Baghdad, Iraq Report of what it's like to live there - 01/03/14
Personal Experiences from Baghdad, Iraq
Background:
1. Was this post your first expatriate experience? If not, what other cities have you lived in as an expat?
No - previous tours in the Arab world and Washington as an FSO.
2. What is your home city/country? How long is the trip to post from there, with what connections? How easy/difficult is it to travel to this city/country?
East coast. From the Embassy in Baghdad, it was a several-day slog home, involving a planes/trains/automobiles kind of transportation model (specifically, a bus to a helicopter to a propellor plane to a series of commercial flights in Amman, all with lengthy stopovers). Coming back to Baghdad entails a stay in Amman, as there is generally a six-hour layover between inbound flights and the Embassy air flight. Expect to arrive cranky, underslept, and smelling of jet fuel.
3. How long have you lived here?
One year.
4. What brought you to this city (e.g. diplomatic mission, business, NGO, military, teaching, retirement, etc.)?
Foreign Service Officer.
Housing, Groceries & Food:
1. What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
Officers, unless they are married with a spouse at post or high-ranking, live in jerry-rigged two bedroom apartments (they were designed as one-bedrooms, but space constraints mean that people live two - or four, depending on the length of your assignment - to an apartment). The walls are very thin so be prepared to know a lot about your roommate's personal life, perhaps more than you would really like to know. The SDAs were built with really cheap materials - less the 30k blast-resistant windows, which are inoperable - and the breakers often flip, resulting in a weekend without electricity in half the apartment, for instance. There is only four minutes of hot water, so you will have to work out an arrangement with your roommate for morning showers. Furtniture is fine, sort of like a Howard Johnson's. Bring stuff to spruce up your room and it will feel a little less depressing.
2. How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
The PX is going away, and shipping takes months, so bring all the toiletries you'll need before your first R&R. Your shoes will be ruined by the cobblestones, so bring flats or wedges if you're a woman. It gets chilly in the winter so bring sweaters and a jacket. Bring stuff to gussy up your apartment. And lots and lots of specialty food supplies if you plan on cooking - which you should, as you can now get good Iraqi fruit and vegetables pretty easily at the 215 apartments and by Babylon restaurant across the street. The DFAC is disgusting and your hair and clothes will stink after "dining" there.
3. What household or grocery items do you wish you had shipped to post?
Some sort of teleporter device to whisk me away to Amman for the weekend.
4. What typical restaurants, food delivery services, and/or takeout options are popular among expatriates?
DFAC, whatever meal you can cobble together from what you've brought in your suitcase, ordered online, or grown in the garden (the only saving grace of this place - a large volunteer community garden).
5. Are there any unusual problems with insects or other infestations in housing?
The Embassy sprays for insects.
Daily Life:
1. How do you send and receive your letters and package mail? Are local postal facilities adequate?
DPO, which is awfully slow.
2. What kinds of gyms or other sports/workout facilities are available? Are they expensive?
There are two well-stocked gyms, Golds and Curves. It's a good place to get fit.
3. Are credit cards widely accepted and safe to use locally? Are ATMs common and do you recommend using them? Are they safe to use?
You only use dollars on compound, or those fake funny paper coins that are a holdover from the DOD days.
4. What English-language religious services are available locally?
Apparently Baghdaddy's bar turns into a church the morning after. Fitting.
5. Would someone with physical disabilities have difficulties living in this city?
Don't come if you can't run for a bunker.
Transportation:
1. Are local buses, trams, trains or taxis safe and affordable?
Public transportation is limited to golf carts or a really dorky adult tricycle.
2. What kind of car do you recommend bringing to post, given the terrain, availability of parts, burglary/carjacking risks, etc.? What kind of car do you advise not to bring?
How about a US$300,000 armored Suburban? There are probably 300 of them sitting unused in the parking lot here, rotting in the heat.
Phone & Internet:
1. Is high-speed home Internet access available? How long does it typically take to install it after arrival?
Internet is crappy and really expensive - US$100/month for what seems like modem service. OK for Skype, but streaming video won't work.
2. Do you have any recommendations regarding mobile phones? Did you keep your home-country plan or use a local provider?
Asia cell, blackberry provided by your office (and you will be expected to sleep with it).
Pets:
1. Are qualified veterinarians and/or good kennel services available? Do animals need to be quarantined upon entry to the country? Are there other considerations regarding pets that are particular to this country?
