Hi friends! Today, I’m talking about 4 things I would have loved before returning and moving to Africa.
We have lived in Abidjan for six months and there are certain things that I would have liked someone to tell me before we returned to Abidjan. So today I am sharing them with you.
1. Moving to Africa, You Have to Be Ready to Have Frequent Power Cuts
The first thing to know if you’re moving to Africa is the electricity problem.
Frequent power outages
When I used to live in Abidjan, in my youth, power cuts only happened when the electricity bill was not paid on time. Other than that, we never had any electrical issues.
But since we got back, I can easily say that at least once a week, if not more, there are power outages in the neighborhood. We currently live in the commune of Cocody. And every week there is at least one power cut. Sometimes it takes a few minutes. Sometimes it lasts several hours.
So you have to plan a bit around that.
How to limit the impact of these electrical outages on daily life?
I don’t know how it is in other African countries. But, if you return to Côte d’Ivoire and you are planning to start a business, you have to plan for possible power outages.
For example, I am a pharmacist by training, but I also work with health companies as a freelance writer. So I’m on my computer a lot. And without electricity, writing can get complicated. I have to make sure that my laptop always has enough charge. Without electricity, there is no internet. So I have to have a mobile internet connection that is charged at all times.
Regarding household appliances, it is more practical to take a gas stove, rather than an electric stove. Besides, gas is cheaper than electricity, so it also helps with the budget.
For certain appliances such as the fridge, you may need to connect them to electrical surge protectors. They can protect your appliances from power surge problems when the power comes back after a power outage.
Some people choose to buy generators. We don’t have any because it’s quite expensive.
But it is also a possibility. For example, we have neighbors who, as soon as the power is cut, their generator takes over. It’s super practical, but you have to have the means to afford it.
2. Real Estate is Expensive So Plan a Good Budget when Moving to Africa!
The second thing I wish I had known before moving to Abidjan, is the high price of real estate in Abidjan.
I knew it wasn’t cheap, but I didn’t expect it to be as expensive as what we saw when we started looking for a house.
A real estate crisis in Ivory Coast
You should know that there is a real estate crisis in Abidjan. A lot of people are looking for housing. But there are not as many accommodations available.
So people who are renting or selling have the advantage over people who are looking for housing. The owners are the ones who decide the prices. It’s a seller’s market.
How I imagined moving to Africa would be
We had a budget of five hundred thousand francs (about $820) a month to rent in Abidjan. We quickly understood that in this budget, we were not going to have what we wanted.
In my mind, with five hundred thousand francs, we could have had a nice little house, 2-3 bedrooms, with a garden because it was important to us.
But the reality in Abidjan is that houses with gardens are quite difficult to find now. And also they are also quite expensive. You can always find them, but they’re more expensive.
What was finding a place in Abidjan really like
So, we finally rented a house at 700,000 CFA francs (~ $1150) per month with a garden, but much smaller than the one I had envisioned.
And our search for a house still took a long time.
By the way, I have two videos about our house search (Part 1 and Part 2). Do not hesitate to look if you are looking for housing in Abidjan. In these videos, I show what we have seen in our research and what you can find for a certain budget.
I also have another video that talks about the process of renting a house in Abidjan and one that details what papers you need to provide to rent a house in Abidjan.
3. No Need to Overload Your Suitcase with Clothes when Moving to Africa!
This point is more for parents and families who are moving to Africa.
The third thing I wish I had known when I was planning my move to Africa is that ready-to-wear clothes have become very affordable.
In Abidjan, there are plenty of affordable clothing store options for the whole family, especially for children.
Clothing stores are not as expensive as before
When my mother wanted to buy us clothes when I was younger, it was quite a process!
First, she bought the fabrics at the market. Then we chose the models we wanted. Then we had it sewn at the dressmaker. This process was cheaper than buying ready-to-wear clothes in stores.
If we wanted ready-to-wear clothes, we used to go to the market for second-hand clothes. Only for special occasions would the parents open the wallets to buy us brand new clothes, coming from an actual store.
So the idea I had in my head for clothing stores was that they were expensive, not budget-friendly.
Don’t be like me!
As a result, before moving to Abidjan, I stocked up on clothes for my daughter who is five years old. I told myself let’s bring back lots of clothes from the United States – since it costs less in the United States. And this way, I wasn’t going to worry about it once we got there.
But in fact, I was completely wrong because there are plenty of affordable brands for children in Abidjan. There is Kiabi which is there now, HA (a Tunisian brand), Gemo, and many others that I don’t necessarily know. There is also Number Uno which is also a super affordable store.
So I didn’t have to fill our suitcases with clothes. Basically, I feel like I wasted my precious airplane luggage space for nothing!
What should you put instead in your suitcases when moving to Africa?
What is much more expensive here are the toys, especially good quality ones. I find it extremely expensive compared to what I had access to in the United States. So, if you have children and you plan to return to Africa, I advise you to stock up on good-quality toys instead.
The shoes aren’t super affordable either. You can find cheap shoes but they will not necessarily be good quality.
4. Moving to Africa, You’ll have to get used to Mobile Money!
Another thing I wish I had known before moving back to Ivory Coast was how convenient mobile money was and how it could save me money and time!
Let me explain!
Here most of the money transactions are done with cash. However, there are always change problems. Sellers and businesses never seem to have the change.
And as a customer, you often find yourself leaving money with merchants. Or sometimes you have to buy something you didn’t necessarily need just to round up the amount of your purchase, or to make change.
Mobile money solves this problem.
What is mobile money?
It’s money that you carry in your mobile phone. This money is tied to your phone number. You can pay with this money. You can receive mobile money payments directly on your phone.
So, when a business accepts mobile payments, you can pay exactly what you owe, without having any change problems.
Where can you use mobile money?
Another convenience of mobile money is that it is accepted in many public and private services. So you can pay most of your bills with it (water, electricity, cable TV, road tolls…). You don’t have to go there and wait in line for hours to pay!
If I had known all the benefits of mobile money, I would have avoided a lot of hassle and wasted money right from the start!!
So here it is, a quick article to share with you the four things that I would have loved to know before moving to Africa.
I hope that helps.
And tell me if you moved to an African city lately, what would you have loved to know before moving?
Tell me everything by e-mail at backtotheotherland@gmail.com or by messaging me on Instagram @backtotheotherland!
Don’t hesitate to subscribe to my youtube channel and follow me on Instagram to follow the adventures of our multicultural family who decided to return to Africa!
