Paramaribo - Post Report Question and Answers
What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
Housing is typically large. Singles are assigned three bedroom residences, families have been assigned three to six bedroom homes. Most housing is on the northside of Paramaribo; within a 15 minute drive to the new embassy compound. Grocery shopping is an overall adventure. CHOIS, Best Mart and Tulip tend to be more expensive and carry a large variety of American and international brands. Smaller groceries tend to have cheaper prices but lack quality and freshness. The Northside of Paramaribo is up-and-coming! There is a new international school (QSI), international shopping mall, and other business/shopping varieties opening throughout the area. - Apr 2022
Embassy housing consists of suburban homes throughout the city. Commute times to the Embassy vary from 5 minutes from the north part of the city to up to 45 from the south. Houses are generally large, with yards, patios, and barbecues. - Feb 2020
Our house is nice. A good size for our family. Located in the south, we are close to the schools, but a 7.5 mile commute to the Embassy in the north has taken 45 minutes at times. - Jun 2017
Embassy folks have fairly spacious homes with slipshod construction standards. South side homes are closer to international schools, while north side homes are closer to tourist area and most embassies, including the new U.S. Embassy building. - May 2016
Large homes, with usually small rooms. Personal pools are not common. Local style is to ventilate with the windows open, but many Americans didn't like the idea of letting bugs in so end up running A/Cs all day. Entire city is only about 7 miles across so you are never too far from anything but it can take about an hour to traverse during certain times of day (such as all the times you want to go anywhere). Sundays are very relaxed because most stores are closed. - Dec 2014
Housing really varies depending on what part of the city you live in. Houses on the south are closer to the international schools and the American Embassy, but aren't as nice. Houses on the north are typically larger and nicer but also tend to have more mosquito problems. Our commute was only about 10-15 minutes to both the Embassy and the school, but others had commute times of closer to 30 minutes. - Jul 2014
Great housing. I loved our house. Most houses were great. Some were bigger than others. My son and I really loved it. We had a great time there and I often think fondly about that place. - Sep 2013
The longest commute is 20 minutes, with bad traffic. It is a small city and gets congested at times. Housing is spread around. I like the houses but some others do not. They are small for a 25% diff post but that is the way they are built in this area. They are well maintained by the staff. - Nov 2010
Nice sized houses most with small yards, I don't know anyone in apartments. Commutes are fairly short if you leave at odd times, if you leave around 730 and 1700 you'll be sitting in traffic for awhile. Around holidays the traffic is bad at all times. - Feb 2010
