hi everyone,
I'm a male in my 20s, and I have an offer to teach English for a year in Cairo or Amman. I'm very excited about it, but I've traveled only a little bit in the Middle East, so I'm still not entirely sure what to expect living there for an entire year. And honestly, I'm a little concerned about the lifestyle change. I know that neither option will be similar to life in the States, but my question is which will be more tolerable for a Westerner? Specifically, what if I want to get a beer? Or hang out with the opposite sex (for some reason I assume this would be a big No-No)? Or anything else as part of my day to day life now that I may take for granted? Between Cairo and Amman, where would I be most likely able to do these things on a normal basis? Or is it possible/not possible in either? I would be very interested to know what anyone thinks.
Thanks a lot for your input.
Beer is quite common in both places - you'll be able to buy it in liquor stores as well as bars and night clubs. Cairo has a fair share of Christians (Coptic) and quite a few American students studying there. In Amman you'll also be able to find Western style bars and clubs where you can meet the opposite sex.
Personally I'd chose Cairo as I like the vibe and the cosmopolitic atmosphere of the city, while Amman was rather uninteresting in my eyes - a problem by Cairo would be the big amount of touts trying to show you their perfume, papyrus or whatever shop.
Both cities are exciting, in different ways. Cairo is massive - the biggest city in Africa and the M.E. - and is frenetic, exciting, packed with energy and excitement, but also phenomenally dirty and polluted, frustrating to get around, conservative, traditional and very hot and sticky. Amman is tiny by comparison and also very modern (it was basically deserted for 1000 years during the Middle Ages, so has no traditions of souks, trade, old architecture, or anything 'exotically Arab' like that) but is much easier for an outsider to access; it's less hectic, more outgoing, cooler (it's at 2500ft above sea level), but with much less of a sense of history or a noble past. To me, Cairo often feels like it's a washed-out has-been, and hasn't really worked out its place in the modern world; Amman has none of that baggage and feels more dynamic and socially/politically more interesting, even if it's visually much duller.
Both cities have plenty of bars, plenty of clubs/discos/dance venues, plenty of places to hang out with the opposite sex - but I think you would feel less like an outsider in Amman than in Cairo. Cairo is a stressful environment; Amman has an unattractive surface. Depends what you like.
trusted partner
