As R noted in the comment, why not? There are about 70 million people who are born here and have almost no choice in the matter. Many of them have the absurd notion that life in other countries is better, but I don't think that they are right. Life can be tough where ever you are.
The first argument that I hear is that the salaries are so much higher in Canada, the US, Europe.... well, they are but so are the costs of living. So they basically cancel out. The ideal thing is to be paid by Europeans to live in Egypt, but that's not so easy to manage.
Life in Egypt is not as risk-free as many in Europe and North America would like, a fact for which I am forever grateful. In a "civilized" country with lots of liability insurance, I wouldn't be able to have friends of mine ride my horses unless I was insured up to the eyeballs. Driving anywhere here is an adventure, but once you get the hang of it, no problem. You DO and SHOULD think a million times before you attempt drunk driving in Egypt, however.
It's very hard for people to starve in Egypt. Any fruit seller has a box on the sidewalk in which they place fruits and vegetables that are below standard for the poor who need food. Real food is cheap. You have to wash it and clean it and prepare it for cooking and then have to cook it....Horrors! But it's cheap and good and fresh. Shopping in the US is a nightmare for me because the grocery stores are full of prepared foods that aren't particularly good for you, items for cleaning that are immediately disposed of (what happened to the good old wet rag?), extraordinary quantities of personal hygiene products, and cheap junk food. Coca Cola is cheaper than juice. Great. No wonder the US has major health problems.
Egypt has sunshine about 360 days a year, unless you live on the North Coast, where it actually rains in the winter. I'm outdoors every day. Yes, it's dusty, but I daresay so is Tucson. I can put up with some dust.
One of the main criticisms of Cairo especially is that it is "dirty". Well, yes, it is. Some of that dirt is deposited by its loving neighbour, the Sahara Desert. Some of the dirt is the result of the way-too-many human inhabitants of the city, about 20 million of them. Not too easy to clean up after so many, as I'm sure that London, New York, and Los Angeles could testify.
I believe that too many people expect to visit foreign countries the same way that they visit Disneyland. They expect surgical cleanliness, and neurotic orderliness. Guess what? Most of the world, including huge chunks of the US, isn't like that. Egypt is real. It has problems, but it also has an extraordinary spirit and joy in living. Urban life is doing its best to beat it out of everyone in the world, but so far it hasn't won in Egypt.
Why live in Egypt? I've lived in San Diego, near Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Vancouver BC, Toronto, and visited more citiies in the US and Canada than I care to remember, and I prefer to live in the countryside outside of Cairo, thank you. You couldn't pay me enough to move back.
20 comments:
Groovy...Stay there.
You have a very nice Blog!
I think it's great that you're happy there. But let me guess ... you're not a *poor* person living in Egypt, right?
Hi Maryanne,
You paint a wonderful picture of your life in your journal. Ignore the idiot comments. You will pick up all sorts of weirdos as long as you are on Bloggers Blogs of Note section. Enjoy your fifteen minutes of fame. Hopefully, you'll change somebody's perspective of the world in the meantime. Keep writing.
WOW. Good for you!
Good for you for speaking up. Too many people live in a bubble, and somebody needs to do the popping.
I especially admire you for being steadfast about the way you raised your children. I think bad nutrition is another bubble of ignorance society is hiding behind. It's easier to eat crap, (that you don't have to wash), become ill, go the doctor for some attention and drugs that probably cause more problems than they solve.
Found these stats:
Egypt's population below poverty - 22.9%(1995)
Canada's population below poverty - 22.7% (1997)
(Canada does have a different way of figuring out this statistic.)
Egypt's unemployment rate - 12% (2001)
United States' unemployment rate - 11.7% (2001)
I've heard people complain and despair over the poverty and begging in Cairo. Why are they not complaining of the poverty in their hometown? Because one is more 'obvious' and in their face when they're supposed to be vacationing and enjoying themselves.
Have you considered publishing your work in print? It's wonderful.
I commend you for sticking up for your country like that. Take care!
I'm not sure why moving somewhere that makes you happy with your family in tow is necessarily grounds for deep admiration and all the exclamation points!!!! and kudos!!!!! Please. People should do what they want. But it's fairly obvious that plenty of people *want* to leave Egypt and *do.* These differences are mostly about individual circumstances -- not exclusively about the country in which you live. It is certainly not grounds for bashing North America, though you are certainly free to keep trying.
I'm "R" who asked "Why not?".
First, I like to draw your attention that -if you don't know it yet- www.blogger.com has posted a link to your blog as a page worth visiting, that's why you are stormed with these comments lately.
Second, as I'm taking the decision to go back to Egypt -my home- while I have a chance to live in the US, I wonder sometimes why would people think that living is about having a good salary and being able to sleep in a nice place. I think there is no difference between living in a palace in Egypt, while many Egyptians are starving, and living in a palace in the USA, while the same people are starving. After all, who made these countries and borders? If you look at our planet for a sattelit pictures, you won't find any of these borders; they are artificial. The sad truth is still the same, everywhere there are poor and starving people; but one can still decide to live closer to the poorer people and give up some of one's privileges. Otherwise, half of this planet's inhabitants will really die.
Good to know someone is happy living where they're living. Sad to see people hate happy people.
Who are the Copts? I know they are plenty in Egypt. Are they persecuted as claims www.copts.com? Are they different? You were talking about Christian monks. Are these Christians or a mystic sect?
Are Copts anti-US too? What do they think of our policies in the M.E.?
Jo, ARKANSAS
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I have always wanted to visit Egypt. I've heard so much about it in History classes while I was still studying. You made it sound so interesting that now I'm really eager for a tour.
if you say egypt is a nice place to live in.. you have no idea what you are talking about.. i lived in egypt for 23 years.. and i lived in canada too.. there is not comparison whatsoever bet both..
you are just stating the advantages of living in egypt, like riding a horse and stuff.. there are more important things in life than riding horses and just being with friends.. ex, to have an organized traffic.. ppl who like to live in egypt well have fun, but for me.. its far from being nice..
Seeing your pictures on flickr, I can understand why you prefer to live in there. I never thought of myself as being the country type but somehow your descriptions make me reconsider that. Everything seems so peacefull, meaningful and rewarding! Such a contrast to what Cairo life is.
Maybe, just maybe, one day, I'll have the pleasure of learning how to ride with the help of your horses.
Wow, it was interesting to read it. Thanks for your blog. I would be so scared to move to a country like that, so different from America, so I admire you for your braveness. This was really interesting to read. (Oops, I guess I said that in my fist sentence haha!:)
I'm curious to know of you "look" Canadian/American. Its a nightmare for me living in Maadi because the locals think I'm American and then the price goes up. And yes, I speak Arabic but tht still doesn't stop them from charging astronomical prices :(
I do indeed look like a foreigner. My late husband used to say that I'd be ripped off all the time but when I would go to the souq in Alexandria, I used to listen to the people bargaining for things to get an idea of the prices and when someone would toss me something outrageous, I'd just smile and tell them I'd shop elsewhere. It helps a lot to speak Arabic.
I'm an Egyptian, I believe living in Egypt has many Pros and Cons, but for all the problems it has and the criticisms people say about it , Egypt has it's faults, like any other country
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