Tell me more about being a single female in Kuwait!

dear KT, greetings and welcome to Expat.com. way to get ahead of the competition by finding out info one year in advance! hopefully it wont lose relevance too much,

kindly check thru the other posts in the forum for an idea about women in Kuwait, the topic has been discussed plenty of times from safety to dress code and even hair salon tips!

i discussed the issue in a recent post (here) on my blog, but like i said, sift thru the sands of this forum and be amazed at the gems of info you find from many lovely ladies that contributed to this query.

Thanks Legacy.
I've been looking through and reading a lot. So much to absorb! Observation: You seem like a very wise and articulate man. Thanks for posting so much advice

aww :$ KT ur making me blush.

i just like to help people is all. and also, i love writing so, win-win situation

That's awesome for all the people you help. Have you been in Kuwait long or moved there just recently?

Hi there

I moved to Kuwait 5months ago and I have also lived in Qatar for 2yrs. I think Kuwait is pretty safe for single women. It's like any place in the world you just need to use your common sense. If you are out and about at night just stick to lit areas. I thought I would be hounded by men but they leave you alone. Make sure you dress appropriately (cover shoulders and knees) then you are fine.

Any other questions about this let me know
Regards
Ally

Hi,
I've been living in Q8 since sept last yr and its not that strange a place afterall!! :p
I live with my husband (who is mostly away for weeks on oil field related work, hence I am no different than a single woman living here) and it feels safe living alone.. But it also depends on which area you choose to live in.. I live in an area full of expats and thr families, n its really nice and calm.. living in locals only area could get a little intimidating though (as per what I've heard from my frnz)..
And, as AllyBee mentioned, if one is dressed properly, and ofcourse is not messing around with the locals, then life gets much better here..
I like Q8, its safe for a woman to go out alone to shop or go to the malls n stuff.. Its very different than other middle-eastern countries..
I hope you like it here too :-)
Let us know if you need any help with anything..
Cheers!!

That's great, thank you both so much! Are either of you teachers?

Ur welcum! n yes, I teach kindergarten kids at a local Indian school here in Q8..

Kuwait is one of safest place for single ladies, absoultely correct, sometime you hear alot of problems that facing women in ME but is consider to be minor to what you hear somewhere else.

As AllyBee said, Make sure you dress appropriately (cover shoulders and knees) then you are fine.

Good Luck to you....

Yes i am a teacher, i teach Geography at High School level

Hey Kuwait is cool here. So don't worry to much just try to keep a Morden Dress about your self these people haves problem with starring at others in lust Hahaha you would think they would just say hi first.. Kuwait has a cast of people living here now so it's ok.. No drinking drugs. And stuff no clubs Hahaha.  But you can always travel to the neighboring country (; I've been here for 3 years now and it's ok

As the guys said kuwait is safe don't worry and also the people r nice and helpful

safety reasons its a safe country, you don't have to worry about that matter, but just as any other country you have to keep your self safe and be cautious.

Well there should be no issue for a Working Lady here in Kuwait..
If you are consedring for Kuwait I would say its fine decission.. There are lots of Working Lady doing good here. Let me know if you need any assistance..

Hey! I got an offer today for Kuwait also. I am considering it. I am middle eastern but I am also scared of making the move.  The gulf is definitely not the kind of scene that i usually fit in. I was born and raised around westerners. Ive been trying to find an opportunity in the US or Australia or basically anywhere but the gulf. I thought, worst case scenario id go for dubai as i think its a little more open minded that the rest. Anyway I'm perplexed. Single "westerner-ish" moving to kuwait… eek
When do you have to make the decision?

hello dear

kuwait is very social country and you will find a lot of nationalities you never saw all over in other country and i think you will like it


good luck

Thank you

From My experience as a single guy in Kuwait, I can tell you that being single has only one draw back, is that you will need to find or make friends very very soon as u get here cuz it can get pretty lonely

I was lucky that I already had many friends here so they made things much easier for me.

For a single girl who has no friends yet here, the most difficult task would be to find an apartment which is equally hard for single guys and girls, yet with persistence and some help from local newspapers you can find one..

you wont be harassed on the the streets if you keep a decent outfit, just a consideration for the middle eastern culture but all in all kuwait is a very modernized country where all people are generally safe

living in kuwait it's a little bit dangerous base on my personal experienced & i heard a lot of bad thing about that its too dangerous for the girl to go alone so personally i advice not to go alone  especially in the taxi.thanks..

its a pleasure to be a friend.. looking forward to hear from u soon

Hi there
I have just completed my sixth year in kuwait, and let me tell you... It's one of the safest places i ever lived in.
As long as you are properly dressed ( nothing provocative), you can go out even alone and late at night, no one is going to talk to you.
However, i also have to tell you that i always go out to crowded a alive places like salmiya, hawaly, shaab and all the malls. Maybe that's also the reason why i never really got any safety issues in kuwait.

