I have received many emails from around the world, mostly from people wishing to take up a job in Bahrain, asking me about the living conditions in Bahrain. Initially the volume of emails I used to receive was like one or two in a week. At that time I used to reply individually to them. But now, the volume has increased and it has become difficult for me to respond to each of them - as a matter of fact, the first email which I shoot to them will have only the basic information. So I thought why not, write an article on this topic. Finally I decided to dedicate some time for this task, which I believe will be helpful to many.
A word of caution
I am neither a professional writer nor an expert to comment about 'Living in Bahrain'. All I am doing here is to share with the public what I know about Bahrain. I am just giving my opinion. Bottom line - You should not take this blog as the final word. Do more research and decide by yourself.
Kingdom of Bahrain - is a small but beautiful island country with 1,234,596 inhabitants (2010), located near the western shores of the Persian Gulf and ruled by the Al-Khalifa royal family. While Bahrain is an archipelago of thirty-three islands, the largest (Bahrain Island) is 55 KM long by 18 KM wide.
Queries which I receive the most
Hello, I have received an offer to work in Bahrain, from ABC Company and the offer is BD 900 per month. How much is the expense and how much can i save?
Well I cannot give you an exact answer for a question like this. All I can tell you is about the expense for your basic requirements to live in Bahrain.
Flat:
A single bedroom flat will cost you around BD 130 - BD 140 per month depending on the location. Usually you can find one in Gudabiya, which is thickly populated by expats. Gudabiya is a good pick if you are supposed to work in & around Manama. If you are going to work in places like Sitra, Riffa etc then I will suggest to look for a flat in Riffa. Rent will be almost the same.
A 2 bedroom flat will cost you around BD 200 - BD 220 per month. Again the same locations I mentioned. If you are lucky you will get a semi furnished flat - with AC's & Curtains.
Electricity & Water
Electricity & Water is cheap. But, yes I said But! You have to pay 10% of the rent as tax to the municipality along with the Electricity & Water Bill. Your tariff for electricity & water will be something around BD 2 - BD 3 per month. You will endup paying BD 3 + 10% of the rent. Say for example, if the rent in BD 200 per month for the flat, then in summer you will end paying 20 + 3 (BD 23) per month. In winter the electricity consumption goes down a bit so you may be paying BD 22.
Telephone & Internet - 3 different operators - Batelco, Zain & Menatelecom.
BatelcoThe state-owned telecom company - Batelco provides landlines. They will ask for a deposit if you need outgoing facility. If you are looking only for incoming calls & a DSL line, then you can get a package for BD 10 per month. Batelco claims to give you a 256 kbps connection. They have a fair usage policy which says you can use upto 2 GB per month, and once you eats up your 2GB then they reduce both the upload & download speed. The quality of internet from Batelco is pathetic at any given day.
Zain
They are reasonably good, but they ask for a 18 months contract. Breach of contract makes you liable to pay for the Customer Premise Equipment and other stuffs. Internet speed is OK. You can make free calls from Zain to Zain too. Monthly rent is bit higher compared to Batelco and also depends on the internet package you opt for.
Menatelecom
This is like a device which you can carry around and plug to power and telephone and you are ready to go. Again there is a contract for 18 months. You have to pay the equipment cost once you discontinue it before end of contact. Internet quality is good. Rent is higher. Unlimited package is very costly. Fair usage policy is available. Telephone quality is very bad. They are good at burning a hole in your pocket.
Mobile
After air to breathe, food & water, the next most important thing is a mobile phone. Three operators - Batelco, Zain & Viva. Batelco & Zain used to make good money until Viva entered the market. My recommendation is to go for Viva. You will be happy. Go for the post-paid package of BD 10 per month. You will get 500 minutes a month. Balance is not carry forwarded.
Food
Vegetable - BD 4 -6
Indian Vegetable - BD 8 - BD 10 per KG
Fruits - BD 5 to BD 20 (depends on the fruit)
Site Seeing & Other Fun Stuff
There are couple of good places to see. But trust me, you need only 3 or 4 days for site seeing. There are cinema halls, where you can watch all English, Hindi & Malayalam movies. Dont know the fare, as I am not a big fan of watching movie at a Cinema Hall.
Dine-Out
You will find a variety of restaurants. You will be quite amazed to know that this little island is home for hell a lot of restaurants with differnet cusines. A Family of 4 can eat at a good indian restaurant for BD 15 (depends on the dish they order). Garden restaurant situated at Juffair is a good one to name. The serve hot & fresh food.
Thank You
Thank you very much for reading this. If you have more questions, please feel free to drop in an email at adsl.jalawiah@gmail.com. As I get time, I promise to come up with more information about bahrain
