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UKiwis wrote:

Hi all,

I am currently negotiation the final details of a possible move to Kuwait and would appreciate some input on a couple areas that will help with our final move to Kuwait as a family.

I will be bringing my wife and 2 boys with me to Kuwait and I have been lucky in securing school places at The English School for my kids.  This means a school run to Salmiya twice a day so I am thinking that we need to be looking for a place somewhere near (my experience of Kuwait, as with many other countries in the Mid East is that roads are busy!!).

When looking at the available accommodation in and around Salmiya, Shaab, etc. it seems that the only option open to us is a 3 bedroom apartment.  there are some nice buildings / options available and we are quite happy to live in the same, even though we do have a small Bischon dog who will also be coming to Kuwait with us..

So, to my questions (i will try to be brief)

1).  I am currently looking at a monthly rent allowance of KD 1250  - what will this buy me in the areas around the school in Salmiya. 

2).  As a Western Expat family, would it be normal for us to live in an apartment block ?  if so, are there any particular buildings or areas that I should be looking at, taking into account the "school run" twice a day..

3).  If we were to look further out (Mangaf for example)  what is the rough driving time to The English School in Salmiya during the usual school run times?

4).  And if we were to move further out, what would KD 1250 per month buy us and would we find a bigger expat community in which the wife, kids & myself can integrate..

Sorry if it is a bit long, but it is the first of many posts i am sure..

Thanks in advance.

I hope I am able to answer some of your queries

1). This is a very good allowance and will get you almost any spacious 3-4 BR apartment in Salmiya (around TES). Your roadblock would be in finding a place that accepts pets as that can sometimes get tricky.

2). Not sure if I understand what 'normal' means here. Nonetheless, Salmiya is a very expat dense suburb with multiple nationalities. If on the other hand, your job requires you to have a villa to entertain, then you might need to move further away or across the Highway 30 (Fahaheel Express) to Jabriya or across 5th ring to Rumaithiya.

3). As you correctly stated, this can be tedious and with the traffic in the morning on 30, it can easily take 30-45 min one way. If your kids use the school bus, possibly even longer. Better to stick closer to school.

4). Moving south (Mangaf, Adan, etc.) will definitely get you something much bigger (more BRs, bigger villa, etc.). But, you will compromise on commute time and it can get quite frustrating 5 days/ week.

Finally, be aware that getting a driving license for your wife if she's not working has become very difficult. You might want to factor that into your decision making.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

Wow, thank you for the detailed response - very helpful.

Sorry for the confusion over "normal"  -  What I was asking is for the level of allowances given, and the area we want to live the only option seems to be an apartment.  in the other GCC countries we have lived it was more usual to live in a villa but they don't seem to be available in the area looking.

much clearer now following your response..

I am in Kuwait now for a couple of days, so will have a drive around the area and see what is available.
Good heads up on the driving license too..

if you can think of anything else helpful please send across - I am happy to be guided !!

D.

UKiwis wrote:

Wow, thank you for the detailed response - very helpful.

Sorry for the confusion over "normal"  -  What I was asking is for the level of allowances given, and the area we want to live the only option seems to be an apartment.  in the other GCC countries we have lived it was more usual to live in a villa but they don't seem to be available in the area looking.

much clearer now following your response..

I am in Kuwait now for a couple of days, so will have a drive around the area and see what is available.
Good heads up on the driving license too..

if you can think of anything else helpful please send across - I am happy to be guided !!

D.

No worries. I hope you and the family find what you're looking for.

My experience - We lived in a villa (2 stories, 5 BRs, with separate maid's rooms, etc.) in Salwa. However, we had a huge issue with getting reliable help and they were constantly rotating. Also, the traffic was a pain getting out of Salwa and took my kids around 45 min to reach Jabriya (they're in New English School). Finally, moved to Jabriya earlier this year and now kids commute is 5 min and I've reduced 10 min off my commute.

The issue, in my opinion, with Salmiya is that the more spacious apartments or villas are few and hard to find. The room size in most of the newer apartments are much smaller. I would recommend this website (). Please note that agency fees are usually half a month rent. Apartments in Salmiya may or may not have electricity and water included in the rent (I have always gone for inclusive in the rent - less hassles). If it's a new place, check if they have a PACI number (government issued).

Wish you all the best for your search.

Cheers

You cay stay in a Villa in Salwa or Jabriya or Bneid Al Gar; Both are much closer to Salmiya. The monthly rent can be around KWD 800/-. Whereas rent in apartment in the same area can be 50% less. You can even stay in Salmiya itself in the apartment on the gulf road (sea facing). The rent for 3 BHK will be around KWD 650/- 

For more info, pls send me message on my ID.

Thanks,

Hi, I'm in a similar situation albeit with a more modest accommodation budget, 550 KD. my wife is not moving with me for now as our kids are doing their GCSEs this year, so perhaps this will be enough for a 1/2 bedroom place for just me.

I'd appreciate any advice or comments on how you got on. How did you go about choosing an apartment? Did you look online or go to an estate agent?

I'm moving from the UK and will be working in one of the hospitals in Salmiya, so will need to be near for overnight on-calls and to minimise the commute. If you've seen some places that stand out from the rest please do let me know.