Luanda - Post Report Question and Answers
What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
US embassy housing is all currently in Luanda and a move is being made out of apartments to stand-alone houses. Each house is different and has its quirks but they are all large, many with a pool and some with a small amount of green space. Commute to the US embassy is short. There is discussion of some housing being acquired in Talatona, nearer the main international school. This would make for a long commute and heavy traffic both ways but if you have children attending LIS it would make their travel much easier. - May 2021
Embassy housing doesn't reflect "normal" living conditions. Traffic isn't too bad outside of rush hour. - Jun 2019
My housing is wonderful. I live in a high rise in the city center. Housing for expats is excellent and commute times are short. You have to take the time to find a good apartment, but there is a lot of choice now because many oil workers have left. - Mar 2017
There is a lot of housing for oil company people outside of town in Talatona. Embassy people live close in to the center, mainly in old, dumpy houses and new, badly built apartments that are very overpriced. Most construction here is Chinese and very low quality. - Apr 2016
As long as you like high-rise apartment living, you will probably be very happy with your housing. The Embassy has really nice apartments for employees, almost all of them with some type of view. Many have decks and a few have pools or basic gyms. Houses are few and far between and have endless maintenance issues. None of them have yards. All housing is located within about three miles of the Embassy though the commute time is totally unpredictable. - Mar 2015
The quality of housing has vastly improved for U.S. Embassy personnel. Mostly apartments, many of them quite nice. There are some free-standing homes, but do not expect yards. To have a nice yard with plants, you will need to hire a gardener to wash off the dust. Then there is the commute. Those with high school kids send them to the International School but that commute can be as much as two hours each way due to traffic; because the city is so overpopulated for its infrastructure a rain storm or a single accident can shut down traffic for hours. But traffic is a constant problem. Some of the newer housing units are, at most, three miles from the Embassy. But because of security concerns, personnel or discourage from walking. The commute is regularly more than an hour. Meanwhile most of the oil workers live in compounds on the outskirts of town near the school, so the commute does not affect them. Angolans are also known for their loud parties that go until 5 a.m. - Aug 2014
Most U.S. Embassy staff live in new high-rise apartments within a few kms of the embassy. We also have some single-family homes, but they are fairly rare as this is a dense urban area like Manhattan. You won't find the kind of spacious African homes (big house, big garden, pool) of other posts in the region. This is a crowded concrete jungle. The apartments are modern and quality is ok, but we all suffer with power problems (surges, outages). Generators help, but it is still tough when the power bounces up and down. Commutes here are long due to traffic. Many employees live close to work but still spend 30-90 minutes commuting. Sometimes the traffic is simply awful. - Jul 2013
Broken-down homes that are not repairable and cheaply-made high rises and condos, but they don't last. - Apr 2013
many companies own or rent houses in seperate compunds, which is much safer in terms of security than houses rent in public condominium, which experienced a lot of robberies in spite of 24 hours guard by the condo management. for people who live in South Luanda, comute time could be a problem because traffic is terrible at rush hours (could take up to 2 hours to cover 15 km. distance from home to office) - Aug 2011
Apartments and houses are abundant in the city but are VERY expensive ($10,000 to $20,000/month in rent). Yards are rare. Commute times are extreme, often multiple hours -- even to go just a few miles. - Aug 2011
Apartments, small, expensive (anywhere from US$2,500 to 10,000 a month). I spend US$2,500 for a two bedroom apartment, very poor electricity and poor water supply. - Apr 2009
