Algiers - Post Report Question and Answers
What do you wish you had known about this particular city/country before moving there?
Manage your expectations, this is a hardship post. - Dec 2021
Not an easy country to live in. The movement restrictions and not able to leave the country, in my opinion, would merit another R&R or a higher differential. If I had known I think I would have bid on a hardship post instead of Algeria. - Oct 2021
Life is not always easy. Trying to fix something easy in your car and find a car part will take you an entire week to find a good mechanic who has the part and is willing to help you. The police/military presence here can be very uncomfortable and you will get harassed if you look Algerian. Working with the government here can be challenging. The bureaucracy here is just terrible in my opinion and everything is just inefficient. - Aug 2021
It's not what I expected, which was "Morocco, but with a Soviet feel." It doesn't feel like Morocco. It does feel a tad Soviet, but also just more European than I expected. - Apr 2021
I knew there were restrictions and it was a closed country but had not realized how all that affects your quality of life. - Oct 2020
Work is difficult and intense here with many sections working long hours. I didn't think the restrictions on travel outside the city would get to me as much as they do. Morale really depends on the people at post, since the city itself doesn't have much to offer. - Sep 2019
The city is very hilly - I was not expecting that aspect of the city. - Mar 2019
The Embassy's dual reputation as a place for burnouts/newbies, but also a place for ambitious Near East managers to make their bones and get promoted. - Sep 2016
Treat it like summer sleep away camp. Expect little in the way of direct comfort but you can still have a good time. - Jun 2016
I wouldn't have come here if I knew what it was like. - Mar 2014
