Job Discussion Forums

BOBBYSUE · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 100

hi everyone

i've been offered a post in tripoli which is about 100,000 US dollars per annum plus healthcare, several return flights home per year, accommodation in "a decent villa" etc etc

i'd be very grateful if anyone living there could give me their opinion as to whether it is a good offer, what other contractual things I should look out for /insist on, what a decent villa means in tripoli, etc etc

thank you so much

BS

WD40 · Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 104

AS you will be in Tripoli, you will get limited number of trips home. However, the cost of living is next to nothing especially if you convert US dollars into dinars on the black market - do not rely on the official bank rate which is a complete reverse of the black market rate. Libyans are nice people to teach but the political situation heeds caution and common sense. You are likely to be teaching KET, PET, FCE level students. They normally work hard at their English.

It is a very good offer

abinara · Joined: 26 Jun 2007 Posts: 12 Location: cloud 10

Dear BobbySue

Are you takin' the mick , or what?

BOBBYSUE · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 100

hi again

thanks for your responses

does anyone have any idea what a decent villa would mean? do they generally have a/c, swimming pools and internet connection, or any of those??

many thanks

BS

ps not taking the mick...I presume that means the salary is good?

abinara · Joined: 26 Jun 2007 Posts: 12 Location: cloud 10

A few years ago i was teaching General English in the desert for a Libyan oil company....if they had been paying me anywhere close to $100k pa i would still be doing it.

I didn't get to spend much time in Tripoli....but the bloke from the contractor company who liaised with the oil company lived in a very nice villa in a beach front area...not open to locals....i don't think he had a pool....but the Med. was virtually on his doorstep.

Internet shouldn't be a problem....Tripoli has Internet cafes.

You must be higher up the educational food-chain than i will ever be ...most likely...

Maybe i will be applying to you for a job some day.

All the best in Tripoli.

trapezius · Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 11:43 am Post subject:

USD 100,000 for a teaching position in any Arab country is not possible, least of all in Libya, for a new teaching post.

It just might be possible to make that much perhaps in the Gulf if one had a PhD in a desired field (Industrial Eng, Petroleum Eng, etc) and one had been teaching in the same university for a couple of decades.

But, to be fair, if you look carefully, BOBBYSUE never said he would be teaching.

007 · Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 1:17 pm Post subject:

Some facts about Libya�s Colonel Kaddafi:

1. The internet is censored and controlled by the Intelligence secret Police
2. To buy a computer and a printer you need to apply for a special permission and clearance!
3. The villas in Tripoli are big, some have air-conditioning, others not.
4. Most of the villas have no swimming pool.
5. Food is cheap.
6. In your institution you will be watched by a security service all the time.
8. Last thing: They say that it is easy to enter Libya, but difficult to get out!

BOBBYSUE · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 100

thanks again everyone

the post is in management hence the higher salary.

surfing the net one can find some pretty harrowing stories about Tripoli, so I'd be really interested to hear from someone living there now:

it seems like everyone who lives in tripoli is affected by a car accident in some way. is this true, and is there any way to avoid it?

i've heard that burglaries of ex pat villas and muggings of expats is on the rise...does it seem this way from the point of view of someone living there?

finally, i've heard there are some compound type ex pat villages which i assume have communal pool etc....what are they like and do you know where i can look up any info about them?

thanks again and all the best

BS

grahamb · Joined: 30 Apr 2003 Posts: 1945

007, government spooks in the so-called democracies also monitor internet usage. Be careful which sites you look at, and avoid using words such as "bomb" and "Osama" in your emails!
BS, your own government website will provide useful up-to-date information for travellers. The US govt site is www.travel.state.gov. For the UK govt, see www.fco.gov.uk/travel

WD40 · Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 104

I used to walk in Tripoli late at night never had any trouble
I was offered a teaching post this year for 40 sterling so 100,000$ is not unbelievable for a teaching post
there are some compounds though they are very much in demand
To find out about villas use your local contact - I imagine you will stay in a hotel while looking for a villa
It is easy to come and go from Libya - there is just a lot of red tape
Treat it like any other Arab country in terms of what is or not is legal
The security services monitor the locals more than the expats (paranoa on the part of expats)
There are some spectacular sights and scenery