housing & living

Non-Kuwaiti nationals are not allowed to own property in Kuwait hence accommodation to expats is only in the form of rental apartments, floors or full villas. For short to medium term stays it's probably a good idea to look at furnished hotel apartments, or some of the furnished monthly rental boutique apartments. For longer term rentals you have a few more options, including (furnished, semi-furnished or unfurnished), villas, apartments, floors, studios or bachelor flats.

Properties close to the Persian Gulf are always very popular, but in reality you are never more than fifteen minutes away from the sea. Mind you, not all beaches are suitable for family fun, unlike the Mesilla Waterpark (photo above) which offers beachgoers clean sand and a lot of water activity for the kids. The Marina Crescent beach area is one of the best in the city.

"Serious" issues to consider when assessing your housing requirements should include:

	Always remember, you are not buying the house
	Distance or routes to work (see expat orientation maps)
	Distance to/from schools
	Complex, apartments, floors or villa (house)
	Hospital access
	Suburb
	Housing allowance (if provided by employer)
	What kind of furniture you may require (or are you shipping?)
	Temporary accommodation is available in the form of furnished apartments (fully or semi serviced)
	Traffic patterns around the main roads which you will be using during your stay.

"Not so serious" issues to consider when house hunting:

	If the rent is suitable and the unit is not too large, do not forget that you can repaint it yourself thereby getting your own paint/color scheme and textures.
	Furniture in general is not too expensive - if you stay realistic with your expectations.
	No need to buy all your furnishings all at once, be on the lookout for expats moving house or leaving Kuwait who are selling their house goods.
	Many buildings in Kuwait have rather small windows which obviously leaves it very dark inside even during daylight hours.
	Always check water flow, AC function and all light fittings.
	Confirm that your car's parking is actually in close proximity to the property.
	Don't be afraid to ask other well-settled expats for advise and tips - you may just hear of great properties coming up for rent!

TIP: Some properties offer great outside corners for the avid DIYer. This area on a roof used to be bare concrete - see what a few bricks, a lick of paint and some greenery can do!

Looking for good used household items, cars, health equipment, outdoors furniture?

Click the link and see what expats in Kuwait are selling right now!

 Keep the following in mind when you contact your local realtor or rental agent:

	Budget (monthly)
	Furnished or unfurnished
	Preferred area(s)
	How many bedrooms
	Special Requests
	When you'd like to move in

TIP: A great piece of kit for anybody who's got a roof over his or her head, who owns a vehicle, a bicycle etc.



Get yourself one of these brilliant handy man's toolkits from IKEA in Avenues Mall on 5th Ring Road. You'll be able to do 95% of all the basic fixes with this little gem. Last time we checked they were KD2-or-something. Bargain!
(in case you're wondering, "no" they're not paying us to say this!)

Typical forms of housing available in Kuwait are apartments, floors, or villas (houses are known as "villas" in Kuwait).

Studios           Apartment complexes

Furnished       Villas

Security         Parking

Mosque proximity: this should always be checked out before you make you final decision. Most expats do not have problems with aspect of Kuwait, but it could be that a mosque speaker that points in the wrong direction could be a nasty wake-up call to the unprepared.

 

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