Living in Nairobi: an expat guide
What to expect when moving to Nairobi
Nairobi is very cosmopolitan and people tend to mix freely. At playgroups, schools, churches, sporting occasions, and social functions people are friendly and without prejudice.
Is it safe in Nairobi?
Security often concerns people arriving in Kenya. The foreign residents already established in Nairobi range from calm and blasé to neurotic and paranoid. It’s sensible to stay away from local demonstrations and be aware of your surroundings, particularly at night. Following local news stations is often more reliable than reading the foreign press.
There are plenty of security companies offering emergency services, as well as night and day guards. Most houses also have good security already in place. Petty theft and crime are worse in some parts of town and sometimes one suburb will experience a wave of break-ins, but neighbours generally establish a system of helping one another and the police — who will pursue the offenders and quite often catch them.
Beggars, street children, and even the roadside hawkers are often upsetting and unnerving to newcomers. The general rule is not to give money — instead, support the shelters and homes which assist such people. Sometimes, of course, those street hawkers do have good bargains, but beware of stopping by the road with your window down — you could lose your handbag, along with your wing mirror.
Where to live in Nairobi
Very few people live in the city centre, but Nairobi’s many sprawling and pleasant suburbs have easily accessible shopping centres and malls as well as smaller, friendlier stores.
The suburbs differ, depending on their proximity to town — Karen, Langata, Limuru, and Tigoni often have properties with larger acreages (you can keep horses, cows, and chickens on a 10-plus acre property). Westlands, Hurlingham, Lavington, Runda, Rosslyn, Kileleshwa, Kitisuru, and Muthaiga tend to have houses on smaller plots.
Very few places are as fun to explore as Kenya with its stunning variety of scenery and wildlife, its many beautiful National Parks, and its great beaches.
There are an increasing number of new, secure apartment and housing complexes, which are popular but can be quite expensive.
Living near a school
Many rental properties are advertised on notice boards at shopping malls, in the local papers, and online. If you’ve got children, it’s advisable to look at schools first, because there’s plenty of choice and with Nairobi’s infamous traffic jams, it’s probably worth trying to live near a school.
Properties vary from older houses with plenty of character (and occasionally the interesting plumbing and rat-gnawed electrics to go with it) to very modern houses, which might have a few teething problems. During the dry season, water can become an issue in Nairobi, so it’s worth checking out that there is a reliable water supply before you move in. If things do go wrong, plumbers and electricians are plentiful, cheap and great improvisers — even if their methods might seem a little alternative to the uninitiated.
Getting started in Nairobi
Expatriates do have their complaints: setting up local banking arrangements and dealing with the banks and their queues have people spitting nails, and — even more irritating — overseas banks sometimes refuse to send credit cards to Kenya. Then there are those frustrations at home like power cuts, unreliable telephones, and difficult or slow internet connection but it’s easy to get a mobile phone, or sim card.
Finding home help
Kenya has large numbers of unemployed, so it’s easy to find domestic staff but it can be overwhelming because there are so many people looking for jobs. When you find someone with good recommendation letters and references, hire them and then you’ll find their extended family all need jobs too. Labour laws are strict in Kenya and worth adhering to or you’ll find the local labour office on your back.
Wages tend to be extremely low by expatriate standards, but it’s worth weighing up whether you should employ one person on what might be a vastly inflated salary to most Kenyans, or employ several on standard wages and thus assist more than one family. You’ll inevitably find yourself involved in school fees, loans and family affairs of your staff, but most people are happy to do this in exchange for good work and loyalty.
The minimum wage, as set out by law, is so low that most people pay more, so ask around to see what other people pay staff and on what terms. It’s also advisable to take somebody on a daily basis for a couple of months before taking them on full-time and thus committing yourself to the labour laws.
Honesty is a tricky one — it’s just not worth leaving large amounts of cash lying around, considering that it might pay an employee’s six children’s school fees for the year, or be equivalent to several months’ wages. However, many expatriates build up trust with their employees, increasingly leaving their children in their care. Generally, Kenyans adore children and are kind and loving towards them, if a little inclined to give children their own way all the time.
Healthcare and hospitals
Medical service in private hospitals is also worth mentioning because people come from the UK to Nairobi for routine operations thanks to a better quality of service — and it’s cheaper. Nairobi Hospital, the Aga Khan University Hospital, and Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital all have excellent doctors and facilities, while the nurses are friendly and kind, if a little laid-back for some. Private dental care is also of a high standard.
