Expats who have made the move to Egypt find the cultural differences the hardest thing about living in the country, according to joint research from Expat Forum and Barclays International Banking.
33.33% of the expats who voted in the poll rated cultural differences as the number one difficulty they face, while loneliness followed closely with 27.78% of the vote and cost of living was the third biggest issue faced by foreign nationals in the country, attracting 22.23% of the votes.
However, while there were many issues about living in the country, the majority of those who had made the move were positive about having done so. Over 40% of those who had relocated to Egypt had done so for work and had found successful careers, while 11.54% believed that their quality of life had improved living in Egypt, despite the country's political turmoil. This is perhaps because the wealthier areas favoured by the expat population have not been as badly affected as many other areas of Egypt.
Over 11% of those surveyed had also moved to Egypt for love, having developed relationships in the country on holiday or while at work.
Expat Forum comments “Egypt is a country which is something of a mystery to many people and one which has very much been in the news over the last few months. However, there is no doubt that the intrigue and the mystery of Egypt is attracting more and more expats to the region for a variety of different reasons. If as many people believe, the Egyptian political scene is transferred from a dictatorship type scenario to a fully democratic and incorrupt system this will help the image of the country.”
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