Tunis - Post Report Question and Answers
What are the particular advantages of living in this city?
Affordable Mediterranean living with ample vacation possibilities. - Jan 2024
Beachside life, relaxed pace. - Jun 2022
Proximity to the ocean and historical sites. - May 2022
Great access to Europe, beach life, cheap and easy recreation. - Nov 2020
Fantastic history dating back thousands of years, French-Arabic mixed culture, nice weather for most of the year. - Nov 2015
Having someone come to our apartment and clean for 30 Dinars was also a nice luxury that we didn't have in the U.S. Saving money is easy to do here, the cost of living is generally cheap. There is NOTHING to do here so it's easy to save money, especially if you don't have kids. - Nov 2014
You can save money if you shop carefully on the economy and do not travel much. - Jul 2013
Beautiful weather, saving money, learning how to be happy without material items. - Jun 2013
Southern California weather, friendly and helpful locals, cheap groceries and taxis, safe. - Feb 2012
Fantastic opportunity to see magnificent Roman ruins in a setting relatively unspoiled by mass tourism. There are also plenty of minor ruins which don't seem to see many tourists at all. Beaches are decent, though the beach season was shorter than expected. Europe is a short hop away, with short flights to Italy and France. Sicily can be reached by a 9-10 hour ferry, and there are boats onward from there. Ferries go to France as well. Unfortunately, connections to the rest of Africa were not quite as easy or cheap. Flights are limited and expensive. Overland to Algeria and Libya were both possible, but somewhat difficult and far. Not sure what the situation is like now. - Oct 2011
There are many beautiful parts of Tunis, including where most embassy people live in the northern "suburbs" (formerly summer retreat area from downtown) - especially La Marsa or Sidi Bou Said. The country also has many beautiful towns and natural beauty, including Cap Bon, Hammamet, and the desert in the south - all within a day's drive of Tunis. We took several weekend trips while there and also had many fun times just riding our bikes around our neighborhood in La Marsa, going to the market, walking along the La Marsa corniche, sitting in cafes, etc. One other huge advantage to this post was our ability to save money. Groceries are pretty inexpensive, and unfortunately there are not tons of good restaurants. Food in the markets is excellent - first and foremost the fresh produce - but what happens to it between the markets and the restaurants remains a mystery. So as a result we ended up cooking at home a lot and having friends over, which was a real money saver. This gets to the heart of Tunis in many ways - it was "pleasantly boring" one might say. Not tons of exciting nightlife (restaurants, bars, clubs), but still quite a pleasant lifestyle overall, especially (I imagine) for a family with young children. - Jul 2010
Despite what most Americans say, you CAN save money if you shop at local markets rather than the US Embassy commissary and Carrefour. If you eat a lot of meat, though, it can be expensive, but local produce is CHEAP - but keep in mind that almost nothing is imported, so veggies are seasonal but super cheap when they are in season. - May 2010
