Anyone lived in Bahrain?

[Anonymous]

We're looking at a possible (mandatory) relocation to Bahrain. I'm looking for feedback from anyone who has lived there, esp. people with kids as we'll have a 5 year old and 2 year old with us. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I have a very good friend with 3 children. They lived there for 3 yrs. Said it was safe, and a nice place to live. Their children were about the same age as yours when thery were there. I don't know who you are going with, but I will assume the gov. They had wonderful quarters and lots of household help that was very inexpensive. I am moving overseas soon too with 2 little ones, scary and exciting all at once. Good luck

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP! The move isn't definite yet but it's looking more and more so every day. I'm excited about being overseas but a little nervous about the middle east itself. My DH has assured me that if you've got to be in the ME, Bahrain is the way to go. I guess we'll see

[Anonymous]

I can't speak to Bahrain itself, but as an ESL teacher at a high school here, I still think back fondly on the wonderful student from Bahrain I had a couple of years ago and his wonderful family. The student was polite, respectful and hard working and I was sad to see him go when he moved back. His father was also so nice, and sent an email to thank me for teaching his son and to congratulate me on the birth of my son. They were also definitely more Western than some of the other students and parents I have met from the Middle East, not so conservative and I felt like I was treated equally "even though" I was a woman. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Actually, I am in Dubai. I haven't been to Bahrain yet, but I can confidently tell you that all the Gulf Countries are very safe. You might find it boring but most people (who can afford it) come to Dubai, UAE on the weekends or explore other neighboring countries. You should be fine in Bahrain. Good luck

[Anonymous]

Bahrain is great its a small island and its lovely . I don't think its boring. D.C IS Much worse.

[Anonymous]

I lived and worked in Kuwait for a year. People thought I was nuts to do it. They all were so concerned about my safety. I felt safer there than most cities I have walked around at night! I never went to Bahrain but to Dubai, Oman, etc and felt very comfortable. Perhaps you can find an American or int'l school there to make contact w/ some parents in the expat community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're looking at a possible (mandatory) relocation to Bahrain. I'm looking for feedback from anyone who has lived there, esp. people with kids as we'll have a 5 year old and 2 year old with us. Thanks!

While I haven't been there, I can tell you that you can rent a mansion for a song. The rental market is strange, everything, regardless of size, costs about the same in rent. From what I understand is that the country is pretty safe as well. There are many, many service members that live there in the community, and haven't had any issues. The one murder (of an American) I am aware of, that has made the news in the past year, was the result of a love triangle with some USN personnel.

How long will you be there? Is it permanent? I know that the military are not allowed to bring their children with them, even when both parents are deployed there together. I have known several people who have had to leave their children for up to two years. I understand that's not what you want to hear, but that it the reality of it for the military folks, and their families.

[Anonymous]

to pp, the military would never force BOTH parents to leave children. Yes, if you are a single parent, you may have to leave you child, but as a married couple, no way. You wuld have to sign a waiver to both be in a overseas, sea going, geo bachelor assignment. But, this said, doesn't sound like OP is military. Maybe gov worker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to pp, the military would never force BOTH parents to leave children. Yes, if you are a single parent, you may have to leave you child, but as a married couple, no way. You wuld have to sign a waiver to both be in a overseas, sea going, geo bachelor assignment. But, this said, doesn't sound like OP is military. Maybe gov worker.

How wrong you are. The military does have both parents leave their children all the time, they can try and sign a waiver, but if they both have jobs that dictate there is no other place for them, they go.

[Anonymous]

OP here - no need to argue about if I'll have to leave my kids or not! We're govt. and not military. I did hear that Bahrain was an unaccompanied tour for military and that was one of the things that made me a bit nervous. I'm glad to hear all of the good feedback on the area though. I do know that they have a DODDS school (Bahrain School) that's really good. That's where my oldest will probably go to kindergarten. (I'm wondering though how and why it's still open since there aren't any military dependents there? My DH says that they've been considering bringing the dependents back. Hummm....)
I do appreciate the feedback! If anyone else has info. on Bahrain (good or bad) please keep it coming. Thanks.

[jsteele]

OP, I also lived in Kuwait for a year and agree with everything that's been said above. However, one "wild-card" that has not been mentioned is a possible war with Iran. All bets would be off in that case as Bahrain is well within missile range of Iran (I was in Kuwait when it was hit by Iranian missiles, so I know this first hand). Also, Bahrain has a majority Shia population. There are already some domestic issues as a result of this, but a US-Iran war would significantly increase them.

[Anonymous]

If you can, try to get to the annual Formula One race there! We've always wanted to go to one overseas.

[juliek]

I spent about two months working in Bahrain and have friends who have lived there. I can't speak for what it's like to live there with kids. Personally, I loved it there. It's more multicultural than I expected. Lots of British expats since it was a British colony not too long ago. I was especially impressed with the variety of excellent restaurants including Japanese, Italian, Indian, and of course Middle Eastern. My favorite food item was the super cheap fruit shake. Fruit shakes are sold just about everywhere. Any combination of any number of fruits for dirt cheap. It was my daily multi-vitamin. My friend who lived there rented a really nice house that included the services of a maid and gardener.
I also really enjoyed exploring the souk (market) where you could find amazing spices, beautiful and cheap fabric, lots of 18k gold jewelery, and lots of other interesting products. I ended up buying tons of fabric and having clothing made. There are many tailors who will make custom clothing. My favorite red dress was made to order from a beautiful sheer red Indian sari lined with red satin.