Job Discussion Forums

[zaylahis]

From others posts, it seems that most of us have to rent apartments and looking for them will not be a piece of cake. I have a couple of questions:

1. What does unfurnished mean? Does it mean that we have to buy our own air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators....back to basics so to speak? And how much would setting up house for a first-timer cost? Pots, pans, cooker/oven etc etc etc?

2. MoHe will a loan payable back within 6 months. I am wondering if after paying off this loan and then paying for rent, electricity, renting a car (for the first 3 months) there would be very little left over especially if one is going for an initial one-year contract.

3. Are there expat compounds outside the Muscat area? Or does one live among the locals?

4. I know that divorced women are frowned upon, would this be a problem when living outside Muscat?

[helenl]

I'll address the last first - (a) why would anyone know if you were divorced unless you tell them? (b) divorce happens in Oman as it does in other GCC countries - so far as I'm aware, women divorcees are not stigmatized in any way.

Unfurnished can mean bare walls, or it can mean AC units in place or AC units in place plus fridge & stove (and possibly washer and dryer) - it depends on the landlord.

As I only have first hand experience buying appliances etc in the UAE I can give you only a ball park figure for fridge stove washer (dryer is not really necessary IMHO) conservatively about OMR220 new - maybe half that used. Unfortunately, because of the cyclone either the used market stuff will be highly suspect or higher priced for "good" used stuff than normal.

Rent is up in the air right now with so many people left homeless after the cyclone and destruction to new in progress construction. Can't speak to electricity at all.

[veiledsentiments]

No stigma at all about divorced women as it is common enough. They are more mystified if they think you have never been married.

Five years ago, unfurnished meant only toilet fixtures and kitchen cabinets in 90% of the cases. When I was flat hunting I didn't see one place that had AC or appliances. But, according to a poster just lately, this has changed in Muscat and there are more furnished flats. And even this question is probably up the air related to the cyclone damages. Could someone come on and post about the situation is some of the towns and villages where MOHE has branches now? Furnished or unfurnished? What is or isn't furnished?

helen1 and I disagree about the necessity of a dryer. But, it is not as crucial in Muscat as it is in horribly humid Abu Dhabi or Dubai.

As to the economics of that first year... I think you will read here on the board that it is highly unlikely that one will save much of anything that first year. If one is going to the Gulf to pad one's savings accounts, you will need to stay for a number of years. One year contracts are for those who just want to visit and experience a country - hopefully breaking even on income versus living expenses.

Only Saudi Arabia has compounds... and I believe that Qatar may have some. Fortunately, in Oman and the rest of the Gulf, you live in mixed neighborhoods.

VS