Dar Es Salaam - Post Report Question and Answers
Is this a good city for single people? For couples? For families? Why or why not?
Best for families I think. My single friends have a hard time finding people to date or hang out with. - Nov 2022
Singles don’t have much of a dating pool. Families seem to do better. - Jul 2022
Single men seem to enjoy it more than single women for some reason, but I’d say it’s best for couples or families with older kids. - Jan 2022
The majority of folks are families, single people and couples without kids stick together. It can take awhile to get into the groove of things. The NGO community has more single folks. Families enjoy the compound living, the cheap nannies, the good school, and the Yacht Club. After the initial excitement of being in Tanzania wears off, you'll be going to same 5-10 restaurants & bars with the same group of people. some people don't mind that - some hate it. Life's a beach. - May 2020
The single folks I know here have found it a challenging place. Couples without kids have really enjoyed it. Families with kids make up the majority of the population. - Jun 2017
Despite prior reports I had a fabulous time in this city as a single. Dating was not terrible at all and most of the expats hang out at several places (George and Dragon, House, High Life Bar, Oasis, Noire, Triniti, New Maisha, Q bar...etc) so it was cool to see your friends all in one place at the end of a long week. I had a ton of local friends and we would go hang out at Mbudya Island almost every weekend and we would bring our own music, champagne, and eat lobster on the beach. We had epic house parties, boozy brunches, wine tastings at MMI, and dinner parties. Every couple of weeks different entertainment groups do day parties like afternoon delite and Groove Theory. Also Grown and Sexy does a NYE party and Easter Party. Mediterraneo, the restaurant, does a party every second or third Saturday of the month which is epic and the goal of the party is to watch the sunrise. Everyone was super welcoming and really warm. We went out almost every weekend, sometimes until 5am. There are tons of young people in the community and I met my best friends in TZ and would go back in a heartbeat. If you are a quiet person and introverted, Dar might be too much for you. - Dec 2015
It's OK for everyone. I think it's better for families with young children because there are beaches and pools and playgroups and yards. It's more difficult for the older kids because there's really just not much to do here besides water sports and school. For singles, it's also pretty boring, I think, though of course there are many trips to be taken if you have disposable income (CapeTown, safaris, Zanzibar, climb Kiliminjaro, neighboring countries). For couples, I would think same as for singles. The Embassy community is not overly close-knit since there are so many other trips to go on and the Embassy work location are a bit spread out (CDC & Peace Corps are downtown) and traffic is bad so sometimes makes getting together difficult. - Jul 2015
Yes. It seems everyone can have a good tour here. - Mar 2014
Families with small children, yes; families with teenagers, NO, singles yes, couples OK. - Feb 2013
I would say good for all. Families with kids have regular play groups through school and preschool, and there are often house parties, beach events, and other activities. The Dar Yacht club is also great, with Pizza Nights and fish fry nights for families to enjoy on weekends. For singles, the nightlife was active, as there were a number of young diplomats' clubs and younger NGO workers who got together at various clubs and took outings. - Feb 2013
Better for families and singles than couples, strangely enough. There are lots and lots of family activities (beach, pools, waterpark, etc), and a lively social scene for singles and young active couples, but not a ton of things to do for more 'settled' couples without kids. - Aug 2011
It seems to be a good city for everyone, as the community is fairly active. - Jun 2010