No animals allowed at post. There were a couple of loyal stray dogs in front of the Blue and Red CACs but they mysteriously disappeared. There are one or two cats who stalk the compound at night, yowling. Everyone misses having animals around.
Employment & Volunteer Opportunities:
1. What types of jobs do most expatriate spouses/partners have? Locally based or telecommuting? Full-time or part-time? Can you comment on local salary scales?
I know several couples with a trailing spouse who was able to work at post, i.e. co-CLO. These people seemed to be the happiest.
2. What volunteer opportunities are available locally?
Volunteer community garden.
Health & Safety:
1. Are there personal security concerns to be aware of at this post? Please describe.
We're in Baghdad. This country is experiencing levels of violence unseen since the "bad old days" of 2007-8, yet our differential has been slashed by 15%... a curious, and I think very political, decision. Other benefits are being cut too, notably the number of days you're allowed out of country and the number of R&R's you can take. Meanwhile, travel restrictions are tighter than ever in the IZ and Red Zone (if your movement is even approved) and violence has skyrocketed. This is not a safe place to be, for anyone.
2. What is the air quality like at post (good/moderate/bad)? Are there seasonal air quality issues? Does the air quality have an impact on health?
Hot, dusty (years of war have decimated the green canopy around Baghdad, so there is nothing to hold the dust down). You will have a persistent low-grade cough.
3. What is the overall climate: is it extremely hot or cold, wet or dry, at any time of year, for example?
Dusty and very, very, very hot and sunny in the summer. Bring a hat and lots of sunscreen. Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun. Chilly in the winter - bring a coat.
Schools & Children:
1. What is the availability of international schools? What has been your general experience with them, if any?
No kids, no school. Life on the NEC has been described as a minimum-security assisted-living facility. That sounds about right. The only kids you will see are grown men drinking to excess and acting stupid at Baghdaddy's.
Expat Life:
1. What is the relative size of the expatriate community? How would you describe overall morale among expatriates?
Huge, wretched.
2. What are some typical ways to socialize, either with local people or with other expatriates? Are there groups or clubs that you can recommend?
Drinking, going to the gym, going to events at other embassies in the IZ.
3. Is this a good city for single people? For couples? For families? Why or why not?
Ladies - assume that all men are married, even if they don't wear their rings and hit on you incessantly. Chances are, they are.
4. Is this a good city for LGBT expatriates? Why or why not?
This is a fine place to be gay. No issues. (Obviously, I mean the Embassy. If you are a gay Iraqi, there is a good chance you could be brutally murdered because of this - see the "Emo killings").
5. What have been the highlights of your time in this country? Best trips or experiences?
Very few.
6. What are some interesting/fun things to do in the area? Can you recommend any “hidden gems"?
Helicopter ride to the airport upon departure!
7. Is this a "shopping post"? Are there interesting handicrafts, artwork, antiques, or other items that people typically buy there?
Cheesy imported souvenirs at the Blue Dome.
8. What are the particular advantages of living in this city?
Easy access to the gym? Knowing that every day you wake up you're another day closer to leaving. Perhaps knowing that your work is meaningful and having the chance to make good friends who can ease the pyschic load of living in camp-jail. Seriously, this is an unhappy place to be, and morale has really tanked over the past year. Most people just hide out in their rooms and watch TV, or else pickle their livers at Baghdaddy's.
9. Can you save money?
If you don't blow it on R&R's, and less now with the reduced differential.
Words of Wisdom:
1. What do you wish you had known about this particular city/country before moving there?
That this year would be so depressing, lonely, and hard. Expect major strain on your relationships back home.
2. Knowing what you know now, would you still move to this city?
Never, ever, ever again. Run as fast as you can away from this post until they open up travel opportunities outside of Iraq on the weekend.
3. If you move here, you can leave behind your:
Connections to the outside world and notions of fidelity.
4. But don't forget your:
Knowledge that anyone can survive anything for a year, pretty much.
5. Recommended movies/DVDs related to this city:
6. Do you recommend any books or movies about this city/country for those who are interested in learning more?
Imperial Life in The Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone
We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People (American Empire Project)
.
7. Do you have any other comments?
Don't serve in Baghdad. Don't serve in Baghdad. Don't say I didn't tell you.
