Living In Uganda Is An Experience With A Difference.
Living in Uganda could take on different dimension and be an experience with a difference. For much of it, the choices are yours. You have the option to get in touch with Ugandan life cutting across the rich culture; from living as a well-to-do high class citizen (that’s if you can afford) to the basic average Ugandan life.
Depending on what you will be doing, life in Uganda will amazingly offer you the never ending spectrum – inviting you to explore with more than passing interest.
It is a very welcoming society, diverse with a relative influx of foreign culture especially in the Capital, Kampala and the other big towns. But having said that, I have to re-iterate that the intrinsic Ugandan culture remains intact in its unique traditions and legacy – not all elements of foreign culture are embraced and taken on board!
As any visitor will tell you, living in Uganda starts with those broad Ugandan smiles that welcome you but more to that; how you hold on to living comfortably and enjoying every bit of your stay.
How much is the cost of living in Uganda?
How do you want to live? And how much can you afford?
For starters, draw your list. You might be accustomed to certain things that you can’t do with out – these should be some where top of your list. If your living in Uganda is part of you permanently moving to Uganda, you might want to consider buying property from the Ugandan real estate.
Rent, water, electricity, gas, telephone /internet – do those ring a bell? Inevitably every where you go in the world these are high priority necessities, unless of course your move is the ‘all expenses paid for’ kind, then you need not to worry about these.
In many ways, these will determine where you choose to stay and how much you pay. There could be more to this list like; furnishing, security, neighbourhood, scenery, distance to work, access to schools and more.
Know your priorities; don’t be fooled into paying more for less. Tick off your list carefully. You will certainly find a variety and blend from say; a one bedroom apartment in one of the suburbs of Kampala to a 2 bedroom apartment in a nice environment with access to most of the facilities, to the very upscale apartments, houses and bungalows in the posh areas with access to good security.
That aside, generally, as would be expected, the cost of living in Kampala is certainly different from what it is in the other parts of the country, which sets the bench mark – anything else falls below that.
Whether you plan to live here or you are just visiting, in whichever region you will be, its beauty; the scenery, the people and the culture, will become an integral part of your life in Uganda.
You will be greeted with a relaxed, kind of laidback mood to Ugandan life, which some have misinterpreted as ‘leisurely mood’ – but I guess it all comes down to your attitude and how you approach living in Uganda. Go with the flow and the rest will fall in line – enjoy the freedom that is hard to come by in most parts of the world.
You’ll also find people much friendlier here if you speak their language (even if you only attempt to speak it and mess it up badly). You could quite easily learn to speak in a short time. A few survival phrases will also help.
Ugandans are generally decent dressers and they would expect you to follow suit. Again depending on which part of the country you will be, the definition of ‘decent’ will vary and will largely be dependant on what society considers indecent. What is acceptable in the cities/towns may not be approved in the small villages.
Read more about Ugandan clothing and dressing here.
You will love Ugandan cuisine – especially if you are the kind that is not afraid to try new stuff and as you find grip in your kitchen, why not try out some of the Ugandan recipes to build on your experience of global cooking!
…And very importantly before I sign off, If you are a foreigner; a visitor, working in Uganda, on holiday etc, it is very important that you let your embassy/consular know of your presence in Uganda. They are very helpful especially if things don’t work out as you expected but also they will help you maintain touch with home.