Egypt and Bahrain

monneary · Post by **monneary** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:31 pm

Does anyone know if 18, 500 English pounds is a good salary for Cairo? Has anyone heard of the Private girls school on Bahrain? S..Hessa Girls School?

PsyGuy · Post by **PsyGuy** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:02 pm

If thats per month thats an AMAZING salary, id even apply for that kind of money. If its per year in Cairo, its very very low. You wouldnt be able to do anything on that kind of money. With a housing package you would even have a hard time getting by. Youd have to live like a homebody

monneary · Post by **monneary** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:14 pm

Its per year...and it's bad? Oh..Thats too bad. It's tax free and of course the housing is not counted into that. The Headmaster said it seems low but one can save a lot????

PsyGuy · Post by **PsyGuy** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 4:47 pm

Well of course you "can" save a lot, dont spend any money!!!

So take your 18500Â£ salary and annualize it thats 1541Â£ a month. Here are some Average costs in Brittish Pounds (GBP):

Restaurants:

Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 4.22Â Â£
Meal for 2, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 19.34Â Â£
Combo Meal at McDonalds or Similar 3.36Â Â£
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught) 1.76Â Â£
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) 2.94Â Â£
Cappuccino (regular) 1.52Â Â£
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle) 0.38Â Â£
Water (0.33 liter bottle) 0.16Â Â£

Markets:

Milk (regular), 1 liter 0.70Â Â£
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) 0.87Â Â£
Eggs (12) 1.04Â Â£
Fresh Cheese (1kg) 4.60Â Â£
Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1kg) 3.17Â Â£
Apples (1kg) 1.27Â Â£
Oranges (1kg) 0.51Â Â£
Potato (1kg) 0.32Â Â£
Lettuce (1 head) 0.13Â Â£
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 0.31Â Â£
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 7.45Â Â£
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 1.05Â Â£
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) 1.66Â Â£
Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro) 1.36Â Â£

Transportation:

One-way Ticket (local transport) 0.21Â Â£
Monthly Pass 3.49Â Â£
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 0.30Â Â£
Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) 0.25Â Â£
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 1.52Â Â£
Gasoline (1 liter) 0.21Â Â£

Utilities:

Basic (Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment 23.46Â Â£
1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) 0.03Â Â£
Internet (6 Mbps, Flat Rate, Cable/ADSL) 27.37Â Â£

Sports And Leisure:

Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 27.36Â Â£
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 6.34Â Â£
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 3.36Â Â£

Clothing And Shoes:

1 Pair of Levis 501 (Or Equivalent) 58.65Â Â£
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 45.97Â Â£
1 Pair of Nike Shoes 75.03Â Â£
1 Pair of Men Leather Shoes 69.75Â Â£

What do you think can you live off that?

IAMBOG · Post by **IAMBOG** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:16 pm

That comes out to about US$29,500, which is a decent salary in Cairo. There are schools that pay more, but there are way more schools that pay less.

My partner and I earn slightly more than that (+ flights, accom. and medical). We go on vacation three times a year, live well in Cairo and send home US$30,000 a year between us (we send home one salary).

PsyGuy · Post by **PsyGuy** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:23 pm

So one person on one salary would break about even? Where is the savings again?

IAMBOG · Post by **IAMBOG** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:30 pm

Actually we are four people (two kids), living quite well on one salary and sending home the other. We don't skimp in any way.

I have been offered jobs here in other schools, but I would have taken a massive pay cut. One reasonably well known school was offering 14,000 UK Pounds, the other was offering US$23,000. I know another well known Brit school pays about 15,000 UK Pounds. Yes, a few schools pay much more, but most don't.

US$29,500 is a decent net salary. You could do far worse.

PsyGuy, you need to check your math.

PsyGuy · Post by **PsyGuy** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:56 pm

Ok wheres the math wrong you have two salaries, one you send home which means you live (well you claim) on a single salary, my assumption is that you spend that salary?

So if we cut one of those salaries (for one person), and you maintain the same lifestyle, you dont really have anything left?

PsyGuy · Post by **PsyGuy** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:17 am

I think your math might be the fuzzy one. The initial cost is always the most, the incremental cost is actually very small. I family of 4 has a cost ration of 1.8, not 4 (it doesnt cost 4 times the costs of a single person to raise a family of 4). For instance it costs the same amount of electricity to heat the water heater and keep it hot for 1 person as it does for 4.

PsyGuy · Post by **PsyGuy** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:58 am

More yes, but not considerably, that's why the incremental cost factor for a family of four is just under 2.

IAMBOG · Post by **IAMBOG** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:01 am

Single teachers who have been here three years (so are on about $3000 or $4000 more than me) report savings of $24,000 minus costs of any vacations (which is variable of course).

Utilities cost a max of $60 a month including satellite TV and internet. A minimal amount. My cell phone costs me about $8 a month.

We live in a nice 3 bed apartment overlooking landscaped gardens.

We order out three or four times a week and go out most weekends. We will have been on vacation three times this school year come spring break.

Anyway you look at it, it's a good place to save.

As mentioned it's not the best salary in Egypt, but you realise, when speaking to teachers from other schools, that we are doing quite nicely.

markholmes · Post by **markholmes** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:58 am

[quote="PsyGuy"]If thats per month thats an AMAZING salary, id even apply for that kind of money. If its per year in Cairo, its very very low. You wouldnt be able to do anything on that kind of money. With a housing package you would even have a hard time getting by. Youd have to live like a homebody[/quote]

You would definitely not have a hard time living on that. It's not a stunning salary, but it definitely isn't 'very, very low' (low starts around UKP12,000 from what I can figure out - even on that you could have a good life, but not much scope for savings). Life would be good there on 18,500 pounds and there would be plenty of opportunity for savings.

monneary · Post by **monneary** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:01 pm

Wow, I think I started quite a debate on if its livable or not as a salary. I will definitely take all this under consideration. Thanks for all the info, keep it coming!! How about nice flats, in the Maadi area or what?