Hi All,
This is for all who are planning to come to Ghana or just landed. For me I landed here from India almost 3 months back. As I am from India I had lot of inhibition about coming to Africa, but like all, I thought lets take the challenge. On the contrary I would say Ghana accepted me with open arms. There were challenges, but you tell me isn't it challenging for you, if you are moving from your own house to another place in your own country also.
So let me share my experience and describe certain challenges I faced here:-
1. House: If your company get the house for you, then this area will not interest you. But for my company, I was the first expat, so I had to find the house by myself (though company would pay for it). Getting a house with a tight budget is really difficult task. Try to get house from your local contacts or contact directly through agents. Ghanafind.com and tonaton.com are two sites that might help you. Since you are an expat always try to go for fully furnished or self-contained house. The house rent can be anything between USD 800 to 1200 for 1 BHK or studio, USD 1500 to USD 4000 for 2 BHK or 3 BHK. Obviously it depends what kind of house you want to live-in. One thing must be mentioned here, the houses in Accra are really beautiful, if you can spend money. The posh locations are Osu, North Ridge, Trassaco, Some areas of East Legon, Airport Residential Area.
2. Conveyance: It is a must must & must to have your own car. If you have not landed in Accra yet, do negotiate with your company for a car. Taxis are plenty but they do not run on meter. If they understand that you don't know the place where you are going then they will charge exorbitantly. Say a 2 Km distance can be charged 10 GHS, while the rate should not be more than 4 - 5 GHS. For long distance approximately you can take the charge as 1.5 - 2 GHS per km. The other mode is Totro. It is a 15 seater small van. they are also available and travels in fixed routes. You can avail this service once you know the roads of Accra. But my advise, not to venture with it, unless you are comfortable with Accra Roads. It is very cheap. Say for a distance of 20 Km Totro will charge maximum 2 GHS, wherein the taxi may charge you 40 GHS. But also note, there is no board or number written on the Totro to know the route. The helper will shout for the destination and you need to catch that.
3. Banking: Many foreign banks are there in Accra like Standard Chartered, Barclays, Stanbic etc. For Indians, Bank of Baroda is there, and if you want to transfer money to India, their charges are minimum. They transfer in the IFSC platform so, the transfer will be fast and secured.
4. Food & Restaurants: I am personally not a foody and do not like local foods. When I was in Hotel, I found some Indian Restaurants. Noble House - Osu & East Legon, Kohinoor - Osu, Khana Khajana - Adabraca, Veda - Spintex Road. There is another named Tandoor, but I yet to visit that. In Khana Khajana, you will also find South Indian Food. There is also a small joint in Sneda Shopping Mall in Spintex Road, there you can get Indian Snacks. for burger lovers, KFC is there but no McDonalds.
5. Indian Shop: Saagar in Osu. It is 100% Indian shop. You can get almost all brands of India. Apart from that, Melcom and Sneda shopping malls are owned by Indians, so here you can find some Indian brands and food items according to Indian tastes.
6. Malls: There are many malls in Accra. The biggest is Accra Mall. Apart from that you can find Melcom, Koala, Marina, Shoprite.
7. Beaches: I have been to two beaches till now, one in Accra which is Labadi and one little far from Accra downtown is Bojo. Bojo beach has white sand and its comparatively less crowded than Labadi.
8. Cost of Living: Cost of living is high here and everyday the exchange rate is falling. On 1st December 2013, 1 USD = 2.2 GHS, but on say 25th February 2014, the rate has gone up to 1 USD = 2.5 GHS. Another bad news, if you have a USD account also in Ghana, the bank will not give you USD currency. They will give you money in GHS. This is a recent notification issued by government.
9. Security: Ghana is most secured country in Africa. you can go out in night also. But being an expat, my only advise, if you have to go out or return at night, do it, once you are comfortable with the roads or take help from a local acquaintances. Does arm robbery happens?? I heard it happens, but the rate is not that high compared to many countries.
10. People: Most of the Ghanian are friendly & courteous. However, be careful on lending money. Also do note, those who are unemployed, will always want you to spend money on them or buy stuffs. Be careful on that front. Its difficult to believe for many of us, if you take somebody for dinner, he / she may order something at the end, just to carry that back home.
Lot of writing for today. If anybody has got any question, please do write, I will try to answer if I can.
Debasish
(From Kolkata, India - Now living in Accra)
This is for all who are planning to come to Ghana or just landed
Hi debasishchat,
Welcome to Expat.com and thank you a lot for these useful information that you posted here. 
Please note that the information that you listed seems to be so important that i created a new thread with it on the Ghana forum.
Thank you a lot for your help. 
Priscilla
Expat.com team
Thank you for all that I information on Ghana
Well written...
