Job Discussion Forums

[Jim Bigelow]

I'm thinking about coming to Egypt for a couple of years but the medical side of things is a concern. If I wanted to get medical cover for the year for my family so do you have any information on decent insurance companies and any idea on prices for the cover?

I just got an on-line quote from BUPA and it was 4000 GBP (me,wife and 5 small children!)

Thanks allot

[veiledsentiments]

Yikes Jim,

those five little additions of yours do expand that premium!!

I don't think there is any health insurance system in Egypt - at least none that I ever heard of. All of my friends there were either MA students who just winged it with none - or bought one of these American policies for foreign students (not available to you, of course) or contract teachers for whom the university covered their care.

This MA idea of yours just gets more and more complicated, doesn't it---

VS

[Jim Bigelow]

No Doubt VS......but as it was said by Thomas A. Edison:

Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress

[rana]

is the name of one egyptian insurance company which i was under when I worked for the international school schoueifat in cairo

healthcare is inexpensive, compared to the USA, and good enough, if you're not overly picky in egypt. most people (egyptians) here dont have insurance and doctors visits are about 10 USD a visit and drugs are inexpensive and easy to buy at pharmacies, you dont need a prescription for most things.

[veiledsentiments]

Hi Rana,

You're right about the cheap medical care. The years I lived there, I had no insurance, but I was still young or at least relatively speaking. And there are some exceptional doctors, if you know how to find them. Also, the pharmacists are great - all speak English - and function as doctors adequately for general ordinary problems.

But -- I would hate to develop a serious problem there which required major surgery. The hospitals that are closest to western standards are also very expensive for a semi-starving EFL teacher.

VS
(the difference in medication prices between Egypt and the US is phenomenal. I just had a friend bring me one of my meds that costs $0.30 per pill here in the US - which is a very cheap pill by US standards - whereas he bought me 300 of them in Cairo for a grand total of $1.00 - yes that is one US dollar!!)

[scot47]

I am surprised that there any jobs in Egypt that pay enough for you support a wife and five dependent children.

Are you getting family status, housing, tickets, education allowance ?

[veiledsentiments]

Scot

Our friend Jim was just thinking of the possibilities. I think he's staying put in Saudi.

About the only place that you might be able to manage would be AUC, but you best have an MA plus many years of experience. I'm not sure about school fees though. It would be possible if one could home school.

To be honest I am not sure how anyone anywhere manages with 5 little kiddies.

VS