Originally Posted by asprilla

Just wondering - what is the cost of living there? How much for a 3bed house, with a nice sized garden and a pool? Also, I want to be not too far from Kinshasa CBD (preferably no more than 30mins commute) but also not too far from the beach?

Can anyone recommend any nice suburbs in Kinshasa? With a good state school close by? Houses not too expensive? Also - are there many jobs out there? Will I be able to get a part time admin role?

Originally Posted by Burbage

The merits of a benign dictatorship are often ignored. Avoiding the risk of the ignorant majority buggering up the running of the country has a lot to recommend it.

Originally Posted by asprilla

They've got Mexico, Singapore and Cyprus on a list that is missing Haiti, PNG, Congo, Somalia, Afghanistan etc etc.....

To be honest though, I haven't been to any of those countries recently.



Perhaps the lifestyle in the democratic republic of Congo isn't really that bad?

Just wondering - what is the cost of living there? How much for a 3bed house, with a nice sized garden and a pool? Also, I want to be not too far from Kinshasa CBD (preferably no more than 30mins commute) but also not too far from the beach?

Can anyone recommend any nice suburbs in Kinshasa? With a good state school close by? Houses not too expensive? Also - are there many jobs out there? Will I be able to get a part time admin role?

Originally Posted by renth

Sure, try http://www.pomsincongo.com

Originally Posted by looky

A bit of fun

http://www.globalcitizenwiki.com/top...t-immigrate-to

Top 10 Countries You Don't Want to Emigrate To

A lot of focus these days is put on the countries people are looking to emigrate the most. It's easy to forget that the world is a big place with around two hundred and fifty or so countries. Part of the goal of this site is to educate and inform, sometimes with humor, about all these far corners of the world.
With all the places in the world people would rather settle, where are the places you would least want to settle? We'll we've compiled a list based on several factors, mostly focused on problems each country faces.
So without further ado, here is a list of the top (or bottom) 10 countries you wouldn't want to emigrate to.

10: Tuvalu

This small island in the Pacific Ocean is most famous for giving the world the .TV domain name. It was a huge boon for the economy. It's pretty much a tropical paradise except it's not much of a paradise. The populations is small and tourism is not a big industry. Actually there isn't any big industry on the islands of Tuvalu at all. It subsists on international aid. It's beaches are also slowly disappearing. The island of Tuvalu is most famous because it is sinking. Because it lacks a protective reef around the island, it's very susceptible to sea level rises and with global climate change, the first victim is going to be Tuvalu.

9: Burma (or Myanmar)

Burma has been in the news a lot lately thanks to a repressive military regime coupled with a natural disaster. Burma isn't a place worth moving to. At least not until they get a hang of the whole democracy thing and maybe start letting in international aid groups to help with disaster relief.

8: Singapore

Singapore is a strange place. They are inhospitable to outsiders and have a encyclopedia's worth of strange and draconian laws. You can get fined for not flushing the toilet, chewing gum, owning porn and much more fun stuff. Their punishments feature high fines and strict punishment. They also still like to hang people. Just recently a blogger who wrote disparaging remarks about a judge has been arrested. Don't screw with Singapore. They have low crime and want to keep it that way.

7: Saudi Arabia

Sure they have the world's largest oil deposits but that's all they have going for them. They're biggest problem is that they are very inhospitable towards women (they can't even drive). Other than the oil sector, their economy isn't very developed and many parts of the country are still considered 'backwards.' It's ruled by a royal family that allows no opposition and freedom of the press is simply a humorous notion to them. There have been rumblings from women in the country for greater rights and even hints that they may be allowed to drive one day. Good for them. Besides all these negatives, Westerners are welcome for work and live in their own little enclaves that are generally exempt from Saudi Arabia's draconian laws; they even let the women drive in these places (the horror!).

6: Sudan

Most famous right now due to the ongoing war in Darfur. Sudan is inhospitable to it's own people just the same as it is inhospitable to outsiders. The government is unstable and Sudan is one of the poorest nations in Africa. Heck, the President was recently indicted on war crimes. Unless you're an international aid worker or a UN peacekeeper, there really isn't much opportunity here. The last man to make a name for himself in Sudan was Os ama Bin Laden, who made the place his home while he was on the run from international authorities. He used his billions to finance major infrastructure project and built a construction empire before he was forced to flee.

5: Cyprus

While no battles have been fought in recent years, the island is still divided in two; the independent Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Cyprus. The UN administers the peace, which most proves to be an constant annoyance to islanders who would rather get on with life. While the economy is relatively developed, the lingering political problems could potentially be a flash point one day. The Brits also control a large part of the island with sovereign military bases.

4: Albania

Albania hasn't been in the news in the last few years but many remember when the whole country collapsed under massive pyramid scheme. This basically trashed the economy and turned the country into a hub for organized crime. The country has slowly rebuilt itself and is modernizing its economy (it wants to join the EU). There are ample business opportunities for the brave, but time would be on your side.

3. Nauru

Nauru is a small dot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It's only valuable resource was phosphate, thanks for thousands of years of guano build up. At one time, the islanders were some of the richest people in the world. Now, phosphate mining is gone and the island is a wasteland. The island has mass unemployment, no tourist industry whatsoever and very few reasons to actually go there. Recently, the island served as an internment camp for Australian illegal immigrants. The island subsists on international aid currently. Expect the people to eventually leave, especially as global warming begins to swallow up small, unprotected Pacific Islands.

2. Mexico

Mexico has a long history and is sometimes a pleasant place to visit. The problem is that no one wants to live there. Every year millions of it's citizens attempt to flee, most of them to the USA. Mexico has a relatively developed economy, but it's unstable as is it's government as well as having graft and corruption unparalleled anywhere except maybe a Halliburton Board meeting. Generally it's wise to avoid going against the tide of immigrants leaving a country.

1. North Korea

North Korea is a place that people try to escape from. The whole country is basically a massive concentration camp. People starve under the decadent rule of Kim John Il. It also features an undeveloped, crumbling economy and non-existent infrastructure and political suppression that hasn't been seen since the days of Stalin. North Korea is a great place if you fancy eating grass and leather shoes to survive. Keep an eye on it though, once the regime collapses and it's re-unified with South Korea, expect the economy to take off like a rocket; South Korea has one of the most high tech and developed economies in the world.

Originally Posted by looky

A bit of fun


1. North Korea

N Keep an eye on it though, once the regime collapses and it's re-unified with South Korea, expect the economy to take off like a rocket; South Korea has one of the most high tech and developed economies in the world.

Originally Posted by asprilla

They've got.....PNG... etc etc.....

Originally Posted by MacScot

What's wrong with PNG? Lived there for 3 years and loved it...except for mosquitos and malaria.