Bahrain - the good, the bad?
 

I have a young family and am going for a job based in Bahrain and will also be traveling a lot to Qatar and Kuwait.

The job is great but does anyone have any opinions/insights into living in Bahrain.

On a more prosaic level any recommendations on places to live?

Re: Bahrain - the good, the bad?
 

too little info to suggest where to live. I love my flat but I live in it so that won't work for you ;-)

I like living in Bahrain. People are very friendly towards you and it's nice and low key unlike the UAE.

Re: Bahrain - the good, the bad?
 

Only ever visited - several times from Saudi - although its a small place, seems nice enough. Got touted for a job in Dhahran in Saudi, and contemplated living in Bahrain and driving over the Causeway daily. Seem to be enough there to keep one occupied, would imagine its a decent enough place to live.

No idea on where to live though.

Re: Bahrain - the good, the bad?
 

I like the place, been quite a few times from Saudi. Very normal and relaxed after Saudi.
Got everything to do there. My only negative is that I imagine it would shrink very quickly due to its size.

Re: Bahrain - the good, the bad?
 

I only know it from visiting but would move there from Dubai in a flash if work allowed it. More low key and authentic; locals drive the taxis, like Oman.

Re: Bahrain - the good, the bad?
 

You're in Sydney, are you Australian? There are quite a few of them here. Mainly British expats with a few Americans but there are folks from all corners of the world here.

Bahrain is good for young families, depending upon the ages.

You have to get in early for good schools as demand is high and spaces are few.

Family oriented. Compound living is good for social interaction for wives and families - depends where you'll be working.

Home help (maid service) is available to assist your wife with children if required. I never required a maid but did have casual cleaning service.

Suggest "Mums in Bahrain" for excellent info relevant for the Mrs. Home help is useful especially if your wife wants to socialise and have the kids remain home.

We live Reef Island but not with little ones, our kids come to visit. But I do see many young kiddies with either maids or parents in the playground nearby.

Amwaj Island very popular for young families, many Americans there as close to Naval Base and it's reasonably secure.

Join a club like Brit Club to get to meet and know folks. You can go to view the club just enquire at reception. Rugby Club is also recommended if you're into sport and "bending the elbow".

For rentals lookup www.propertyfinder.bh

It has good interface and is easy to negotiate. Be prepared to negotiate on prices and make sure you checkout exactly where the property is located, I often found the same property featured claimed to be in two different locations. Also they would sometimes be advertised in one location near to but actually in another because the other suburb generated more interest.

The bad, probably adjusting to the traffic will be the biggest challenge. They are crazy drivers, not as bad as the visiting Saudis however, but you need to be assertive in your approach to driving. The Bahraini women are probably the worst followed closely by the Pakistani, Bangladeshi ones. You can hire a driver to take the wife around or use taxi but I personally prefer to drive for my own convenience.


English is widely spoken and signage is also in English.


Hope this assists. If you could be a little more forthcoming about your situation then the information could be refined.



Cheers

Re: Bahrain - the good, the bad?
 

It says a lot about Saudi, that I find the driving in Bahrain almost like the UK.

So normal.

Re: Bahrain - the good, the bad?
 

Thanks for the responeses, that's really helpful. Hi work widow thanks for taking the time to reply. Our kids are 18 months and 4, I will be doing a multi site role so will be travelling about a lot and also using the airport frequently. My wife is concerned about security and wants to transfer her successful interior design business to Bahrain. We were looking at Amwaj Island, Saar or Aldiyla as possible places to live, probably a villa in a compound.
We are Brits who have lived in Sydney for 6 years and are on the move again.

Re: Bahrain - the good, the bad?
 

As an expat it's definitely more North Shore than Blacktown. I really like the place.