7 Expatriate neighborhoods to consider when you are moving to Cairo

Cairo, the capital city of the beautiful country of Egypt also known as the media hub for the Middle Eastern region. The city itself is quite crowded, over-populated and much polluted. About half of the number of the population in Cairo actually lives in informal settlements that lack infrastructure, healthcare and much other primary facilities that you will need throughout your basic needs and common lifestyle.

Finding a good location where you can reside in peace and comfort, that can be both affordable and obtainable is very important to anyone who is willing to pursue a property whether they are looking to rent or purchase. Among the many sites and amazing places that you can visit within Cairo, it also contains many neighborhoods where Egyptians live and where you can actually be surprised to find that a minority of the people speak English and not just brush you off by claiming they don’t speak another language than Arabic.

If you are moving to Cairo, there are actually only a couple of neighborhoods that would meet the requirements for many expats looking forward to moving towards Egypt for either a short or long term stay. If you are looking to consider some of these neighborhoods, then you can be sure that you will find the best location for yourself and loved ones if you carry on and read further within this article you will find all the right knowledge, information and assistance to guide you towards the best choice in making the right move to the best location that you would seek fit.

When considering safety, good health care facilities, sport clubs and great education then you would find that these neighborhoods will be fitting you the most with what you prefer. In this article, you will find the best “foreign” neighborhoods, while receiving the right information such as the pros and cons towards finding a suitable apartment within these neighborhoods as well. 

EXPAT NEIGHBORHOODS IN CAIRO

-          SARAYAT EL MAADI / DEGLA MAADI

Located in the south of Cairo, the suburb is the home to over 100 thousand residents, including both local residents and foreigners alike. The beautiful district of Maadi is especially close to areas such as the Nile (Corniche El Maadi) and other popular places within the expat community such as Sarayat Maadi and Degla Maadi. The population in Sarayat El Maadi and Degla El Maadi are the most populated areas within Maadi that would actually have an even number of both Egyptians and foreigners.

The wide boulevard streets are always clean and quiet; the green nature throughout the seasons are stunning as much as they are worth witnessing as the community of Maadi usually spend most of their time outdoors regardless if they are enjoying an outing or enjoying recreational activities and events. Due to governmental obligations to maintain the beautiful nature and the gardens, Maadi is known to be the cleanest and greenest area that you can find within the city of Cairo. You can actually imagine yourself in a tropical park especially in the hot summer days, where the trees would provide fresh air and the right amount of shade while during the days of winter you can enjoy the extraordinary breeze that can take your breath away regardless if you are spending your time outdoors or indoors.

There are plenty of international schools, great sport clubs, popular bars and restaurants and even educational and recreational facilities such as academies and well-known gyms and fitness centers. With Maadi City Centre (Carrefour) that is located on the ring road on the edge of the district of Maadi as well as Maadi Grand Mall that is located in the heart of Maadi by Sarayat El Maadi area, you can find everything you are looking for within these two amazing shopping malls that offer all the right and trendy retail and commercial stores that you can enjoy shopping during any day of the week. 

You can also find Maadi Sporting Club that is the well-known sporting club for the people of Maadi where there are teams and you can have your children train the sport of their choosing whether it would be soccer, swimming, tennis, basketball, handball or even gymnastics. Besides that, you will also find the many local supermarkets down the beautiful clean streets as well as tool shops and antique stores as well. You can also find only villas with lower built apartments and buildings that are available for rent or purchase in the beautiful district. Last but not least, Maadi has three different metro stations that is great access in the case you are looking to commute around the city with ease and not having to face much traffic along the way.

-          ZAMALEK

Located practically on the border of the Nile River, Zamalek is considered one of the more affluent areas in the city. Despite that most Egyptians would face some kind of conflict because they would be fans of the opposing soccer rival (Al Ahly), for many people whether they are fans of the Zamalek soccer team or residents within Zamalek, they can admit that Zamalek is one of the best places to reside when it comes to living in Egypt. Offering great healthcare opportunities and departments, retail and commercial shops and other facilities nearby the area, it is also the home away from home for many foreigners.

However, within the last decade, Zamalek has become very crowded and populated which leads to much traffic congestion and noisy streets in the process. In 2010, it was estimated that there have been 420 thousand residents living on the island. Furthermore, renting an apartment in the area of Zamalek can actually be quite expensive and purchasing a property can actually be hard to obtain if you are looking to follow your budget. With the historical aspect and the buildings built from a long time, these properties will always have a higher appreciation value than most other properties that are available in other places in the city. 

