Ivory Coast

[Simon_m]

I have been working for a South African company in the UK. Had a conversation today with a manager who asked if I would consider working in the Ivory Coast, jokingly I asked if I would require a flak jacket to which he said the Ivory Coast is safe and he'd have no problems going there.

Now I did have a big falling out with one of there own guys, should I be concerned this is a just a plan to get rid of me, permanently? Or is the Ivory Coast an OK place to work? If anyone has first hand experience I'd love to hear it.

Cheers

Simon

[anonymous-user]

First hand no, but the mobility data I have on it is not great.

Ignoring the travel advisory to the west due to Ebola in the neighboring countries...
1.) Quality of Living index from Mercer puts it near the bottom at around 210 out of 220 (this index covers, crime, political situation, healthcare, education, infrastructure.
2.) Specific city infra (Abidjan) is 196 out of 220

I also recall Abidjan getting a top 5/10 worst city in the world title a few years ago.

So it might be worth further investigation on what exactly they're offering and where it is

[worsy]

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/cote-d-iv...

[anonymous-user]

It seems Abidjan is getting better it was http://www.usnews.com/news/world/slideshows/3-wors... one of the 3 worst in the world in 2010, now it's above the bottom 10. Alternatively everywhere else is getting worse..

[Simon_m]

Hmmmm, the weather must be nice though...

So driving around in a vehicle with a few k's of kit in the back would probably be a recipe for death

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Get a Chelsea shirt with "Drogba" on the back and you will be treated like a king.

[Axionknight]

I made two visits there with work, both were three weeks long, I work for an O&G firm and I had been drafted in to help the service department.

I'm not sure how familiar you are with these countries/areas, they are by and large the same - st holes, basically. The conditions you'll likely be in as a Western (?) worker shouldn't be too bad compared to what the locals have, but don't expect any miracles, we weren't allowed out of the camp to mingle with the locals either (but we were in Nigeria), some did, but I wasn't interested in the idea.

Is this a permanent position, or are you rotating out of the area? Either way I would give some serious thought as to whether you are willing to work in what may very well be austere conditions with few of the comforts of home, it ain't pretty and you'll likely see some pretty shocking things - eyes wide open, definitely.

[davepoth]

To be fair to your boss he does come from South Africa and probably has a slightly different definition of "safe".

It all depends on the role, the package, and the conditions really. If you're in an ex-pat "bubble" I'm sure it would be entirely adequate on a fixed term basis but I don't think I would want to relocate my family there if I had one.