Anyone living in Oman, we may be going for 3 yrs TIA

[herdingcats]

Any information gratefully recieved. DH has been offered the chance to go out there and I very little nothing about the country.
Only contact I have had with the area, was when we hosted some gentlemen at an event last summer. Their English was very limited, so we did not really converse much tbh.
DH mentioned Rui sp? So I think that will be the area we would be in.

I lived there 11 years ago, in fact DD was born at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital.
The place he may have mentioned is Ruwi. I doubt you'd live there unless it has changed a lot.
We had a super time, it was an easy country to live in, the health care was great, the people lovely and we saw rain twice in three years.
I know there are a couple of MNers whose names I can't remember who are there now.

Nah, you're unlikely to be living in Ruwi. Ruwi is an area of Muscat, and it's not a great place to live. Muscat is pretty small so you can live somewhere nicer than Ruwi even if your husband then commutes to work there.

What sort of things do you want to know?

Well done silentboob. Are you in the sunny Sultanate?

We are living in Muscat at the present, it's our third year and we are really happy here. It's nothing like its neighbours in the UAE, it has much more charm and a laid back approach that I really like.

It is unlikely you'll be living in Ruwi, you'll probably be in a much nicer place.

I am a teacher here, if you want any info on the International schools here, I'll try to provide.

Thank you all for the replies.
Silentbob - Unfortunately we will not get to choose where we live. It may not be Ruwi, as we will be living in military quarters. He is an RAF officer and it will be an exchange tour. I would like any information you have, as I'm clueless!
Complexnumber- information on schools would be fabulous. I have emailed the British school to ask them for details on applying. Which one do you work at?
TIA

I'd have thought you'd be on a compound if you're military. This is good because it means you'll have a shared pool - always a bonus. All the military people I know live out Seeb way - it's fine.

How old are your children? The school you send them to depends very heavily on where you live. There are 4 main choices, but also others which are employer specific. I have an inkling of an idea that there is a school for Military children out near the airport... but I might be completely wrong about that. If you do live towards Seeb you'll probably choose Royal Flight School.

The 4 main schools are...
The British School - fine, British curriculum
ABA - good school, IB syllabus
TAISM - American syllabus, fab facilities, more expensive than the others.
Royal Flight - Seeb end of town, British curriculum, nice school.

There are also a lot of nurseries to choose from if your children are younger, and some of them go up to age 6 or so. TLC is growing from a nursery into a school and currently goes up to Year 4 I think.

Schools tend to be oversubscribed and generally have waiting lists. Best to make contact sooner rather than later. All have websites.

Muscat is a friendly place, nice for kids, fairly sleepy. It's great if you like outdoorsy stuff. Camping, exploring etc. Beaches are gorgeous. You can get most things you need but the shopping isn't fabulous. Dubai is only down the road if you need to do some proper shopping. There's an Opera House for a bit of culture, a smallish cinema, a bowling alley, a new ice rink, a couple of malls, 4 or 5 huge supermarkets. Alcohol is regulated but not banned. A couple of restaurants and all the big hotels have licences, and you can get a licence to drink in your home. Groceries are fairly expensive - possibly on a par with UK? Petrol / running a car is hilariously cheap.

The weather is horrendously hot for about a 3rd of the year. Ramadan is pretty grim for expats as everything shuts and you can't eat or drink in public - most expats tend to clear out for most if not all of Ramadan. The rest of the year is nice weather.

If you're military then you'll have housing provided, you'll get to know your neighbours - ready made social life with the other military wives. Not much else to tell you tbh.

Is this your first overseas posting?

Just to add that if you want to hit the bright lights, then Oman-Dubai is an easy drive. We used to do it the other way- come to Muscat for weekends and drive Friday evening and back Sunday evening. Border can be an arse but apart from that it's easy peasy.

And the camels on the road between Dubai and Oman. We were told, although never had it confirmed that the Bedoin would throw them out if they saw westerners driving then claim 50,000 riyals for their racing camel.

I think SilentBoob has described things very well. And there is little, if anything I would disagree with.

With regards schools, a lot depends upon how old your kids are, and what your future intentions are:

BSM is ideal for those families that are coming out for a couple of years, knowing that they will be back in the UK system eventually. I have liked the teachers and the pupils I have met from BSM

I teach at ABA, and I really like it. It is ideal for those families that may well be moving on from one country to another. It follows the IB curriculum from the elementary years right up to the equivalent of 6th form. I'll try not to beat my own drum, but it is a really good school (though may not suit every families needs).

As mentioned earlier, only consider TASIM if you are thinking that your offspring will go to a US uni (not that out of the question given the rise in fees)

I don't know too much about the Royal Flight, other than it has a good reputation and doesn't have a secondary dept.

The drive from Muscat to Dubai is about 5hrs door to door. Personally I am always so happy to get back into Oman after a w/e out there, but if you like to shop...

The heat is not too bad at the moment, but everyone knows that within a few weeks it will become extremely hot, and then a few weeks after that your eye balls will boil. The dates for Ramadan are based on the lunar calender rather than the solar. hence they shift by about two weeks each year. For the next few years it will be celebrated during summer, which is when a lot of ex-pats leave.

I don't think I have stated anything that hasn't already been stated, but I hope it helps if I can back up some of the opinions.

Wow, what great information from you all.
I now have a little more to go on, DH came home with some bumf from the office. Accommodation is at a place called Palm Villas!? Also says we should put our DD's name down for school now. We go Easter 2013 as long as we are approved by all the hierarchy.
My DD will be in year 5 uk when we arrive, and 10yrs old. We will need a school that teaches the UK syllabus as she will be back here before her GCSE exams.
My mind is in overdrive with all the stuff I need to find out, along with all the sorting I will have to do here. Especially as DH goes away for 6 months ini July! When he returns it wil be manic.
I have not seen the Royal Flight school on the Internet, but will look it up.
all

Very envious. I'd like to take DD back for a visit. She was 2.6 when we left and has no memory of it whatsoever.

I'm interviewing for two teaching positions one at United Private School and the other at Muscat International Private School. Can anyone out there give me any feedback on these schools what are they like are they good schools or should I think twice about them? I believe one, can't remember which, has moved into new premises.

Neetsxx I'm exactly the same. I've just been put forward for both of those schools also and am hunting around for some feedback on them. I'm guessing we must be using the same recruiter. Anyone with information on either school would be greatly appreciated.

sarahir and Neetsxx, I have heard reports that the govt will no longer giver working visas to single females.

I cannot say with certainty this is true, and I would be quite surprised if it was; on the whole Oman is a very tolerant country.

With both schools that you mention, it is likely that the staff maybe international, but not nec. the student body. You may find the expectations and attitudes of local students to be quite challenging.

However, I do not speak with authority on this. I am a teacher in one of the big 3 international schools.

Within the last month Ive recruited a single European female for my company. Yes there are restrictions on some visa categories just now but its not an across the board ban. I doubt teachers are on the restricted list.

Re schools, Im a European with grown up Omani children who attended local private schools, some of which followed the IB curriculum and some which followed the local curriculum and interestingly enough one of my lot now teaches in one of the 3 'big' international schools. Some of my grandchildren also attend one. You need to keep an open mind and remember that no matter where you go in the world children are children and if you look for obstacles to working within a setting you'll surely find them.

If you would like any more information pls dont hesitate to contact me off list.

hth :)

Thanks for the clarification DesertRose

And also for giving a different and important perspective on what I had written.

Keeping an open mind would be wise, as you state.

If anyone would like any more information from me, please feel free.

We've been here over 4 years and love it.