-          MOHANDESEEN

The name “Mohandeseen” literally means “The Engineers” in Arabic. Built in the early 1950s, it contains many villas and luxurious apartments. However in the 1970s, the city has faced an urban influence towards the culture and traditions leading the neighborhood of Mohandeseen to be very crowded and full of household properties that you can pursue to purchase or rent. At the present time, Mohandeseen is actually the most expensive area in Cairo. Although it doesn’t include much nature and is very crowded, it is also the hot spot location that is located to all the places that you might visit within the city. Living in this district also offers some very beneficial advantages such as keeping up with the recent trends and fashion, luxurious shopping and well-known companies that would all be located in Mohandeseen as well. Good health-care and education can also be available and not too far away from this great district. 

-          HELIOPOLIS

A Belgium Baron set foot in Cairo in 1904 and the rest is history. He started to build the city named Heliopolis which is almost 10 kilometers away from the center of the city. This area differs from many other areas in Cairo due to its more modern architecture. When it was in the process of construction and architectural style, it was built in a unique way which makes it easily remembered yet cherished.

The architecture didn’t receive much praise or receive world fame in the process, the architecture is still well preserved as the avenues are broadly designed. In Heliopolis, it is less crowded than more of the central and popular areas in Cairo, just like Maadi, it is also known for its nature and greenery sites.

Moreover, you can find one of the most luxurious and popular sports clubs of Egypt as well as all the necessary facilities and knowing that Heliopolis is actually connected to the metro network as well, you can consider that most central areas in Cairo are actually within reach. You can find the Queens Hospital, which Heliopolis is known to house one of the best hospitals in Cairo. 

-          NEW CAIRO, SHEIKH ZAYED CITY, 6^th OF OCTOBER CITY

Located far from the borders of Cairo, these cities are different from the “norm” that you can find within the Cairo itself. These cities are located more than 15 kilometers from the center of Egypt, where you can find large compounds, broad avenues, natural habitats and amazing properties such as villas and apartments for rent and purchase. The area is known to be widespread where you can find majority of the population being part of the middle and upper class of Egyptian residents.

These places offer some of the biggest shopping malls available in the city as well as food courts, popular café’s and famous restaurants as well as educational institutes and universities and sports facilities. The public transportation is arranged easily by the many public buses and mini buses as well as cabs and techniques of carpooling with other people who are commuting regardless the time of the day.

Compared to the capital city of Egypt, you will find that these areas are less crowded, less polluted and in return less populated as well but it is also much cleaner, safer and secured as they have their own societies and communities.

6^th of October is known to be one of the largest industrial areas in Egypt but a major disadvantage of this city is the long distance away from the center of the city such as commuting during the prime hours and rush hours where you can end up in traffic for longer and double the usual time that it would take you to reach one point to another. 

-          GARDEN CITY

Garden city among the other residential districts, it is known to be the calmest district that is located in the heart of Cairo. Known for its historical sites, Liberty Square (Midan El Tahrir) which was famous for its particular role in the revolution that occurred in 2011, Garden City was built by private investors who were looking to aim for that European lifestyle and vibe.

Nowadays, there is a mixture within the population of foreigners and locals while they are living in a peaceful life, you would be surprised if you find any residents living in Garden City who aren’t friendly and conversational. You won’t find much of popular sporting clubs here or even huge shopping malls, but you will definitely find a wide variety of commercial and retail stores that are small yet efficient.

One of the best benefits of residing in Garden City would be the accessibility is amazing due to the common fact that it is close to the metro station and also located in the center of the city where you can use any kind of transportation whether public buses, mini buses and metro or private transportation such as cabs and Careem or Uber. 

-          DOWNTOWN

Last but not least, Downtown is the core of Egyptian Culture in one of its most extreme compositions. It is actually considered as one of the most crowded areas in Egypt. You can actually find all kinds of people selling many kinds of products and services on almost every corner of the street. From the local seller having clothes hung on the fences of the street selling clothing to the local seller having books that provide you with the right knowledge and information regardless your interest, you might find something you like from any block of the narrow streets of Downtown Cairo.

