Considering moving to Bahrain - any advice?

[2point4kids]

DH has a job offer from an old colleague in Bahrain.
We are seriously considering upping sticks and moving over there with the children for a year or two and seeing how we like it.

There is so much to think about though!

The things we are thinking about at the moment are:

Schools - DS1 has just turned 3, will he need to go to school at age 4 same as in UK?

Healthcare - I assume that we will have no healthcare entitlements there, not being locals. Can we get health cover that will mean I can see a local Dr if one of the children is sick for example?

Dress codes - will I be ok to wear my usual clothes? DH has long hair - will he be taken seriously in business? (he wll be face to face with clients selling IT products)

Visas/paperwork - do we need to apply for visas/anything else?

Moving our stuff - will it cost more to transport things like my cot, pram, kids toys etc than it will to buy new things when we arrive??

LOTS of questions! I would appreciate any words of wisdom from anyone who has done a similar move.
Any answers to my questions appreciated, or any other tips on things I havent thought of yet!!

THANK YOU

my borther lived there for years but left a couple of years back as he said some of the atmosphere was getting a bit unpleasant. He prefered Dubai.
Then every wednesday nights you get hordes of Saudi's piling over the bridge to get drunk.
Its incredibly hot too.

You could try www.expatwoman.com Their forum doesnt have a specific bahrain section but they do have a place to post.

It is a Thursday Friday weekend. And the bridge is very very dangerous as needmorecoffee says.

There are some posters from Bahrain here so consider this a gentle bump. Good luck and if you do come out its a great starting place for travelling.

Hiya 2point4, just moved to Bahrain and am very happy that we did.

Have three ds, 4,3 and 4 months.

There are british curriculum schools which follow the same intake ages and, of course, curriculum as UK without being subject to UK policical bollocks. Am very pleased with the school so far. But get on a waiting list NOW.

Healthcare insurance should come with the package.

It's not too hot except in July and August, when all the expats eff off home anyway.

Yes, usual clothes, just don't wear a bikini to the supermarket (which has all the stuff you can get at home btw).

Depending on where you live in Bahrain, avoidance of the saudis is possible (I never see them, not have i seen the bridge...).

New employer should sort out visas - you will need CPRs - certifciates of permanent residence. And they should provide shipping too. We've spent a total of £3000 on shipping stuff over - that's a houseworth and then some.

Hope that's okay for starters. HTH

Thank you very much. All very useful info.
I will look at that website too
and may be back with more questions later

Hi Welcome (as assume you are here by now)
I am also a bahrain mummy and have a 15 month old boy.
You can get pretty much all the info you will need ie best shops, playgroups, places to visit with kids, baby services, special offers etc on this website
www.mumsinbahrain.com - they also have a new forum for mums to meet and swap info on x
Great place to have kids
cx