Day-to-day living in Nairobi
Driving
Kenyan roads can be an alarming experience with their potholes and lack of proper lighting at night, not to mention the Kenyan drivers who are often aggressive and lacking in courtesy or consideration for other road users. Drivers of matatus, minibuses which serve as a local form of public transport, can be particularly inconsiderate. Un-roadworthy vehicles are a common sight — belching out black smoke or without proper lights. The threat of vehicle hijacking unnerves some new expatriates, but most people do go out at night and plenty of expatriate women drive around alone.
Speed limits are 50 kph in city environs and 100 kph elsewhere, but don’t expect signs to let you know this! However relaxed about it others might be (in Kenya there does seem to be a contagious tendency to ignore laws) it’s worth staying on the right side of the law. Seatbelts are compulsory, and you are required to carry warning triangles in your car in case of breakdowns.
Some people have company or private drivers (who might be better at those traffic-navigation tricks than you), or favourite taxi drivers (ditto). Vehicles are expensive in Kenya, and garages to repair them (unfortunately often necessary due to the state of the roads) are many and varied. Kenyan mechanics are inventive when spares aren’t available, and can generally sort most problems even if their methods might be unorthodox. Before buying a second-hand vehicle, though, don’t fail to check whether spare parts are easily available in Kenya.
Getting a local licence
You can only drive on a foreign licence for a limited period, so you will want to know about the courier and messenger services that will make getting a Kenyan licence (and many other time-consuming, potentially frustrating exercises) simpler and less stressful: Muthaiga link, Langata Link, or Karen Connection can do it all for you at very reasonable costs.
Entertainment
Nairobi gets the latest films right on time, and there are always plenty of live music gigs, theatre, exhibitions, craft fairs (especially around Christmas), and other entertainment to suit all tastes.
Sports and clubs
There are several golf/sports clubs with memberships available to expats (without too long a waiting list). Muthaiga, Windsor, Karen, and Parklands are popular in Nairobi; up-country there are sports clubs, too, including Ruiru, Naivasha, Nanyuki, and Mombasa Club at the coast. These clubs usually require some sort of introduction and have an entrance fee, as well as a monthly or annual subscription rate.
Eating out
Eating out is excellent value in Nairobi and you can get most types of fare, from European to Lebanese, while Indian and Chinese restaurants abound.
Some restaurants serve ostrich and crocodile — not exactly traditional fare, but people enjoy trying them. The sale and consumption of wild game meat is illegal in Kenya under the hunting ban, unless farmed, so you won’t get to try impala steaks or buffalo stew.
Local food
Popular Kenyan fare is not appealing to all palates, and expatriates should be wary of their delicate stomachs initially but it’s worth a taste of the staple maize meal baked to a cake-like consistency (ugali) and usually served with a fried green vegetable (sukuma wiki, literally translated as ‘push the week’, as it’s the poor man’s vegetable). Ugali can also be served as a porridge (uji), usually eaten by school children before a long day at school, and often taken with chai, tea leaves stewed up with milk and plenty of sugar.
There are local tribal favourites too, varying from curdled milk mixed with cow's blood and urine if you are Maasai, to the Kikuyu dish irio, a mixed mash-up of potatoes, beans, maize, and sometimes nettles. Food from the Kenyan coast tends to be spicier, while country-wide there’s the highly popular nyama choma, literally translated as burnt meat. Kenyan sheep and beef are excellent, goat tends to be fatty, and it’s always worth confirming exactly what you are eating. At a more expensive version of Kenya’s popular roadside barbecue kiosks, you can eat your fill of succulent meats at Nairobi’s famous Carnivore restaurant.
Grocery shopping
In most suburbs, there are plenty of small butchers and greengrocers offering good quality produce. Most supermarkets take credit cards, as do restaurants, but for smaller shops and market shopping, you need cash — with change.
Market kiosks, which are periodically knocked down by authorities, but spring up again days later, are found along most roadsides and are always a good bet for cheap fruit and vegetables or second-hand clothes (you can sometimes find a designer label for a couple of quid!). Bargaining is par for the course — local vendors tend to double the price at the sight of a foreigner — but it’s always a friendly and humorous business. For local crafts, the Maasai market at Village Market shopping centre on a Friday is fantastic value for money.
Service is usually excellent in Kenya. Shop assistants automatically carry heavy shopping to your car. Tipping is appreciated, but nobody expects very much, if anything at all.
The last word
Very few places are as fun to explore as Kenya with its stunning variety of scenery and wildlife, its many beautiful National Parks, and its great beaches. Whether you want to camp or stay in the excellent lodges and camps, there’s plenty on offer, especially when it’s low tourist season. Local travel agents are usually well-informed about holiday or weekend destinations and resident's rates. Visitors are made to feel welcome, whether tourists, residents, or citizens and the discerning expat should be convinced that the country is stable, and the majority of Kenyans are peace-loving people, fiercely proud of their country.
