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Hi!

My husband has recently accepted a job in bahrain and should be moving towards the end of December 2008.  He is from India and I am from the U.S.  We, too, are married without kids, bu have dogs instead of cats.  We have contacted Star realty and emailed our requests for what we are looking for in a villa, including animal friendly.  When I travel during the first of the year, an agent will drive us around and show us potential homes.  Unlike other areas of the world, realtors work for the landlords and therefore their services are of no cost to you.

When are you planning on moving?

Hi there,

Thank you for the reply.

My husband starts his job on 4 Jan 2009 so we need to move within Dec really.

I don't know if you have seen the property in Manama, but we were there a couple of days ago and were shown 3. They varied in price from BD850/month to BD1200/month. All of them were horrible and of a very low standard.

Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Jacki

Are you looking for a flat or a house? My father lived in Bahrain for 7 years, and he had a flat, near Pars hotel and the sea water fountain. Don't know the price, but the address was:BLDG 4933 Road, 2466 Manama,Al Fateh 324. It was a two bedroom, living room, kitchen, two restrooms - some 100-120m2. Decent. don't know for pets. I've never been to RSA so don't know how to compare but Bahrain is most "liberal" of all Mid East countries. There are bars, you can get alcohol in liker store and even port in specialty stores. There are few gyms and spa centers that are quite good and of course - inevitable shopping! :-)
Hope this helps

Thank you very much for your reply.

We need to find accommodation with a garden for the cats (or some sort of outside space). They would not cope in a flat at all.

It seems to me that there are houses that start from BD1800 per month for a decent place and that is VERY expensive. If this was the case, it would not be worthwhile making the trip out there as it would cost more to live there than the UK where we are now.

Just not sure what to do really.

Try Budea (or Budhea)-think that is the name of a place with villas (houses with garden and pools). Also, BAPCO has build a camp for its employees, lots of UK folks. Have schools, hospital, cricket field etc.
Nice restaurant for dinner . La FONTAINE or smth like that. During day it is a spa center.

When we contacted the realtor, she emailed us photos of potential villas for us to rent.  Bear in mind we are looking for villas and not a house, per se.  I think the key to finding a nice home would be being open minded about the area and not living in exclusive expat areas as the prices go up considerably there versus areas that locals live in.  Considering that I have yet to see the properties first hand, i is hard for me to comment more specifically.  good luck with your search!

Hi
How are you? My name is Matthew. I am a Malaysian living and working in India.
I am considering a job in Bahrain and would like to seek your advise please.
1)Which location is convenient for living where it offers good amenities such as markets, restaurants, malls, expat community, public transportation, closer to city etc?
2)Can BHD500/month rental get a modern furnished apartment with gym, pool, sporting facilities inclusive of utilities charges (water, electricity) and maintenance charges?
3)Any apartments you recommend?
4)How much will it cost for husband and wife living there per month?
5)How much a can of Coke cost?
6)How much cost to cut and wash hair in a professional salon?
7)How much petrol cost per litre?
8)How much is driver salary to drive a personal car?
9)How is the weather like?
10)What is the salary range in USD for General Manager level?
11)How is the electronic product pricing? E.g. 32 inch LCD TV?
12)How is the public transportation?

Pls assist.

Regards
Matthew

Matthew,

i cant answer all your questions, but i'l answer the ones i can. Ive lived here since february, and have to admit love it out here.

1. I live in Juffair, big expat area, not too pricey, lots of shops etc, but there are loads of good areas to live.
2. for 500bd i live in a 2 bedroom fully furnished flat with a gym n swimming pool. you have to shop about, but there are some good deals out there, and dont be afraid to haggle.
4. depends on what you want to do, me and my girlfriend earn BD 1500/ between us (plus benifits)per month and have money to enjoy ourselves.
5. a can of coke is 100fils or BD. 0.100
7. petrol is the same as a can of coke, 100 fils
9. best bet for weather is to google it, altho basically it gets up to 50'c in summer and down to maybe 20-25 in winter. can be quite humid (summer) and windy (spring).


hope this helps