The Finances of An Expat Wife in Kenya
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1) Weekends away at terribly posh safari lodges or beach houses designed for rich Americans (ie $1,000 per head per night)
2) Furniture – made by white/long term expats, always prices in thousands and made of old railway sleepers, dhow wood and cedar.
3) There’s a very nice Italian shoes and bags shop that I sometimes dream about. Everything in there is around £100.
4) A swanky hairdo (if you are lucky).
5) Gold and silver Jewellery – ditto made by white long term expats who occasionally get things photographed in Tatler.
6) Club membership. Hugely expensive, unless you are v. Lucky that your company pays.
7) Glossy magazines. You won’t get one here for less than £10.
1) Cars – they are comparatively very expensive due to import taxes. People prefer to by big 4×4s just because the roads are crazy here and you are more likely to survive in one than a Toyota Corolla.
2) School fees – ouch. Think UK Private school costs and you are paying from aged 2 onwards.
3) A mortgage (13% – 15% interest charged as explained above) – and houses in Nairobi are up to a level with UK property prices now.
4) Rent – shooting up all the time.
5) Security – you do need to pay for night security plus backup response units, whether it is via firm or by your own arrangement with employees, but it’s expensive.
6) Members of household staff. You might rather put this in the luxury category but they more people you employ the better as it means cash filters down to those who most need it.
7) Drinking Water (you can’t just drink it out of the tap). You will spend a fortune on this every year. Plus it’s not uncommon to get water delivered in a truck as the mains supply is often unreliable.
Local flights (no ‘Easy Jet’ in Africa so hopper flights for weekends away are hundreds of pounds a throw).
9) A work permit costs a couple of thousand pounds and you need one of those to be able to live here – it must be renewed every two years.
10) Imported food. All taxed so horribly expensive – unless you work for the UN and have a pass for their ‘duty free’ supermarket.
11) Electricity – this has just doubled in the past year.
12) Going to visit family – this usually involves a long haul flight.
13) Health insurance (no state healthcare)
1) Frivolous purchases can be kept to a minimum as temptation is not nearly so strong due to lack of media pressure or availability. There are no ‘seasonal fashions’ here.
2) No need for any form of heating, except maybe an occasional open fire.
3) Vegetables and fruit are reasonably priced and delicious.
4) Meat – a leg of lamb or a beef fillet is a fraction of the price of that in UK, but don’t ask me where it comes from.
5) Beauty treatments. Waxing, eyebrow shaping, pedicures all a snip compared to England!
6) Public transport – if you are brave enough.
7) Clothes and shoes – with a samey year round climate you just don’t need very many clothes, especially if you are an not so glamorous expat housewife who tends to live life in jeans/shorts and flipflops.
I was reading a very interesting blog written by an expat British wife currently living in Kenya. She has a post about the global economic crisis and how it has affected (or not affected) her financial situation in Kenya.
The following is a quote taken from her site about her expenses in Kenya and what she thinks about the cost of living: **These are her direct words, not mine.
“Luxuries, if you so desire..:
Necessities I’m afraid…:
Local flights (no ‘Easy Jet’ in Africa so hopper flights for weekends away are hundreds of pounds a throw).Savings – sometimes surprising?:
hmmm…looks like rising cost of housing is high on her list of the “expensive” items in Kenya.
What do you think about this financial breakdown?
*sigh*
I have a feeling you may have condemned the poor dear to be flamed off the internet! There are one or two of your regular readers who I can imagine being less than charitable at her blog posting. But I remain prepared to be pleasantly surprised.
Hmmm…..that explains why all over a sudden there are many whites in my neighbourhood
Can I get a Kenyan ex-pat wife living in Britain to post her own?
Well… for all the ‘problems’ in Kenya it sure beats being a housewife in dreary ol’ england!!!
And she has servants and outings and the such…
Reading other blog posts she has & it is funny… the expats worries are, well, not so important after all. The ‘cost’ of the hutch (4,500/-) for the guinea pig is more than what some folks earn in a month.
