t19hlr

Hi All,

Thanks for all the info provided over the past few months. Finally my date has come through and I fly out on the 15th. Just a few final questions I'm hoping the Bahraini residents can help me with:

1. Has anyone used Gulf Air Cargo to send their belongings? I don't have much stuff to take over so was thinking of just booking it through Gulf Air.
2. Am I able to drive with my UK driving license up until I get my work permit?
3. Is it cheaper to buy a laptop in Bahrain or should I get one from the UK?
4. Can anyone suggest some good health clubs? I know the Ritz has a long waiting list so I guess that's not an option.

I know the above issues have been addressed in other threads, but the answers are mainly related to Dubai, so I'm not sure if the same apply to Bahrain. Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

T

macteepee

Hi T,

1. Not sure of Gulf Air Cargo - we used Jetta Express, but that's from Aus. We had an interesting trip to pick it all up @ the cargo terminal though...... Assuming all cargo has to be picked up in the same place, let us know when your's is arriving and will try and give you better directions than what was given to us to get there!!

2. We got international driving licences before we left - I think it is needed until you can transfer your licence to a Bahraini one - doing that seems fairly simple also. Hubby just got his form from work, now he's got cpr, and just had to fill it out with a couple pics and that's it I think....Hopefully my cpr isn't too far away...

3. Not sure about UK laptop prices, being from Aus and all. Prices that we've seen here start around BD 250 and go up - there's a BD 400 range and then a few in the BD 650 range. Not sure about the specs of those, hubby has been looking at a couple, can report back with more detail if you'd like.... I believe prices are cheaper in Dubai though..

4. Not sure what you're after in terms of a health club - if you mean just gym stuff, then pretty much every apartment building has a gym. If you're looking to get involved in team sports etc there's the British Club in Adliya http://www.britishclubbahrain.com/home.htm

HTH

t19hlr

Thanks for the info Macteepee. Probably best for me to try and get an international license before I leave. I've had the experience of trying to find places in Bahrain, not easy to get good directions.
Not sure what the facilities in my apartment will be like as it's all arranged by the company, so will need a good gym and swimming pool as a backup.

T

mktk

hello all - my first post!

We are moving to Bahrain from Melbourne - was there about 10 days ago and accepted the offer. Start date of 1 June (possibly earlier). My wife and 18 month old daughter will probably follow a few weeks later (timing their arrival with arrival of furniture, etc).

Company helped me find a villa in Zinj (have shown pictures to wife and she seems happy) - all the other ones i saw in Saar, Barbar, etc (some of which were brand new) were not to our taste.

My wife is not going to be working for at least the first 3 to 6 months.

Any tips?

Cheers
mktk

main15

cargo- yeah gulf air would be a good bet or DHL?

laptop- definately buy in the Uk- at least you know what you are getting and you won't have the arabic writing on the keys- which some people don't like- better deals in the uk!

gym- if you are living in Juffair the chances your appartment will have a gym as previously stated, but for swimming pool and other activities I would recommend the British Club as it is the only half decent pool I've seen for swimming laps- the likes of Gulf hotel are round-not suitable for serious swimmer.

However, if you are living in Saar, Budeiya- joing the Dilmun club- similar to brit club, pool, gym, tennis etc.....

The clubs are nice and a good way to meet new people- especially if you are new in town!

You can use your British licence- you only need to pay 10 or 20 bd to get ur Bahrain licence.

Bahrain is a great place once you get used it- it can be frustrating at times lol

main15

oooops just realised uv been in bah for a while now!!!! so you will know what its like!!!

macteepee

Hi Mktk,

hubby and I just moved here in mid Jan from Melbourne, but we're a young couple, no kids so not sure about the villa scenarios. I'm just finding out a couple of emails for you to contact and will PM you with them when I have them.

Any other Q's you or your wife have let me know as I wish I'd had more info about some things before arriving- I did just notice that you recently visited, so at least you know what it's like! Also lo_co on the forum is also a Melbournian, so quite a few of us newbie Aussies around

mktk

Hi Macteepee

Thanks for the info and offer to get us some email contacts. We are a young couple too!! just with a baby :-)

Yes - my husband visited last week and liked it - Also I've lived in the ME when I was in primary school in the late 80's.

