Job Discussion Forums

[sharter]

Here'a list of the food that is cheap to buy.

1.Shark steaks (300 Fils a kilo).
2.King Fish (Channad).
3.Scallops (about 50p each).
4.Fresh shrimps ($3 a pound).
5.Fresh squid ($3.50 a pound).
6.Bread and potatoes.
7.Fruit/Vegetables but buy them in the souks not the supermarkets.
8.Pizzas buy 1 get one free from Domino's. ($15 for 2 large).
9.Kebabs from Reef Al-Turky. (1 large is 500 Fils).
10.Sirloin steaks. ($4.50 for half a pound).

Starbuck's and Costa are extortionate as is Tsche Tsche's sheesha bar in Al-Khoot mall. Pool halls tend to be expensive too for what it's worth. Clothes are the same as the UK...but tailor made shirts etc are much cheaper.

[sharter]

Oh, and if you suffer from anything and need medication, bring it with you. My medication is 550% more expensive here than in the UK.

[veiledsentiments]

But still probably less than half of what it costs in the US.

All is relative sharter.

VS

[sharter]

My heart bleeds for you especially when I see the mansions you can buy for $150,000 and gas at how much?

Come to Europe if you want a dose of reality re the cost of living. In Poland $150,000 will get you a shoe box of 80 square metres and you'll be paying $2.25 a litre. Forget England.....$12 for a pack of smokes!!

[veiledsentiments]

Mansions would be a relative term... personally I don't know anyone who owns or lives in one. The price of real estate varies widely from one end of the US to the other with many cities matching Europe as to outrageous pricing. This is not a "mine is bigger than yours" argument.

BUT... we were talking about Gulf prices... in particular medications. While your comment about drug costs may be accurate for Europeans, it is not so for Americans. The advice for Americans would be to merely check if anything you take is available in Kuwait... if so... don't take it with you, but wait to buy it cheaply there.

VS

BTW... a little dose of reality about US health care costs. My health insurance just jumped to $580+ a month - and I have to pay for the first $2500 of medical costs for the year - so it mainly just protects me from catastrophic situations. For example, I had outpatient surgery a couple years back which cost $26,000 (didn't even get a bed over night or a meal out of them) and I still had to pay nearly $3000 of it. Nowhere in the world can compete with US medical system robbery. The majority of bankruptcies of individuals in the US are because of medical costs.

[sharter]

I dunno why your premiums are 580 a month. Everyone (half the staff are American) says the cost of drugs is expenive here. If you go private, the UK is expensive too. Our NHS is rotten. I was misdiagnosed last year and ended up flying abroad to get private medical treatment as an in patient.

[usa_in_gulf]

I am confused why anyone pays for prescriptions in Kuwait. Expats can use government health facilities in Kuwait. There are some medical tests�in government hospitals--- that expats need to pay a fee for�for example a MRI..which most often your private insurance will reimburses you for�but prescriptions are free. Expats pay a small fee, per illness, to be seen in a government health facility. If a government doctor writes you a prescription, the medicine is free. Blood pressure medicine, diabetic medicine, cholesterol medicine, thyroid medince�free. Even cancer treatment is free for resident expats.

Prior to getting Kuwaiti citizenship, I broke my ankle and required surgery. Ambulance, hospitalization, surgery, follow up treatment, and all the medicine that went with it�cost me a total of 2KD..about $7. I also take daily thyroid medicine. Again, paid 2KD about 18 years ago and have been getting the medicine for free since that time. (I did pay an additional 2KD every couple of months to have new blood test done. Therefore, they categorized this as a new complaint..therefore, a 2KD charge.)

During cold/flu season, government hospitals/clinics are super crowded because for the 2KD fee to see a doctor�patients walk out with cough medicine, antibiotics, cough drops, Panadol, and even mouth wash.

If you need medicine, go to a government hospital/clinic.

[veiledsentiments]

[sharter]

Don't get sick in the Gulf.