I am glad she writes about her experiences…
So where are the Kenyans who can do the expats’ jobs?
And why do we have so many expats in Kenya?
CT
That is a good question i.e. the Kenyans who can do the expats’ jobs.
I think that this is an issue that needs government regulation and enforcement. I may not have the statistics, but I have heard that there are “expats” doing jobs that Kenyans can do e.g. foremen, managers, accountants etc.
It is almost impossible to get a job if you are a foreigner in India, China, Germany, Russia and other places.
I know Botswana is very tough on expats and they are only there for a limited period to transfer the knowledge to the local workforce. They are then shown the door.
I think, again I do not have the statistics, that all the top echelons of the leading companies in Kenya are filled with expats. I do not think that all of them are providing services or skills that cannot be provided by Kenyans.
Is this possible in Kenya?
By the way, the situation is different in West Africa is different. Locals are at the very top levels of management with much fewer expats that in East and Southern Africa.
Keio,
Getting an Expat job atleast needs that the company or Institution you are working with is an arm of a company in your mother countries.
or,
They have a joint program for work exchange and experience relationships.
*****************************
Many of these expats don’t mind to unwind in a country with warm weather and tropical climate like Kenya. To them its a whole new experience.
Where I live. It snows at-least six months in a year. Many people here wish they would get a break from these conditions.
They take up jobs in Brazil, Africa and other tropical climate countries. Some work for charity organizations and others work for non profit and government projects among other things.
*sigh. Comment to comment above mine. They take trips to Brazil and Africa. Africa is still not a country.
Kenya has a disproportionate number of foreign organizations, perhaps explains the large number of expats in the country.
ala: Van Hoosen NEVER referred to Africa as a country.
If a Kenyan told you he/she went to Europe… it could mean the continent (yeah… a misnomer here coz it is ‘connected’ to Asia) “Europe” not necessarily a single country e.g. France.
KeiO
You said
“Can I get a Kenyan ex-pat wife living in Britain to post her own?”
I presume you are married and stay in Eu/Britain
Hmmmm, let me look at this from a different perspective. The ex pat life she describes seems open to just about anyone who plans well for a life back home especially Kenyans in the diaspora. Heck I moved home precisely because I wanted to live the expat life in comparison to life in the West, let’s see let me count the ways:
1) domestic help especially if you have kids. I’d rather scarifice many of my utility bills in the U.S. like Comcast Cable, DIRECT TV in exchange for solid, reliable domestic help plus day care in the States costs 4 times what would be a very competitive salary in Kenya with very few benefits.
2) Housing, it all depends, if you want to live in Karen or Gigiri then yes housing is as expensive as in the West, and yes housing prices in Nairobi are now astronomical for no legitimate reason but again if you look hard and are patient there are great deals to be had far better than in the West. A 4-5 bedroom townhouse in Nairobi with quality finishes CANNOT be found at a comparable price in the U.S. and definitely not in Europe.
3) Schooling…ah yes….a subject close to my heart, again if you want to send your kids to expat prep schools then you’ll pay through the nose, but there are many reasonable private options like Makini, St. Christophers, Riara where you’ll never have to worry about gun violence and suicidal tots and teenagers.
4) Utilities…….even satellite T.V. and high speed internet are now readily affordable and accessible for the middle class family i.e. $ 20-40 per month range
My point, granted these options are available if you’re getting paid a comparable US salary or even an upper-middle average Kenyan salary, and definitely MAJORITY of Kenyans do not fall in either bracket but many do aside from the usual expat crowd so IMHO if you plan well you can have the same high quality of life that is likely impossible in the West for the same amount of money.
Sijui: I think you are mistaken on housing esp in the 2nd tier US cities. Note that even 3rd tier US cities have far better amenities than Nairobi e.g. roads, shopping, etc. The East Coast + West Coast is expensive. Places like Omaha are very affordable (P.S. I have no idea what one would do in Omaha unless you work for Warren Buffet).
