littlejimmy

I just support them. I would never live there!

NorthernLad

I'm even more intrigued...you don't live there? Why are you a Boro supporter then???

littlejimmy

I lived near there. North Yorkshire, mainly. It gave me something to do.

Truth Speak

Ahh

Its encouraging to know that you are so well informed.

alfro

Hello,

I just moved to Dubai last week after two years living in Baku so I can help with anything you need to know. Straight off the bat I would say this, if you are going to work for BP then you will be fine as they have a huge family orientated community, you can go and live in the suburbia of Stonepay and its all a bit stepford wives-like, you can have a prado or a pajero in your driveway and live in an enormous house and your kid will have plenty play-mates.

If you are not going with BP then it will be a bit different..

Traffic in Baku is a nightmare, much worse drving than here, although its much slower and therefore a little less dangerous.... but driving there made me so crazy I ended up getting a driver. Cost of living is ok, cheaper than Dubai, but then where isn't?? The weather is great in the summer and lousy in the winter, it can reach 50 degrees but not too humid, and drops to -1 in Winter. There is some stuff to do but not a hell of a lot, some good restaurants though. Other than that its lots of bevvying.

If you want to know specifics drop me a line and I will answer,

Bottom Line is, its not for everyone, but if you are going to make a wedge of cash then it might be worth it for a couple of years

Cheers

Al

Blue Cat

I'll go!! do they need any anti corrosion experts!!!

pompy

Thanks to all those that contributed.

I will contact individually those of you that have expressed their availability.


I appreciated the comments... and the space in the Middle East forum since Azerbaidjan in the Living & Moving Abroad forum is neither considered Europe (as it is from a geographic point of view) nor Middle East (as it probably is from a cultural point of view.

Ciao to all of you!

alfro

Hey did you get my mail, I wrote tons and then got a failure message, hope it went through as it took 15 minutes to write

Awineor2

Hi again,

Alfro is spot on with what he has said. I do think that you could find the way of life extremely daunting to begin with and you definately need a driver, I found that a novelty
If you are working for BP you definately need to make sure that you get onto the 'Stonepay' estate, otherwise your other half could be extremely isolated being at home with a 3 yr old on her own all day and this will only add to stress levels going up in all directions.
Very little available on the web about Az. but try WWW.dervishtravel.az it gives a little insight.
If you need any more info just pm me.

Norm_uk

Depends who you talk to...I'd say it's more Central Asia than middle east...maybe we should just call it Eurasia and be done with it.

slmch

I recently spent a year in Baku with my family so know a bit about the place.
I loved it there.
I wasn't working so I spent most days up at the Hyatt hotel by the pool, as do a lot of people. Usually went up in the morning around 10ish, had lunch there then headed home around 4pm. You'll see the same faces day in day out with the same routine. Lots of small children with their mothers up doing the same.
There are some nice clothes shops in town but be prepared to be followed by a sales assistant even if you tell them you're just looking. It's like having a personal shopper whether or not you want one. I didn't like it but some people would I guess.
There is really only 2 schools to choose from - TISA or BIS. TISA is larger and this is where most ex pats send there kids. Ours went to BIS though and this was a nice school. Both schools are very American though.
Eating out inBaku is great, there's lots to choose from. We rarely cooked a home and usually went out to a restaurant every night. Prices are good, depending on where you go obviously. You can eat out very cheaply if you want though.
I'd be surprised if you decided to drive in Baku...it's a nightmare.
We had a driverfor the first few months but we found we weren't using him enough to justify his wage, so in the end we just used taxis. Getting a taxi is no problem, there are loads! Some speak English but even if they don't so long as you now where you are going you'll be fine....if we were heading into town we just asked for the Plaza which is central. We learned the name of where we lived so getting home was fine too.
After we got rid of our driver we made a deal with a taxi driver we knew to do the school run with our little one and had no problems doing that as we got to know him quite well.
The weather gets very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. It can be very windy too.
Baku is actually quite clean in parts...people are employed to sweep up litter so in the main centre you won't see much rubbish.
The roads are very busy so care needs to be taken when crossing. It's often a case of making a run for it.
You'll come across a number of people begging in the streets. Mainly old women or children.
I you're buying stuff in the street stalls or at the market you will be charged more than a local. Don't go for the first price you're given as they will drop down if you haggle. Even btter is if you hae a friend who's local and they go shopping with you.
We had a cleaner who came 3 times a week. Most people have cleaners as they are cheap to employ.
Overall I found people friendly and helpful and I would live there again.
Not all my family liked it though. Some found life there too isolated and repetitive. I'd agree that my days were mostly the same so think if this is something that would be a problem for you.