Any British expats in Tanzania?

[Beekeeper1]

Good evening everyone - new to this and sèeking some advice and/or reassurance from any expats who are living in, or have lived in,Tanzania.

Without divulging too much information, my partner is in the final stages of her Ph.D at a UK university and is actively searching for her next career move and employment opportunity. Although she is searching internationally, the reality is that she will almost certainly find that opportunity in Tanzania, which is her home country.

I, on the other hand, am not widely travelled - in fact I have never been outside the UK! We have established that a long distance relationship would not work for either of us if, for example, she returned to Tanzania, I remained in the UK and we were to fly back and forth to see one another. So....it looks as though my future is to be in East Africa!

But what is life really like there? She would probably be based in Dar Es Salaam, Arusha or Dodoma. I am a country boy to the core, only really content when surrounded by open space, fresh air, animals, plants and the natural World. The idea of living in a town or city is my idea of Purgatory - am I going to feel suffocated, hemmed in and like a caged animal?😕

I would also like to ask about employment prospects - I have a property here in the UK which could be rented out to provide an income, but, in my early fifties, I am not ready to retire yet! Not by a long way. I would need to work in order to satisfy my inner soul. My background is agriculture, estate management, forestry and horticulture and I have always worked in physical, manual, outdoor environments - I do not have a degree, and although I would class myself as highly skilled in my chosen occupation, they are probably not fields which are well remunerated in Tanzania ( nor here in the UK, come to that!!). What, realistically, might my employment prospects be? I would regard myself as reasonably intelligent and articulate, so not a complete straw sucking, clodhopping yokel, as my occupation might be stereotypically perceived

I suspect I may feel dreadfully homesick and very much like a fish out of water. On the other hand.....maybe it would be the most wonderful experience ever, in a beautiful country, with fantastic landscapes, wildlife and flora

I would warmly welcome any thoughts, perspectives or empiric experiences from anyone who may be able to spare a few minutes. Thank you in advance

Hello beekeeper, I lived in Tanzania for four years, but it was a long time ago – nearly 20 years! I really enjoyed the country, but I wasn't there to stay. I lived in Moshi, it's a small town but quite a lot of expat community due to the large teaching hospital and A wildlife college. Dar es Salaam would not be a bad place to live, but it's quite noisy and dusty. Moshi is much more rural. Arusha is busier, and very involved in tourism as it is close to the national parks where people go on Safari. House prices can be quite high in Arusha.
I think you would find employment, though I would focus on international development organisations and NGOs. If you are involved in agriculture and land management there will be all sorts of exciting opportunities for you. Tanzania is known for good management of its national parks, and many other African countries look to Tanzania to learn from. There are also various programs going on looking at land use, forestry, climate change. I am not in the field so I don't know which organisations are involved, but I imagine there would be openings for you in international NGOs that are running these types of programs. You could actually look up Mweka college to see if there are any distance learning courses you could do to get to know some of the specifics in Tanzania before you reach there.
I won't say it will be easy to live. It's an exciting, beautiful and romantic place to live, but there is poverty, sickness and life can be tough. And it takes time to settle. I have to admit that the easiest friendships I had with Tanzanians were with those that had some kind of international experience. I had other local friends, but not really sustaining friendships.
I really hope you fall in love with Africa. Many people do. Good luck.

Thank you Rainyafternoon - my partner was actually born in Moshi! She is also in the field of leisure, tourism and business development and hopes to have a diplomatic or ambassadorial career with one of the aid agencies or international development bodies.
She has, of course, described life in Tanzania to me, but I still find it difficult to assimilate that perspective and imagine what life might be like for me. She hates snakes, lizards, insects and the like, whereas I am fascinated by them and would love nothing more than to get up close and personal with the wildlife!
If we could live rurally I might feel more at home, but unfortunately, my partner's career would neccessitate living in one of the cities or centres of commerce.
I will just have to pay a few visits and form my own opinion, based on experience.
Thank you for your thoughts and views - very much appreciated.

I will be moving to Moshi in August. So no insight yet about living there.
Paper work however seems to be a nightmare. The process for my visa application was started in January and is still ongoing: I have uploaded scans of my O'level and other certificates plus transcripts and now sent the originals. They needed to know the name of my primary school.

Ha ha Marcopront I remember that well. Good luck! But Moshi holds a very special place in my heart. The best place to be in Tz I think...