CT: You’re right if we’re talking about infrastructure ammenities, clearly there is nothing to compare there and likely never will, and yes in the 2 and 3 tier cities you might find something comparably priced but again you’d have to sacrifice on what I call ‘cultural and social’ amenities because many of those cities while changing are still culturally homogenous but having just sold a house in the U.S from the east coast, I know what a lousy deal you get for quality and quantity of house in comparison to Africa.
Even the McMansions which are supposed to be relatively top shelf for the middle class, you can buy or build better on the continent and that also includes the square footage of space in land that comes with it. And certainly I accept that the type of housing in the West is a factor of their affluence and development because 65% of the population owns their own consequently space is limited as compared to maybe what 40% in Kenya if you include self built in the rural areas? But quality is lost at the behest of pure profit.
Sijui & Coldtusker:
This is an interesting discussion on real estate you have going. Maybe some one can explain the high real estate prices in Kenya. Is that a classic bubble?
I used to work with a lot of older people and they told me that when they first starting their careers, buying a house was actually a financially astute move for them, for the following reasons:
1) There was job security: They knew that once their husbands got jobs, they were pretty much set for the rest of their careers because layoff’s were rare.
2) They did not move like people do today because they didn’t have to. With job security, you are more likely to stay in your neighborhood for the duration of your career, so buying a house would be a good investment.
3)They didn’t have debt. Credit cards were rare and they lived within their means.
Now, many of these people became millionaires by selling houses that they had bought and completely paid off during their 40 year careers. So, you by a house when you’re say 25 for $40K, by the time you are 55, the house is completely paid off and you sell it for$3 million dollars.
But today, with no job security, people are constantly moving to wherever the opportunities are and buying a house may actually be a detriment.
To KE:
Buying a house is always, always an asset. Historically this has always been the case and it will continue to be so. The problems people face now are entirely of their own doing:
1) you buy a house that YOU CAN AFFORD.
2) you buy a house as an investment, not an ATM machine. This applies to whether you live in the U.S. or in Africa.
Owning a home affords you credit and equity that would otherwise be inaccessible to you, plus if you buy a home that you can financially afford it is BOTH CHEAPER IN THE SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM THAN RENTING.
I cannot stress enough, the importance of OWNING YOUR OWN HOME!
I am a classic case of someone who would never have been able to start their business had it not been for their home. It would probably have taken us five to ten years longer. Secondly owning for me was not only cheaper than renting, it served as an asset that continued to reap dividends and not just a sunken living cost. In Africa this is even moreso of the case, owning property or a home was the only way to access real credit in the economy, thankfully those times are changing, but for our parents, initial investments in their homes 40-50 years ago are now reaping them 3000% profits e.g. a plot of land and cost of building a house in Kyuna was Ksh.500,000 in 1975……..those homes now go for Ksh. 15-20 Million, in Nairobi West the going rate was probably Ksh. 100,000-150,000…..now Ksh. 3-9 million and so on and so forth. In the rural areas owning your house and plot of land is the difference between seed money for self fulfillment or abject poverty. Hence the reason why land is such an important and contentious issue.
Wow – I feel I am catching up a bit here because I only just found this. Of course I am delighted that kenyanentrepreneur quoted an entire post from my blog – and interested to read the subsequent debate it sparked on this website.
Re Coldtusker’s comment re: why are there so many expats in Kenya? Don’t forget that it is a two way street. Don’t we now live in a global village? How many Kenyans do you think are currently working in the Diaspora? I get loads of nice comments from Kenyans working overseas – all of whom who are fairly tolerant of my expat view on life in Kenya. (thank goodness!)
Kenyanentrepreneur – I see that you are running adverts on your blog. How is that working for you? I have just put them on mine.
very interesting stuff on real estate.
We can only hope that the investments made are not feeding the bubble in nairobi and that property investement will not go up in tatters just like our stock market.
Any predictions? let us wait and see
Now one question i always seem to wonder….why do young kenyans on good jobs try to buy/rent expensive apartments on costly mortgages in leavy suburbs while they can get cheaper better properties in athi river and other outskirts of nairobi—-is it just a threal or are they too urban to live elsewhere?