ALNG joint venture housing for expats

Depends on where you are based and your marital/kids status. But I am a little out of date
Some expats are based in Soyo where the plant is and are provided with either townhouse or house (families) though they should have by now taken over the new apartment block in town which has 1-3 bedroom apartments and ALNG is taking the whole building.  Longer term housing will be about 30-45 mins out of town on the ocean
If you are based in Luanda you could be in town (Mainga area) though more likely down south near the big supermarket and International School, especially if you have kids

Thanks so much for your reply. We haven't gotten the paper work yet so we don't know if we will be in Soyo or Luanda. It should be delivered in the next week or so. We are bringing our 12 year old twins but they are homeschooled so school location isn't an issue for us. I would love for us to be in an area where there are other children they could make friends with.

I should also have mentioned that it also depends on whether you are a contractor or an employee of one of the owning companies (Chevron, BP, Total, Eni or Sonangol).  Oil company employees tend to get houses but most contractors were on single status and got apartments though these were actually pretty good.  See if you can find out if you will be based in Luanda or Soyo first, then see if they have moved the main Luanda office down south as was planned about the time I left a year ago

He is an employee with one of the partners in ALNG. We just found out today that we will be in Luanda.

sounds right - medical facilities in Soyo are still limited so reluctant to send families with kids up there.  Housing where you will be is OK and fair number of expats around.  Issue used to be the very time consuming commute to HO but it was supposed to move down south last year.  Good luck but watch your back

Thanks for the replies. I like to have as much information as possible for every situation I could face, so I can prepare for the worst... Hope for the best. I'm always hyper vigilant, even at home in the states.
As with any social media topic I've read conflicting views on almost every aspect of life in Luanda. Could you help with a few more questions?
Are you able to have firearms for personal protection?
How long does it actually take for container shipments to arrive?
Are there items that aren't readily available that I should stock up on?
Are most groceries readily available: eggs, bacon, chicken, veggies, shrimp, baking goods, pastas, rice, milk, heavy cream, cheese, oils, sodas snacks, bread?
Should we purchase unlocked cell phones or are they available from the phone company and any idea on cost? Will our phones from home work in Angola?
Any idea on gym facilities: availability and cost?