Kuwait City - Post Report Question and Answers
What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
We have been happy with our housing which is an upper floor 3-bedroom apartment with a great Gulf/city view. The embassy has housing on-compound that is very popular with families with children and anyone that wants to walk to work. Other housing options include some single family homes near the embassy, and other high-rises in the city. My commute ranges from 15 minutes to 30 minutes or so, depending on when I leave (earlier departures = shorter commutes). My observations about the housing options: Embassy compound housing comes with green space: a large date-palm lined field surrounded on three sides by housing and the "community center" at the end that you really can't find in the rest of the city. The pool and playground accentuate the kid-friendly atmosphere. Families with children tend to prefer this option, but others do just fine in houses nearby (all families are different). If you anticipate an active social life with non-embassy personnel (foreign diplomats, Kuwaitis, other 3rd country nationals, etc.), then compound housing might be a bit of a hassle with all the security screening and requirements for visitors. For those reasons, singles tend to prefer off-compound housing, but again, your interests may vary. City apartment dwelling has its advantages and disadvantages as well. My place was within walking distance (during the cooler months) of a couple of good dining options, and of course, getting anywhere in the city is usually not more than a 15 minute drive. Our gulf/city view was fantastic, and the balcony was a quiet place to practice my guitar when it wasn't too hot (six to seven months of the year). We could count on one hand the number of times we had any noise complaints. On the downside, Kuwait is not really a walkable city. Sidewalks, where they exist, tend to be an afterthought and are usually littered with dog p@@p. Crosswalks are rare. So wherever you end up in the city, don't expect to do any long walks. Apartment sizes also vary. While we were happy with ours, others in our building complained that it was a bit small. Storage in our apartment was adequate for us, but larger families with lots of stuff could have issues. Clearly state your requirements in your housing survey. - May 2023
The housing is great here. There is an option to live on the Embassy Compound or in the city. Both options are great. Houses are very large and spacious. Apartments are large and most of them have wonderful views of Persian Gulf. Locations vary between the Gulf Road and little surrounding neighborhoods. - May 2023
Like any other post we have been to much of it is luck and timing. Some housing is great and some housing, in my opinion, is subpar. The embassy here has a few homes on compound where some of the mission staff live. It's a three-minute walk for compounders, anywhere from a five to forty minute drive. - Apr 2022
In my opinion, housing seems small, noisy, and substandard compared to other Gulf countries (Bahrain, UAE, Oman). We get noise in our apartment from neighbors leaving their front doors open, and children who run about seemingly unsupervised. The noise from neighbors above us is constant, and we hardly get any natural sunlight. In my opinion, this is the worst housing we have endured during our time in the diplomatic corps. - Mar 2022
The U.S. Embassy has a compound for about 1/4th of mission members. Compound housing mostly goes to families with pets or small children. The commute from the compound is just a short walk, fewer than 3 minutes. Off-compound housing is in apartments throughout the city. Commute time can vary from 10 minutes to 40 minutes depending on traffic. - Feb 2020
FABULOUS! We opted to live in a high-rise overlooking the Gulf. Three bedrooms, four baths, closed-off kitchen with eat-in area for two, combined dining, living room, and maid's quarters (that we use as a storage room). Closets are quite large in every room. Our bathrooms have zero storage, but that is unique to our building.
I've been in three other high-rises, all very nice. uniquely different. Most, if not all the high-rises in the Salmyia area have a pool. We have a balcony, but not all apartments do. We wake up to the water every morning and it makes living here more palatable in the sense that I see water and blue and the surrounding trees. This country is very sandy and lacks color, unlike UAE or Oman. We prefer a smaller footprint with a better view over more square footage and living on compound or in one of the villas in the residential areas.
We have two small children who share a room. There is no area for them to run around outside, so we go to the embassy for them to roam free and ride scooters, bikes or tricycles. Our commute, without traffic, is eight minutes from our house to the embassy. With traffic it's between 20-25 minutes. - Nov 2018
Housing is generally excellent. For singles, you will have a 3-bedroom apartment in a high rise overlooking the Gulf. For families, you will have a large home--typical Gulf style with lots of rooms and marble. - May 2017
The US embassy has a housing compound with 24 homes which are smaller than local homes, the commute is great for those units. Other housing opportunities include apartments with a view of the gulf or large villas. Most folks have less than 30 minutes to drive to work, but the traffic can be heavy. - Mar 2017
Large, 3BR apartment, 20-minute commute (traffic during the school year can be very bad at the start and end of the school day). - Aug 2016
Large variety of housing options. Being with the embassy there are apartments on the compound, villas, town houses and apartments in the city. We had an apartment in the city with an ocean view. Not much in walking distance but most apartments have a small gym, pool and often limited playground equipment for the kids. - Jun 2015
Lots of big villas throughout. Also apartments. Nice housing. But housing costs are skyrocketing. Commute times vary by where you live and where you work. - Mar 2015
Most professionals are in high-rise apartments near the beach, small villas (houses and duplexes), or subdivided Kuwaiti Villas (very large houses, Kuwaitis often live with extended families in huge mansions and when move to a newer place in a trendier neighborhood subdivide). - Dec 2013
For U.S. Embassy employees, compound living (townhomes), apartments, or some single family homes off compound. In general, it's spacious, modern, and nice but, apart from the compound there is very little green space. - May 2013
Off-compound homes and apartments are large and often luxurious. You will likely have to have a full-time domestic worker to keep these places up. On-compound housing is small, but that means no commute in Kuwaiti traffic. Traffic can be difficult to deal with. Many wrecks take place at a very high rate of speed. - Feb 2013
Housing used to be one of the main positives about coming to Kuwait, but that situation is deteriorating as most landlords are increasing rents to the point where most embassy employees are way below their maximum allowed square footage. If you are a family and you are not lucky enough to get assigned to compound housing, it will be hard on your kids. - Jan 2013
Embassy families live either on compound (great, grassy area), in villas, or in high apartments. Other expats here with private companies typically live in flats, as rent is very high. Commute times to schools can be up to an hour or more, as there are only a few good schools clustered in one area. - May 2012
There is traffic in the morning, and then again at midday when everyone goes home for a downtime ( 1-4pm ), so stay off the major roads from 12:30-1:30pm. Then traffic picks up again around 6pm when everyone goes back out for night-time adventures. - May 2012
Commutes are infamous. My commute from Fahaheel to Hawali was 45 minutes, and we had to leave early to avoid rush hour. - Jan 2012
Efficiency/Medium/Large flats (apartments). We have a 4bd/3.5 bath with maid's quarters. Bedrooms are huge. Houses are also large if you are so lucky to live in a villa. But, sadly, no closet space. Commute times average 30 min-1hr depending on traffic. The earlier the better. - Jul 2010
Most people live either in apartments or villas. Both are spacious and very nice. - Jul 2010
On compound - homes for families, apartments for singles. They are very convenient to work but everyone knows what everyone else is doing. Off-compound housing is villas or apartments. Commute time could be anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. Housing is large and grand. Apartments are located in popular area of town with shopping, restaurants, groceries. This causes a lot of traffic jams, however. - Jul 2008
Housing is large. There are options of all kinds--villas, compounds, apartment. By far the largest housing we've ever had. Only about 10 minutes to work and school. - Jun 2008
