Relocating to tunisia

Buz Bee -

I have lived here in La Marsa for three months. My daughter married a Tunisian but they live in Paris. To answer your questions, some of them:

The summer, now, is hot but not unbearable. You may find a place to live with air conditioning. The first floor is best as you do not have the sun on your roof.

The "winter" is considered by Tunisians as "cold" but my daughter says they are like a "balmy spring day" in Colorado. It does have some rain during the winter.

Tunis is a very busy and cosmopolitan city. I am sure there are nice quiet neighborhoods. I live in La Marsa which is a sea-side town and very quiet. Some people live here and commute to work in Tunisia on the "lite-rail" called TMG.

I have heard that schools here, even private ones, are not very good. That is, they do not teach "critical thinking" much. Many Tunisian children go to Paris for high school and University.

If you have a young family then you will want to live where it is quiet. I live very close to the beach and close to the French Ambassadors residence (you can see it on a map) and it has a lot of traffic and noise.

The more you can pay, the better living conditions. You really need to take a Tunisian with you to negotiate your housing as all non-Tunisian's are considered "wealthy" and you will pay more. Everything you buy must be negotiated.

There is Monoprix and many other local markets. You will find that society is around the family and not casual friends. Almost everyone speaks French but Arabic is used among Tunisians.

Feel free to ask me other questions I might answer,

Patrick

Hey Ptrick, thank you very much for the reply. have few more doubts.

how about the driving license? traffic rules? is it a safe place for drivers?

how about taxes? i heard they applu income tax and foreign transfer tax. is that correct?

thanks a lot

About taxes: I do not know. I am from the United States and only pay US taxes on my income. You could contact your embassy for information:

Lebanon Embassy , Tunisia
Les Berges du Lac 2045
Tunis
Tunisia
Phone:
+216-1-960-540
+217-1-960-420
Fax:
+216-1-960001
Email:
[email protected]

Driver's license: I do not know.
I have heard that you must provide information to receive one; do you have an International Driver's license? I do not have a car and do not need one as I use public transportation to Tunis and around the country when I travel. Once again, ask your embassy.

Traffic:Traffic is very lax. No traffic police. Streets are often old in the city and slow to drive around. Tunisian driver's are not as bad as Kuwait but more like Romans, they "slide" through stop signs and go faster than the rules. Like France, they use round-abouts here and there and sometimes the traffic is crazy. Pedestrians must be "aware." Highways are OK. Taxi's are everywhere and very inexpensive.

Feel free to contact me when you move if you need a local contact for anything. There is Carrefour in Carthge too. In general Tunisians are very, very nice people.

Patrick

Here is a good video, mostly in Tunis, showing driving a car in traffic. The video is speeded-up, a little fast, for some reason:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QcIE6giNdg

thanks patrick, much much appreciated

OK. My email is [email protected] and my facebook is patrick d. batchelder if that helps communication in the future.

Hello Buz,

And welcome to Tunisia. For the driving licence, you can here without any problem. if you gonna stay over a year, then you should change with a Tunisian driving licence in the MINE (ministry of transport) Are you going to live in Tunis or another city? Enjoy...

Hi,
1- Seasons (I cannot give a better answer than Patrick )
2- Can UAE driving license be applicable? Yes, I am using an Abu Dhabi driving license when I drive in Tunisia.
3- When the School will start. Beginning of september. There are many private schools. Usually expats put their kids in Carthage International school located near "La Marsa" and "Les berges du lac"  or the French school with 2 schools in Tunis, 1 in "La Marsa" and 1 in "Mutuelle ville"
4- a good place to live. La Marsa, Gammarth, Le Lac de Tunis, El Menzah, Ennasr, Mutuelleville.
5- Transportation. It is better to have your own car. There are taxis with meters. Buses are not really reliable.
6- any income tax? Yes, it is not like UAE.

Btw, I find driving much more safer in Tunis and Tunisia than in Lebanon.