Culture and crime rate in mauritius

Dear tarunhshah, there is something missing in your message. Maybe "Hello" or "thanks" ?

Makes one wonder. In the era of the Internet, one can find all pertinent info of some of these questions on the net before making or deciding on the big move but .....................

Dear Tarunhshah,

In case you did not notice, this forum is a friendly one with expats finding some time to help other expats. So a minimum of courtesy is required. Do not expect anyone to reply to your questions. It is very offensive to post a topic like you did.

Melissa

Hi Tarunhshah,

Not sure why people are so "offended" by your interest in Mauritius.  Okay, so you didn't say "hi" or "thanks"  but you didn't use any actual "offensive" language or make any "offensive" comments, but simple neglected to provide a salutation whether on purpose or not we do not know so being rude back to Tarunhshah is not the appropriate response either....

So anyway, back to your questions:

01 working days time in mauratiaus (5 days week / 6 days week)

It can be 5 days or 6 days depending on the job / industry.  I know many people that work corporate jobs that are Monday - Friday.  I also know of others that work in the hospitality industry (hotels, bars and restaurants) for instance as well as some jobs in retail and others that are required to work 6 days a week.

02 crime rate

From personal experience, I find the crime rate to be quite low and have not once feared for my safety or have ever really given any serious thought towards crime here.  I do not know what the actual "figures" are, but from personal experience as well as from what I hear from friends and colleagues and from what I read in the local press, it is very low compared to many other countries.

Most of the crimes I do hear about are "crimes of opportunity" meaning someone leaves something in sight that is of value unattended whether it's in their car or on a veranda table or similar type of situation and a person walking by see its, and may or may not normally be a criminal, grabs it and is away.  There are people that will also target homes to burgle, but again, if you make yourself an easy target you will become an easy target.

Most of the crime is petty theft that you will hear about or may be unlucky enough to experience and can be avoided by using some common sense such as not leaving anything of value in sight, locking doors and windows of your home and vehicle, etc.  I have been living in Mauritius for over two years and have not had any bad experiences personally, but I know of others that have.

03 culture

I have found Mauritians to be quite friendly and welcoming from the first day I arrived on the island.  I have lived/worked on four different continents and have traveled extensively all around the world and find Mauritians to be some of the friendliest people I have encountered.

As a way of example, after 5 weeks living in Mauritius I had a bigger and closer circle of local friends than I did after living in London for 5 years.  This isn't to say that the British are not friendly and outgoing, but as a culture I have found Mauritians to be more open and outgoing straight away than their British counterparts.

That being said, your experiences may differ and will be largely determined on the effort you make to meet locals and how you interact with them and your friendliness towards them as well.

04 is vegetarian food is amply available ?

There are many vegetarians living on the island and have made that choice for both religious as well as personal reasons.  The quality of the fruits and vegetables on the island can be less than ideal from time to time in the regular grocery stores and so I would recommend that you also get to know the local food markets as a source as well.  The prices in the local markets are can be better as well.

Hi all and bunkoma

first of all i am sorry for mistake that i have done . actually befor i conclude typing in my initial query by mistake i clicked POST and hence msg was half.

thank you for bringing to my notice.

information given by bunkoma is really helpful and have cleared many many doubts .

thanks alot.

bunkoma wrote:

Hi Tarunhshah,

Not sure why people are so "offended" by your interest in Mauritius.  Okay, so you didn't say "hi" or "thanks"  but you didn't use any actual "offensive" language or make any "offensive" comments, but simple neglected to provide a salutation whether on purpose or not we do not know so being rude back to Tarunhshah is not the appropriate response either....

Well excuses us for offending you.... You are new on the island as per your own post but two of the three posters are Mauritians and the third one is "progressively une mauricienne d'adoption". May be the word "taboo" is not in your lingo but there are certain topics that are not discussed in public w/o any background info of why the poster wants answers on these topics .

It is assumed that the OP is looking forward to come to the island  -however this is 2010 not 1970 when the country started welcoming different  companies or institutions. There are plenty of  info out there starting from the CIA report to the Commonwealth or UN or WEF studies to get a grasp of the island and its inhabitants.  If he needs more clarification then he could have put his inquiries in a more subtle way . 
BTW: there is a function for editing a post - so a mishap can be rectified pronto.

Enjoy your stay on the island and also be advised  that some topics are better queried in a "diplomatic way"  in Mauritius. I understand that it's been only 5 weeks and  rest assured there are plenty to learn about .

External...

Actually, I've been living in Mauritius for nearly 3 years, am engaged to a Mauritian and have been living more of a Mauritian lifestyle than an expat one since my arrival on the island so I feel like I have a good grasp of what is and isn't "taboo" to be talked about on the island.  I do not think anything he asked about (work days, crime, culture and food) was out of line and are things most people (locals and expats) either commonly talk about themselves or would want to know if they had never been to Mauritius.

Granted, he could of said "hello" and "thanks" and he even readily admitted as much and apologized.  Obviously English is not his first language so some leeway should be allowed given the situation.

This forum is for people to ask questions and share their experiences.  If you do not like the questions or the format they are asked, then why don't you move on to the next thread instead of being an ass and not offering anything helpful to the situation?

At least the others that responded were able to provide insight in to the culture even without directly answering his questions and offered something that added value to the conversation....

May be instead of INSULTING strangers on an IBB  , you should take a civility course. May be this type of language is appropriate in your country of origin I have lived in Mauritius more yrs than you do and I believe that I know more about what it has going through through its short history.  You are the only one who gave a response to his queries on this thread btw

Hi all,

This site is a platform of exchange and not meant for personal insult.

Kindly get back on track.

Thanks.

Hi and thank you (just so that nobody feels offended !

1. Most companies expect you to work Monday - Saturday, but at Saturday you finish at noon.

2. As a foreigner you will be safe, most crimes take part within the families/couples. Passion crimes are common.

3. Mauritius doesn't have only one culture since there are so many different etnical groups sharing the island. Different groups have different cultures. However, religion is very important to most Mauritians .

4. Yes.

Bunkoma: You seem like a great person, keep on posting!