Thinking about retiring in Egypt: What might the main advantages be?

[GammaGlobulin]

Dear Folks,

 

I just watched a documentary about Omar.

 

Omar spent many of his best final days in Egypt.

 

 

So then, would Egypt be a good Plan-B, just in case Thailand retirement might no longer be an option?

 

Are the people just as friendly as here?

 

And, what about the food?

 

Also, what might one do in Egypt, after visiting the temples there, in Egypt?

 

The Nile is a magnificent river.

Also, watching it flow past the city of Cairo, in the moonlight, seems to be spectacular.

 

Also, is it true what they say, that sand gets everywhere?

 

Is it easy to make friends with Egyptians?

 

What else might there to be known...before....

 

Retiring to Egypt/

 

Thank you.

 

Regards....

 

Note:  Do you think it was very believable that, in the film Dr. Z, Omar played such a major role.

 

He never seemed so very Russian, to me.

Even though he enjoyed walking through snow drifts.

 

Geards,

 

Gamma

 

 

Edited May 24 by GammaGlobulin

[Jingthing]

Alexandria sounds like it would be interesting.

 

I just saw one of those great places to retire on a budget list and most of the mentions have no retirement visa or alternative (such as Vietnam).

 

There might be a way for Egypt. Haven't checked lately.

 

One place on the list Tunisia was new to me. So I looked it up. Sure enough, no option whatsover for retirement.

[GammaGlobulin]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Alexandria sounds like it would be interesting.

 

I just saw one of those great places to retire on a budget list and most of the mentions have no retirement visa or alternative (such as Vietnam).

 

There might be a way for Egypt. Haven't checked lately.

 

One place on the list Tunisia was new to me. So I looked it up. Sure enough, no option whatsover for retirement.

 

Nobody enjoys needing to apply for a retirement visa.

 

The Nile is beautiful in he sunset.

 

The Nile flows grey just at dusk, and maybe at dawn, as well....

 

 

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

Nobody enjoys needing to apply for a retirement visa.

 

The Nile is beautiful in he sunset.

 

The Nile flows grey just at dusk, and maybe at dawn, as well....

 

 

I'm sure Egypt doesn't have a retirement visa but they might have some kind of alternative thing that would work similarly. I just haven't checked lately. But I can say Tunisia has nothing. 

[2baht]

14 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Also, what might one do in Egypt, after visiting the temples there, in Egypt?

Find a forum (in Egypt)  that will publish your rubbish and leave us alone!

[Ben Zioner]

Hurghada used to be an interesting spot, great scuba diving and Russian pu$$y at night. 

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, 2baht said:

Find a forum (in Egypt)  that will publish your rubbish and leave us alone!

The best ones are probably in Russian. 

[fondue zoo]

I've been, spent time there, a lot of the place stinks. 

[bubblegum]

Gama. Japan-Taiwan-Egypt ,whatever just leave.

[Henryford]

The whole of the Middle East is one giant cesspit, especially poor countries like Egypt. Why would anyone retire there? Omar was Egyptian, so to him i guess it's home.

[2baht]

1 hour ago, fondue zoo said:

I've been, spent time there, a lot of the place stinks. 

Please, don't discourage him! Go GG, you'll love it!

[save the frogs]

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

The Nile is beautiful in he sunset.

 

de-nial about how pointless some of your threads are .... is a river in egypt

[BKKKevin]

A possible plus would be the highly diminished chance of getting an STD… 

[JimTripper]

Any pyramids to rent?

[PeachCH]

Great choice! Can ride on camels through the desert 🏜. 😁👍

[mfd101]

As in all the Moslem countries - where women aren't available - men are. If that's of interest.

 

Then there's the (fading) relics of the city's Greek past, including Cavafy.

 

And there's always archaeology to keep you fit.

[TheFishman1]

Who the hell would wanna retire in Egypt I could think of hundreds of better places you speak Arabic are you a Muslim? If not, I would be thinking about other country to retire and TT.

[giddyup]

5 hours ago, BKKKevin said:

A possible plus would be the highly diminished chance of getting an STD… 

A lot of pillow biters in Egypt, they aren't immune to STD's.

[newbee2022]

I like your posts. You know that.🤗

But this one is a bit over😂

[Sumiyoshicho]

Last year they started a 5 year multi entry visa, fairly easy to get. https://egypt-e-visas.com/blog/egypt-5-year-multiple-entry-visa/.    I found the people to be friendly and welcoming, loved the local food. which is varied  You should visit there first to see if it would fit your retirement plan. I know some who retired there and LOVE it, An interesting read on retiring in Egypt, https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/we-left-uk-spend-retirement-28764383

[Baricello]

Ideal place to ask,on a Thai Forum!

[oslooskar]

How about Albania? I saw this video on youtube the other day and it really surprised me.

 

[charleskerins]

1 hour ago, Baricello said:

http://talesfromthemiddleeast.blogspot.com/2006/09/hurghada-with-russian-prostitute.html

 

[Jingthing]

45 minutes ago, oslooskar said:

How about Albania? I saw this video on youtube the other day and it really surprised me.

 

Particularly Interesting to Americans.

 

 

[KannikaP]

7 hours ago, BKKKevin said:

A possible plus would be the highly diminished chance of getting an STD… 

Possibly from a Camel !