So hopefully the adjustment will be OK.

macteepee

No worries sorry about the 'young couple' comment - I guess I just feel a bit out of place going to the ladies associations as most of the ladies are normally in their mid 30s, so I'm often looked at as very much a 'baby' at 25 (just turned last week).

Also we just got married on NYE last year (in the 42deg heat!!) at the registry office because we were coming here (only a few people know back home that we're legally married, we're still going to get 'engaged' and have a proper wedding sometime in the near future).

Where abouts in Melb are you from? I've been rather homesick this week and so wish I could have a quick trip back (esp with the super cheap flights I've seen!!) but would be a bit unfair on hubby to leave him here, so I just have to suck it up!

mktk

No that's ok! I was just kidding! I'm 29, so not really that young!!

I'm already getting homesick thinking about being in Bahrain!! And after what you've told me about the job situation, I'm not sure how happy I'm going to be :-( I'm also stressed just thinking about settling in our little one but everyone tells me that kids settle in quicker than adults!

We're pretty settled here so it's a bit shocking to get up and leave - we're in Hawthorn and all our fam and friends are close by. Where abouts are you from? Cheap flights? How cheap are we talking?

I was really counting on finding some work... I think staying home 24/7 will drive me nuts after a while. Your contacts would be appreciated.

macteepee

Hey, 29 IS still very much under 30 now you're making feel too young!

The cheap flights I saw were with Emirates for just under $1500 return to Melb, direct flights(well quick stop over at Dubai) and ones with stop overs in Singapore and maybe one other choice too if you wanted to break up the flight - all same prices if i remember correctly. Have a look on the site, the flights were from about next week, returning in may at those prices. Considering most flights from Melbourne are close to the 3k mark, I never thought i'd see flights that low. Also Qatar airways recently started flying to Melbourne, so good to have a bit of competition in the market.

I grew up in Murrumbeena, but had a couple of years on the 'other side of town' (Nth Fitzroy/Carlton) which I love, and we were in Elsternwick for the last 2yrs before coming here. Really miss all the fantastic take away food and restaurants in walking distance from where we were!! Some people say there's great multicultural cusine here - well they haven't been to melbourne is what I say! Getting fries with your middle eastern or indian food is just not 'authentic'! Neither is a Thai menu completely in English!!

Please don't be stressed! At least I have the chance to tell you these things BEFORE you come - I had no idea and was told by hubby's recruitment company that there would be plenty of jobs and not hard to find work. Wasn't happy about that misinformation!! Just have some back up plans to keep you busy - I was going to say I'm sure you'll have more to do on your side of town, but I didn't realise where Zinj is. I just looked it up and it seems a bit closer to my side of town than I realised. I'm sure it'll still be faster to get to Budaiya than from where I am. Is there a compound there or are you just in a villa by itself?

As I said in another post, do come on the EW site - the mums are really helpful and will make you feel much better i'm sure. One lady that comes to coffee morning, who's only been here since Jan also, actually said to me that she thought she probably wouldn't have liked it as much here if she didn't have her son (10mnths). I think the mums/kids networks are really good and also very social.

Another thing - at least you're already prepared to be unsettled as I was really looking forward to getting out of the country and living somewhere else. I knew there would be a lot of differences, but didn't think I would miss home as much as I do.

Anyway, I have to run off to work or i'll be late!!

t19hlr

Hello all,

Main15 thanks for the info anyway, i'm sure it'll help others. Been here 5 weeks now and it's gone so fast. I am enjoying it here and although I don't feel home sick I'm really looking forward to going back to London on Thursday for a week.
Mktk hope the move goes well for you. People here are very helpful so hopefully you won't have any problems. I still don't have a car so haven't really explored the different areas, so not sure what Zinj is like.

mktk

hello again

The villa my husband found is in a small compound of 6 - but its new villa. It's not far from the phillipines consulate.

I've tried to register on the expat woman forum over the last couple of days (and have even received an email saying that my account has been activitated) but am having trouble logging on and therefore posting - have just sent an email to the webmaster so hopefully I'll be able to start posting soon.

I better not start making plans about a holiday back to Melbourne as I haven't even gotten to Bahrain yet!

I'll have to try and find out the prices of baby things like nappies and what's not available there from the other mums on the EW forum. We've got a container going so figured that I may as well get anything I need now that may not be available there.