Moving to Bahrain from Canada- Expat feedback

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Toti86 New member

Member since 09 January 2025

Toti86New member10 January 2025 15:26:15

Hi! My husband is originally from Bahrain but has been living abroad for many many years. I've visited a couple times and now, due to personal reasons, we're planning on relocating to Bahrain with our 2 year old son. I wanted to ask for honest feedback on what is worth shipping and what not., etc. The feedback I get from his family is from people who have lived there all their lives, but I'm more interested in knowing an expats point of view on different topics:

Shipping personal items- Is it worth shipping our cars, household items, small appliances or even my Le Creuset pots?
Jobs- How is the job market there for Expats? I plan on enrolling in an Arabic course when I arrive by my knowledge of Arabic is cero.
Daycare/Nursey- My son is currently attending daycare. I've started researching but it seems in Bahrain most facilities are more of a school than daycare. Here he attends 5 days a week, 8am to 4pm and they provide food for them. How do working parents manage over there?
Allergies- My son has peanut and tree nut allergy, which makes me nervous. In Canada they're pretty good with labeling peanut free foods and at restaurants the same. Also, daycares have a Peanut Free policy which gives me peace of mind. Is there any awareness of Peanut allergy in Bahrain? Use of Epipen, etc?

Thanks in advance for any input...I want to be as informed as I can be before I arrive.

XTang Bahrain/UAE/Saudi Arabia Expert

Member since 22 April 2014

XTangBahrain/UAE/Saudi Arabia Expert12 January 2025 08:15:38

11859

1) There is no point shipping cars at all. Here all the cars are GCC specs i.e. they are rated to survive in this heat. Yours wont. Also no point in shipping appliances - buy from here as required

2) Depends on the field but Bahrain is a very small market and there are qualified locals available for most jobs (preferred) so it can be very tough to find a good job for an expat

3) They do nursery option vs. day care. Or have live in maids who look after kids when they are at work or family members. Day care is not really big in this part of the world

4) Epi pen is available of course but labelling / awareness is limited

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