[Photoguy21]

You will have access to one of the largest beaches in the world

[Moonlover]

 

1 hour ago, Sumiyoshicho said:

Last year they started a 5 year multi entry visa, fairly easy to get. https://egypt-e-visas.com/blog/egypt-5-year-multiple-entry-visa/.    I found the people to be friendly and welcoming, loved the local food. which is varied  You should visit there first to see if it would fit your retirement plan. I know some who retired there and LOVE it, An interesting read on retiring in Egypt, https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/we-left-uk-spend-retirement-28764383

 

Yes, I can endorse that. Egypt has quite a number of resort towns along the Mediterranean and Red Sea coast. I owned an apartment on one near Hurghada on the Red Sea and lived their for 7 years and it was a very pleasant place to live.

 

Immigration and residency rules were a doddle. Just once a year and one single page application form to complete. All I needed was my 'owners card' from the resort and my passport. A rental contract could also be used if one doesn't own there.

 

Definitely worth looking into if one's looking for change of lifestyle. There are many Europeans retired there.

[Kerryd]

I would never chose a country where religion plays such a huge role in people's day-to-day lives and where they'd happily kidnap, beat/torture/rape and behead you on video because their religious leader said they had a right to.

I spent 8 days there back in 2005. I was on a Nile Cruise boat when terrorists bombed Sharm el-Sheikh. That's when I found out there was an armed policeman on our boat. (We were nosed into the shore to wait our turn through the locks. I was outside taking photos and saw a couple police cars pull up and a guy in civilian clothing - packing a submachine gun - stepped off the boat and went to talk to the cops onshore for a few minutes then returned to the boat. Shortly after we learned about the bombing.)

After I'd finished the Aswan/Abu Simble bit I took a 1st Class sleeper train back to Cairo. My car was at the back of the train and every time I stepped out of my cabin I saw a guy standing on the back ledge having a smoke - with one hand on the submachine gun he had partially hidden under his jacket.

The authorities were really concerned that other fundamentalists might target other popular tourist destinations.

And the whole country is literally a powder-keg as the fundamentalists try to take control of the country one way or another. Many are upset about Egypt's non-aggressive stance towards Israel.
Many want the authorities to destroy all the old temples, shrines and monuments - because they predate Islam and are constant reminders to the people that there were (and are) other gods besides their own. Trust me - they really, really hate that.
I had to tread lightly when I was there as I learned that some of them really don't want to admit there were any gods before theirs - even when they are giving you a tour of places full of statues and paintings and carvings depicting those older gods.

When the Muslim Brotherhood (Egypt branch) pretended they'd given up "violence" and wanted to be a straight-up political party, they won an election. (Basically they just out-sourced their violence to different splinter groups that do their bidding.)
And almost immediately there were calls from their supporters to start destroying all the ancient sites. (I'm sure that may have gone a long way towards the Muslim Brotherhood being ousted from power soon after. Not to mention the rampant corruption they immediately started committing the instant they got into power.)

During a politcal storm in Canada over people wearing Niqabs (Muslim face coverings) I did some research.

I came across a Youtube Video shot shortly after Egypt had their first democratic election. The new President was addressing a crowd of people (all men) in a large conference room. Maybe 200+ people.

The President was telling the crowd that he'd recieved a letter from the leader of the (terrorist) Muslim Brotherhood demanding that the new President immediately pass a law to force all women to start covering their heads in public ! (Headscarves - like in Iran and other places.)

Take a wild guess at the reaction from all those men. All Muslims themselves of course.

They LAUGHED. They laughed at the idea of passing a law to force women to cover their heads.

In fact, Egypt did pass a law - that women in public positions like News Anchors on TV - were NOT allowed to cover their heads !

Take a wild guess (again) at one of the first laws the Muslim Brotherhood overturned as soon as they got into power. Yep. They threw that one out immediately because they wanted to start forcing women to cover up.

Now consider that they have the volatile situation in Gaza on one side. The loonie asylum that Libya has become on another side. Whackos to the South (in Sudan). 
And they are very close to the problems in Yemen and Ethiopia/Eritrea as well. (Ethiopia recently opened a huge new dam on the Blue Nile, a few kms from the South-East border of Sudan, which has caused a lot of concern for the countries downstream.)

I personally would love to live in Egypt. Egyptology is a favourite psuedo-hobby. (It would be a hobby - but not really practical in Thailand - so I spend time on ancient Khmer temples and history instead.)

But the reality is - you'd never really feel safe there. And you'd stick out like a sore thumb anywhere you went. And that would make you a potential target for any fundamentalist looking to earn a "merit badge" with his particular faction.

I spent 10 years living and working in Afghanistan, made many trips to Dubai and some other places as well as the trip to Egypt. As they are now - even if I was Jeff Bozos rich - I wouldn't live anywhere in that area.

[Bundooman]

I spent a week in Luxor in the '90s. I had won a prize for a week in that location.

Non-stop harassment from sellers, from the airport - continuing all week until our departure.

Food was bland.

Drinking water was the main problem.

Diarrhea rampant. Ice contaminated as well.

Ex-wife and I spent 2 of our 6 days - in the hotel room, on the toilet.

Valley of the Kings was interesting, but not the boring dialogue of our guide.

It was also, ultra hot.

Good luck living there.

 

[Thingamabob]

10 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

I've been, spent time there, a lot of the place stinks. 

The people are friendly but life is rather chaotic outside the tourist areas. I wouldn't recommend it as a place to retire to.

Edited May 25 by Thingamabob