Job Discussion Forums

[eslteacher2014]

Is it difficult to find an apartment in oman?

I live in Saudi. ..... finding a place is a pain in the neck...... they make you pay 6 months rent and it doesn't even come with sinks or stoves...... no rent to singles

thinking of coming to oman...... wonder if finding a place in oman is like saudi

[omanoman]

Based on that description, it is a lot easier to deal with renting in Oman. The payment schedule can be negotiated, furnished flats are available, semi-furnished (kitchen equip, a/c's ) or just plain empty.

[Tazz]

Furnished places-and I mean with the absolute basics- aircon, stove etc, are rare. Apartment means a totally empty shell in most instances. Never heard of anybody here in Ibri being asked to pay 6 months upfront though......given the expense of furnishing a place I think that would be a deal breaker in most cases

[MuscatGary]

If you work for an agent like Hawthorn who recruit for the Colleges of Applied Sciences then a furnished apartment is provided. If you work for the MOHE they give you a soft loan to buy furniture and you rent your own place. It's not too difficult to find a place. Be aware that salaries are generally lower in Oman than SA.

[eslteacher2014]

[MuscatGary]

[CVN-76]

Be very careful when going with an agency. At least one out there requires three months' notice if you want to leave the job after your probation period is up. Normally, probation periods are three months.

[Whatever will be]

I pay 350 RO per month for a tiny, empty one bedroom apartment in Muscat. The landlord asked for 12 months worth of rent (in bank cheques) in advance. After living in a hotel for a month while paying through the nose for it plus the taxi fares and on top of it all outside meals, I was so desperate that I took it. The place is noisy and the neighbors' cockroaches are frequently visiting.

Furnishing the place will costs another stack of money so you end up working the first 6 months just to pay for your set-up costs.

After that, start saving so you can move out and on to the next country.

[Tazz]

What the above clearly shows is the vast disparity in costs between living in Muscat and residing in the interior. I pay 140 a month for a 2 bedroom place [unfurnished] in Ibri-colleagues of mine pay as little as 90 OMR per month for something more basic.

[Whatever will be]

Tazz

Would be interesting to find out if the salaries are adjusted for that kind of difference in living expenses.

I make 1400 RO in the capital - you/your colleagues/the rural crowd?

[Tazz]

MOM/ agency salary is, I believe, pretty much the same across the colleges....just under 1400 rials a month-including housing and transportation allowance-given that there's nowhere to go in Ibri..the saving potential is huge.

[madrileno]

Salalah's different from the rest of the country in that you can settle for either a 10 month or 12 month lease. The reason for this is the Khareef season in the summer when landlords charge inflated rents to all the Qataris and Kuwaitis who flood into the city.

10 month leases are significantly cheaper, but you get kicked out of your flat every summer.

[EFL Educator]

Actually the best way to save money in Oman is to sleep in a tent...the Bedouins do it and they don't need to deal with greedy landlord sharks!

[veiledsentiments]

[MuscatGary]

I know a guy who lived in his car for the first six months of his uni life. He's now a Baron in the House of Lords!