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What I've viewed of Addis, it doesn't look very pleasant for walking around. Looks like you're usually walking half in the street, and what sidewalks exist, look fairly disheveled.
On the other hand, the culture and people, seems well-worth checking out. Unique culture, unique people.
I'm living in Addis now. What do you want to know?
Where else you have lived? How would you compare it to other places you've lived?
What are some things that you quite like about living there? What are some things you think could be greatly improved to make it better?
Stuff like that, to start....
As for me, I've lived about 15 years in countries outside of the U.S., mostly Asia, a little bit Europe and South America (Brazil, in particular).
I've yet to be in Africa yet, so I have no real context with what it's like. However, all of the Ethiopian people I've met, they have something interesting about them, something different. I don't know if it's a product of them being educated enough to get out of Ethiopia, or if its something ingrained into the culture. It just seems like there is a cultural awareness, a cultural pride, and other intangible features that seem to make the people and culture quite interesting and unique, in ways that I can't quite know, as I've never had the chance yet to actually visit there, meet more people from there, and getter a better sense of Ethiopia, in general.
Where else you have lived? How would you compare it to other places you've lived?
What are some things that you quite like about living there? What are some things you think could be greatly improved to make it better?
Stuff like that, to start....
As for me, I've lived about 15 years in countries outside of the U.S., mostly Asia, a little bit Europe and South America (Brazil, in particular).
I've yet to be in Africa yet, so I have no real context with what it's like. However, all of the Ethiopian people I've met, they have something interesting about them, something different. I don't know if it's a product of them being educated enough to get out of Ethiopia, or if its something ingrained into the culture. It just seems like there is a cultural awareness, a cultural pride, and other intangible features that seem to make the people and culture quite interesting and unique, in ways that I can't quite know, as I've never had the chance yet to actually visit there, meet more people from there, and getter a better sense of Ethiopia, in general.
Where else you have lived? US, Germany, Khartoum (Sudan), Juba (South Sudan).
How would you compare it to other places you've lived?
I don’t have too much Africa experience to compare it to but people who do tell me that Ethiopia is unique. It is not like the rest of Africa, maybe because of the mountains and isolation. I would say that Addis is more developed than Juba, about the same as Khartoum, and much less developed than Europe or North America.
It’s definitely a developing country. You see a lot of poverty and that can be hard on your morale after a while. There are a lot of beggars on the streets and a ton of prostitution.
The healthcare is pretty bad. If anything went wrong you’d have to medevac to Kenya or South Africa. There is no malaria in Addis.
The weather is good most of the time, around 75 degrees Fahrenheit for the high and 55 for the low most days. It does rain a lot from July-September but the rest of the year is beautiful and sunny. Addis is high elevation (over 8000 feet) and some people have problems with the altitude.
Like the rest of the developing world, Addis is pretty polluted. There are apparently no pollution controls on the buses and cars.
The food is better than I expected. I’m not that in to Ethiopian food but there are a lot of other decent restaurants, especially Italian. The big international hotels (Hilton, Sheraton, Radisson Blu) have high end restaurants with imported food for a price if you get sick of the local stuff. If you avoid the big hotels it’s possible to eat well pretty cheaply here (If you do, you’ll have to accept the fact that you’ll get food poisoning every once in a while). There isn’t much fish here other than Nile perch and the beef is not very good IMHO. The coffee is great. There are a couple of good local beers but the local wine is not very good.
There are a lot of interesting churches and cultural sites in Ethiopia. The country is fairly well connected by Ethiopian Airlines and the roads out of Addis are surprisingly good.
Addis is much safer than other parts of Africa, or the US for that matter. I have never heard of a robbery or violent crime against foreigners. The terrorist threats are confined to isolated parts of Ethiopia near the borders of Eritrea and Somalia.
What are some things that you quite like about living there? The people, the culture, the weather most of the time.
What are some things you think could be greatly improved to make it better? More development, sanitation, healthcare, and education is needed.
Last edited by Aville239; 06-14-2012 at 08:14 AM..
Thank you Aville.
Btw, I just changed my fb name (which had been the same for two years) to one in Ge'ez script.
Just two days ago I was reading about East Africa. I found it hard to believe that the literacy in Ethiopia is as low as 28%. Do you have the impression that a good portion of the population in Addis are illiterate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aville239
Addis is much safer than other parts of Africa, or the US for that matter. I have never heard of a robbery or violent crime against foreigners. The terrorist threats are confined to isolated parts of Ethiopia near the borders of Eritrea and Somalia.
My friend who travelled a lot and lived in Khartum for a year said that it was one of the safest cities he had ever lived in.
It's really sad what bad an image we are often presented with when it comes to Africa.
Comfortable walking around, or a complete mess of sidewalks or lack of sidewalks. DO people set up all their stalls on the sidewalks, forcing people to walk out into the streets and such.
Do foreigners walk around Addis Ababa much? Or is not all that comfortable walking around for various reasons.
How is the lighting at night? Some cities, like Ulaan Bataar are just completely dark at night, no money for streetlights. How's Addis at night? Or is everything closed down somewhat early, making it not worth doing much anyways after dark?
There are some sidewalks around. I walked a bit when I first got here but it got to be a hassle because of all the pollution, beggars, and people who follow foreigners around.
There is a lot of activity at night and there are street lights. Even some of the fruit stands are lit up and open until 10 or 11 at night.
IMHO, outside of the capital is the best. Just drop dead beautiful. In Addis it is conjested and at this time a lot of building is going on. There are a lot of people that flood the capital. It is one of the safest places in Africa and or the world. The food, there is plenty of that and all kinds. Ethiopia is known for its beef, so not sure why the other poster wrote that the meat was bad. No, you don't get food poisoning all the time and there is plenty of fish. But fish is not popular meal of choice unless one is fasting.
In some parts of Addis it can be dark at night, but there are lights and frankly their is a huge nightlife. I wouldn't say the place is walkable (not like the states, having nice paved walk ways, and it can be just dangerous to cross the street). The traffic and driving in Addis I would NEVER advise, it is just crazy.
Also, beggars aren't allowed to ask for money any more only around the church areas. There could be more hospitals, but there are hospitals and nice ones too (if you have the $$). Addis and Ethiopia in general is one of my favorite places (I must say I have a bias as well).
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