Wish u best of luck nd pls dont hesitate to buzz me if u need any help or info or jst someone to share a cup of coffee with

One more thing, instead of catching a taxi from the street, i advise u to carry with u few numbers for taxi companies . U can call them like 10 mn before you are planning to go out or move from somewhere. It is safer than getting any taxi from the street.
I had to deal with taxis for years in kwt before i started to drive. i always called these taxi companies nd never had any issue. They are very safe. I can pass on to you their telephone numbers if you are interested.

the thing about taking taxis in kuwait is that times have changed; back in the 90s all taxis were call, you could not just hail a cab on the street. nowadays every aboud, hamoud and jassoom has a taxi "company" as they supposedly bring in a lot of money - the way it works is everyday you must pay the owner of the company 5KD (or whatever amount they set) and anything extra you keep for yourself.

in this regard, i much prefer taking taxis back home as the meters are properly running there, whereas here they can end up fleecing you for any amount they wish if you are unfamiliar with the rates.

try to go for a taxi company that has a switchboard, whilst in school i always used gulf shields, they were decent. plus if you should forget something in their car it is easy to retrieve.

all the best!

not bad

Hi did you make the move and how is it? Would you advise a single male to move out there?

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on the lifestyle in Kuwait for a single female (late twenties) living in Kuwait.
Is it relatively easy to make friends, other expats?
Any information and advice will be appreciated, I'm moving in one month.
I've lived in Bangkok the past 2 years, so it'll be a change for sure!

ZanaR19,

Lifestyle is rather difficult specially at the beginning of your life in here. You would get to used with situation time when time flies, and it will be easy for you if you are optimistic.

It is not easy to make friend initially, and with time you will be success. Try to find activities like sports, dance, parties, clubs, etc. then you will increase your networking. Even you can find good friend from this forum.

Since you lived in Bangkok, the things will be completely opposite here. So prepare for worst then things will get easy for the life.

Good luck!

I beg to differ. I have friends here in Kuwait who have been only for a month and they are having a BLAST. This past month I have been active with at least a hundred people and there are many more activities down the line.

Some of the activities are public, others are for small groups but in general it is easy (IMHO) to socialize. If you get to meet some nice people, things will be great I believe.

Well  Kuwait is traditional, male dominant society, and a third world nation, but anything and everything that happens in any country happens here just a bit more discreet.  Kuwaiti seem to respect, help, and treat with courtesy inhabitants from countries which they consider more advanced that Kuwait; i.e. US, UK, Canada, Australia etc (Europe and US).

There are corruptions like in any developing country, a system of "wasta" in which if you know someone influential you can get things done.

Females; I will recommend dressing conservative, don't become a victim of opportunity and be aware of your surroundings like you would have done in any other places.  In another words just be street smart.  Dont go to any place that you are not familiar, dont go alone until you know you way around, dont accept ride from strangers, if it doesn't feel right then it is not right...

Driving is really chaotic here...

Most of my experiences in Kuwait has been ok, in some occasion Kuwaitis go out of their way to assist. Country is full of contrast, i recalled one day I wanted to take a taxi to work, while i was negotiating the price with the taxi driver a police cruiser came over and after checking my documents, (by the way they were courteous with me but very rude and disrespectful to the taxi driver, i felt awkward), they took to me to work.

The original posting is a little old, but it seems as though people are still reading it... ...in answer to the subject, I would think being a single female expat in this region of the world would be ok only in context to where your from and what your doing (and sometimes how you carry yourself). 

I personally have issues with ‘class' driven cultures… yes, they're generally respectful to westerners… but as tai mentioned, it's a “really” awkward moment when someone is treating you differently then someone else in your presence and you know it's simply based on a cultural or class driven bias or for racist / sexist / nationalistic / social-economic motives.  It's a subject that tends to upset me more than blatant street level corruption.

There are a lot of positive points to being in ‘Kuwait specifically'… but at times, I just want to crawl under a rock! 

I hope everyone is having a good day! 

(I had a much longer post written-up... but after rereading, I thought it too negative, and I decide to just keep it short)

Good day All

I think justfedup's statements, "Some of the activities are public, others are for small groups but in general it is easy (IMHO) to socialize. If you get to meet some nice people, things will be great I believe" sums up socializing in Kuwait. 

It is getting to know people which could be very difficult.  Coupled with that few things are public and most occur in small groups. Once you are in the know, as justfedup appears, things are good. Once you are not, like many of us, things are not.

The single Thai women here complain that they get so much advances (generally poor quality if not downright rude) that they hardly attempt socializing. Male female ratios are significantly skewed. For the single female it may be a little rough socializing but many people wants to be around you.

I just moved here to Kuwait for about 1 month now.  I have not been able to meet anyone people here.  I have been having issues with the language barrier.  For some reason not many people here speak English, I was very surprised when I arrived.  I joined this blog because it has been really difficult for me adjusting to living here in the middle east. Any advice on how to meet people here.  I am a single woman and am alone in this country.

jcarrillo47 wrote:

I just moved here to Kuwait for about 1 month now.  I have not been able to meet anyone people here.  I have been having issues with the language barrier.  For some reason not many people here speak English, I was very surprised when I arrived.  I joined this blog because it has been really difficult for me adjusting to living here in the middle east. Any advice on how to meet people here.  I am a single woman and am alone in this country.

Jcarrill, There are so many activities going on Kuwait where lot of expats as well as Kuwaities participating. Some of them are sporty events some as social meetings. I would recommend you to join Toastmasters movement, where you will get great opportunities to meet many people (expats & locals) and improve yourself in 3 main objectives...

or you can check this site. www.meetup.com theres alot of group you can join there depending on your interests. hope you'll enjoy your stay here. have fun! ^__^

or you can check this site. www.meetup.com theres alot of group you can join there depending on your interests. hope you'll enjoy your stay here. have fun! ^__^
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Well said..

Hey, you will get used to it slowly.
Try to learn a bit of Arabic

Great

Make some nice and good friends.
This is nice place to enjoy...