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Has anyone of you lived in Damascus? We r planning to live there temporarely my (soon to be) husband is Syrian so for him no problem. I would just like to know how it is for an expat to live there. Any info welcome!

NoWoRrIeS wrote:Has anyone of you lived in Damascus? We r planning to live there temporarely my (soon to be) husband is Syrian so for him no problem. I would just like to know how it is for an expat to live there. Any info welcome!

been there

DO NOT GO THERE !!!!

it was probably the worst place ever!!

check this: http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=10927

apl has good things to say about damascus.

Just to add to that a trip to damascus will be a different experience than moving there. I have never been to damascus itself, but i have been to other countries in the levant and i am gonna go with the assumption they are similar.

You will have to get used to less convienance than here in Dubai (again i am assuming you live here now). It is definitely less "developed" in the sense there is just a handful of ATMs in the whole city the infrastructure is not as developed and so on. On the upside there is alot of culture and the shopping in syria is infamous for being cheap and great thigns you can get I am not sure if this will get old if you move there.

Anyhow i hope you all the best with the move, and i hope more syrians or people who lived in syria will contribute.

Thanks Maaad.

I have been in Damascus and other places in Syria on holiday. So I definately know you can't compare it with Dubai... it's quite opposite.. But I'm not looking for luxury. I live in Dubai, and have been here for over 8 years now and to be honest am fed up. I don't mind a bit of change..

The thing that worries me the most though is that a lot of people don't speak English, and my Arabic needs lots of work! Maybe the move is finally gonna make me try harder. One good thing is that we will be living like king and queen there since it's so cheap! I love the food and the people there... My parents and brothers are terrified though. People in Europe r so prejudiced..that's a shame.

Hi NoWoRrIeS - I've only been 2 1/2 days in Damascus, but everybody I met was very friendly and helpful so I don't think I would see the the fact that few people speak english as a problem. It's rather an opportunity for you to become fluent in arabic in a few months. Unlike dubai where you could survive with english or even sign language.

Your family will get over it as well once they hear from you how the life really is, compared to what is said in many media.

If you can live like a queen go...!

I found Syria to be perfectly fine, although i've only been there on business for a total of about 6 days spread over a couple of years. It's a lot more raw than the GCC countries, but that's part of its charm and the overall experience. Damascus is also the only place i've been in the world (and i've travelled extensively) where i've seen someones driving style criticised with firearms

SDB

Thanks guys... and SDB what did you mean with the fire arms story??? I'm sure I'm in for a lot of fun and hilarious situations...but I'm very adventurous so I guess I'll be fine?? ?? I don't think I will drive there myself, made my hubby promise me to get a driver! I've seen the way they drive there.. the only place worse was Cairo

[snip]

For me, the only place i've been where the driving was worse than Cairo, was Damascus!. In reality they drive pretty much the same way, but the 'cut me up and I shoot at your tyres' incident swings it to Syria. I don't think that's a normal experience, but having a local driver is the way to go.

SDB

shinydiscoballs wrote:For me, the only place i've been where the driving was worse than Cairo, was Damascus!. In reality they drive pretty much the same way, but the 'cut me up and I shoot at your tyres' incident swings it to Syria. I don't think that's a normal experience, but having a local driver is the way to go.

SDB

LOL I guess there's not much difference between Cairo and Damascus then... It's funny though, I haven't seen a single car without dents all over it.... I hope my driver will speak English at least lol