[Moderated: off topic]
Thnks it helped..m
HI,
I am coming to GHANA on 22 july and need to take rented 1 bhk furnished apartment in Accra.
Can I cook myself ? Is it feasible ?
Please reply ASAP.
Regards,
Abhishek
Yes, I'm sure your apartment will have cooking facilities
Hi, Thank,you so much for the plethora of information.my plan is to move to Ghana next year. I want to take care of as much business as I can before I arrive. I currently live in NYC and will not be looking for work upon my arrival. it,is my plan to retire and live in Ghana. I would not mind doing volunteer work with the educational system as I hold Doctorate, and a Master's Degree in Teaching English Tom,Speakers Of,Other Languages. Looking to reside in the Eastern Legion. What is your estimate of a monthly allowance. I want a furnished house apartment not quite sure yet. I am looking for peace and tranquility. I recently returned from Ghana in February and was quite impressed with the lifestyle.
You didn't speak about health care . I,would like to,know if you have encountered any problems. I want to reside in an area where expats live. I would,appreciate any information that you can give regarding life in Ghana. it will be very helpful when possible to quote prices in US. currency so that I can get a better vision . thanks
if you are coming to Ghana and you want to know more about here or how you can safetly just contact me, I will give you every information you need for free. Im ghanaian boy
my email:[email protected] , contact me through that...you are always welcome....thanks
Do you want to reside in Eastern Region as that will make a big difference to your budget? To live in Accra in an expat area you are looking at around $2000+ per month, it will be much cheaper in Eastern region in terms of accommodation costs. Remember that you will have to pay for the accommodation for the year before you move in.
You will find adequate health care in Accra and compared to America it is probably cheaper but you will need some form of health insurance for emergency care and repatriation for more serious complaints.
For a better idea on housing costs look at accraexpat.com
After accommodation living costs will depend on your lifestyle. I would think at the present exchange rate you could manage to live quite well on $1000 a month
Dear Expert and Debashish,
I will be moving to Ghana next year. My kid will be 4 by then. Please do suggest me a medium spend school with international curriculam.
Sudeep
I need someone to put me through in Ghana.I'm from Nigeria.Accomodation is the problem i'm having
If you are coming to Ghana and you want to learn any Ghana language you can contact me. I will help you with any gh language u want to know thanks
If your child is 4 then you will have a lot of options. You will have to decide on the amount you have available for education and I am sure you will find something suitable in your area. Look on accraexpat.com for information on schools
If you are coming to Ghana and you want to learn any Ghana language you can contact me. I will help you with any gh language u want to know thanks, my email: [email protected], whatsapp +233544885447
I want to live in the Eastern Legion. I also want to live in an expat community. I have a monthly budget of $7,000 USD plus. I trust that this budget will allow me live comfortably. Can you suggest some areas. I will need accommodations for a single person, but want at least two to three bedrooms. I appreciate any information that you can provide me with. Thanks.
I have no idea where Eastern Legion is. In Ghana one area is called Eastern Region. One area of Accra is East Legon.
You should have enough money to live comfortably. Look on accraexpat.com as that has real estate and also advice on finding property in Accra
I suggest the ashanti region for you,i was born here nd hve being here for all my life, for more information email [email protected] or whatsapp 0544885447
Thank you for your information.
hello..
Am Ahmed from India just planning to go to Ghana , i have got an offer from an reputed company who is offering me offshore savings apart from that local 900usd with furnished accommodation, car, driver etc can u please advice me is this local 900 usd can i have n comfortable life style for single person or do i need to have lots of compromising.
how about Indians living in Ghana , security, Islamic Mosques , do we get halal meat and Indian food can we effort to have daily in this budget or do i need to hire a maid for the same do we get Indian cooking maid for cleaning n cooking what would the salary for them.Also give me an broader view is there career development if taken the offer ?. Do we get like minded Indians or locals for socializing. any other advises pls feel free tc
will be in touch for more details when required .
Thanks
Amd .
Hello everyone,
Basically am from Chennai finished my Bachelor of Engineering in 2014 and starting my career.
Got a job offer for procurement officer stating USD 1000 ( 50% Local + 50% Overseas Salary).+ Car + driver + furnished Accommodation + house cook allowance + medical facility + to and fro air fare.
Is the salary enough to live around? Could I accept the job offer?
And can someone could suggest the scope of procurement officer in future.
I love having a walk around during late nights and is it safe around?
Dear all
I need guidance from you regarding food.
How much money is required for one single person for one month at Ghana.
I am a medium class Indian.
You can quote me money in USD or Ghanana Candi also.
Thanks
That is difficult. What do you want to eat? Are you cooking your own food or eating out?
i will cook myself
OK. I would think that 1000 cedis would cover it as long as you eat mostly local food purchased at markets rather than expensive imported items
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