then (surprisingly) Ikea and other western shops so it is quite home from home in that respect.

Have just got back from visiting friends(have been there two times before).

It is a pretty nice place and much more relaxed than Saudi Arabia. Women don't have to cover their heads, can drive, pretty much do anything really.

The shopping malls are fabulous and so are the supermarkets. You get things from Europe and America, so a very wide variety. There are loads of British/European shops-M&S, Boots, Next, Zara etc.

Food is also excellent. You can't drink alcohol in public, but most expats manage to get some from various sources. There are some really great restaurants there.

Driving is on the right hand side, like the States and the roads are very much like the States.

My favourite is how cheap the food and beauty parlours are. Dubai is an hour away by plane, a great place to visit. Also hiring home help is very cheap.

There are loads of schools-including a number of British schools that follow the syllabus here.

There's a lovely beach, but no theatre's as far as I know. I think it would be really nice to live there for a year or two.

Anything else you want to know-ask away!

alexsmum - we were in Khamis Mushyt.

mala, what's the housing situation like? Is is it on expat compounds like in saudi?

alexmum-it's not exactly the same as the expat compounds in Saudi. There are some areas that have more expats than others - prob. because the company you work for finds you a place and that would be in a more cosmopolitan area. Sometimes companies rent flats in buildings, so everyone in that company would live in that building My friend lives in a building which is pretty mixed-Kuwaitis, Indians and Americans, so it depends really - think it's much more flexible than Saudi.
Also visitors can get visa's at the airport, so again not as rigid as Saudi.