Almost every ground floor available in Downtown is considered to be an existence of a shop providing some kind of service so it would be difficult to find a ground floor apartment especially around this area. In Downtown, you will find many cheap restaurants and good facilities where most locals would reside as if they find someone who doesn’t belong, they would often try to let them overpay or hustle if possible which doesn’t make it the safest of places even if you might find a police officer from each corner due to the security measures that need to be taken place because of the many respected organizations, embassies and international hotels.

Downtown Cairo would be recommended for those who are looking to pursue a property on their own and not having a family to look after because it will seem like a daunting task while residing in such a local yet populated area. If you are planning to stay for a short period of time and travelling on your own, this can be the place for you because it is the center of the city where you can commute and transport regardless the time of day.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT NEIGHBORHOOD FOR YOU

Taking into account the different factors such as environment, facilities and popularity, one of the most important aspects that you must consider would be the distance. You should put into consideration the distance that you will need to endure on the daily basis if you are looking to continue your career path and depending on your office and commute hours, it would be best to reside nearby your office or business venture. If you are a student, it would be best that you reside close to your university or high school where you wouldn’t have to suffer much trouble with attendance and being right on time for class.

According to Wikipedia, it is actually listed as the 15^th populated city of the world and the home for more than 20 million people. Which is a result to the many traffic jams that you will have to endure and the prime hours where the metro can actually be difficult to ride due to the fact that everyone is going home at the same time so you will have to waste some time in transportation before you get the chance to get back home.

FINDING AN APARTMENT

When you have chosen the most suitable neighborhood for you regardless if you are working or a student studying in Egypt, you will need to consider finding an apartment that would be suitable for yourself as well. One of the easiest ways is to rent a furnished apartment if you are looking to stay for a short stay. If you are looking to stay long-term then you can rent a place that is unfurnished and choose the furnishing of your choice throughout your stay.

In the best areas, there are both affordable and expensive apartments for rent. You will notice that the cheaper the apartment, you will find that it is more outdated and not well maintained throughout the years. If you have decided that you are content with lower standards of living, then you can find such affordable properties to be a great choice and saving money in the process as well. These properties you can find easily on Facebook, where you can find many properties for rent listed among the many Facebook groups.

You will notice that the best apartments for rent or villas for rent available are only found when you come in contact with a real estate company. When you are dealing with a real estate company, you will need to know some information in the process so that you can save yourself the hassle of consuming any further time. You will need to know that an owner from an apartment can go to more than one brokerage office to ask them to find the property a tenant. The agent who connects a tenant towards the owner and finalizing the deal is the one who receives the commission, which is most of the time received from the owner and not the tenant.

While many real estate companies can seem aggressive and not willing to commit to fully satisfying their clients with their real estate desires, they are also trying their best not to waste much time and being faster than their competitors in looking forward to finalizing the deal and being able to gain the commission in the process.

You should know that you shouldn’t be pushed or rush into any decisions from your agent because they are just looking to finalizing as soon as possible and you should be fully committed to the property that you choose to rent or purchase because it will not be the agent that lives within the final results, so you should take your time with such a huge decision to make. A successful agent would have their client’s best interest at heart because they would understand that with complete customer satisfaction, they can gain a friend as much as respect by the time they earn their commission as well.

You will first need to find the best company that you feel comfortable in pursuing your real estate desires with all your preferences and necessities that you are looking for, this chosen real estate company will provide you with the agent that would be able to take you around and show you certain properties that will provide you with everything you might need within a household property.

Take the time to check out the background and the website of the real estate company that you choose to hire and check if they have the right experience to provide everything that you need when it comes to the industry of real estate. You can pursue some of the best properties listed online on Facebook and through Facebook groups and communities as well. 

With House Solution, you can expect nothing but the best from our staff and services provided to all our clients, whether current or potential, we are dedicated to offering the best listings and choosing not to consume much time for our clients with our many connections we can get the job done once you choose the preferences and budget that you desire.

IN CONCLUSION 

There are many expat neighborhoods that you can choose from and the ability to check these neighborhoods and their facilities and departments that are provided will have you making the right choice for yourself and if you are planning to move with your spouse or children, every neighborhood is unique and comforting in their own way but they all have something in common and that is they are always welcoming towards the many upcoming and current expats who are living among these communities today. Try to take the time to hire the right real estate company that will provide you the best service and not consume much of your time and effort in the process. 

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