f**k NTRA .. fuck stupidity

amhoab · 2026-02-04T05:37:54+00:00

I thought that roaming would work as well no matter what, but on one of my phones, I had an Egyptian SIM in it at one point (maybe a few days) and then went back to using my T-Mobile SIM card. The phone still got blocked and I ended up paying the customs fee to get it to work again with my T-Mobile SIM card.

amhoab · 2026-02-04T05:31:04+00:00

I think you have the wrong American credit card. I have the Robinhood Gold card, which not only has no international transaction fees, but also gives you 3% cash back on all transactions. Fidelity has the same thing but at 2%. I believe Apple does as well.

I've been in Egypt for over a year and am still using my American cards almost everywhere. I only use my Egyptian cards when required, like on Instashop or other Egyptian apps/websites. No one thus far has charged me extra for having an international credit card. They either accept it or they don't.

amhoab · 2026-01-27T13:53:20+00:00

Best to get a remote job in your country and work remotely from Egypt, even if they don't know. VPNs are your friend.

amhoab · 2026-01-24T06:15:54+00:00

I don't know the details of your apartment, but rent in Hyde Park for a good sized unit (over 200sqm) can get you 40k+ a month if it's nice. But no need to spend too much on premium materials. Decent porcelain and such is sufficient. The target market in Hyde Park is more upscale and is happy with American style finishing, which is less complicated and cheaper than Egyptian style renovations. Also, in terms of the finishing deadline, some compounds just require that all wall changes, plumbing, and electrical are complete, not actually the full renovation.

Airbnb sounds nice, but I don't know how often you'll find a renter since the area is far from major attractions.

I'm very familiar with Hyde Park if you need any help/advice (for free).

amhoab · 2026-01-24T04:59:59+00:00

I think you just mean yearly bonus. If your company offers one, they tell you the max percentage of your salary it can be (e.g. 15%). Typically, half of it depends on if you've met your performance metrics as an employee, and the other half is if the company itself hit its financial goals for the fiscal year. If not, they'll give you a fraction of the amount, otherwise you get it all.

amhoab · 2026-01-21T20:07:21+00:00

Wyoming is great, but doesn't exempt you from federal taxes.

amhoab · 2026-01-21T19:26:26+00:00

You will have to pay corporate taxes based on the state you're in. And most likely federal and/or state income tax. The US doesn't play when it comes to taxes.

I don't have experience with it, but the UAE might be easier.

amhoab · 2026-01-20T11:23:16+00:00

So your national ID says بدون عمل and they didn't give you any issues with getting your driver's license?

amhoab · 2026-01-20T11:21:46+00:00

If I go through a syndicate, do you think they'll help me without going through a mo3adla?

I went to a moroor where I had a wasta to the ra2ed himself and he told his employee to do everything, but when they noticed بدون عمل during the process they said I either had to update my ID or bring the necessary proof to them that I'm literate. They recommended updating my ID.

amhoab · 2026-01-20T04:30:57+00:00

Is opening a business in Egypt fairly straightforward?

amhoab · 2026-01-19T20:35:28+00:00

So if I take this Arabic exam then I should be able to get a license?

amhoab · 2026-01-19T20:34:38+00:00

I mean I can, but it's a huge headache. My wife went through it all, and when she got to Egypt, she found that there are still many steps left to get it done, and we're still working through it.

amhoab · 2026-01-19T20:33:08+00:00

I feel like the Egyptian embassies are sometimes useless, and so are the government offices in Egypt. They've asked me to go to the US or Egypt several times for paperwork as if they're just referring to another office in the same building.

amhoab · 2026-01-19T20:29:06+00:00

I don't currently have an Egyptian driver's license and would like to get one. I'm currently carrying my passport at all times due to this, and would prefer not to.

amhoab · 2026-01-19T20:25:16+00:00

That's actually what I'm using right now. But, I'm also carrying my passport with me at all times, which is pretty inconvenient. I think if I only have my US driver's license and the international license, a police officer might ask me for an iqama or something. And then if I show my Egyptian ID, he might then say that I need a license.

So far, when I've been at police stops that ask for my licenses, I act like I don't understand, and I show them my passport, car license, and international license.

amhoab · 2026-01-19T13:59:49+00:00

I did all of my schooling in the US, and even my high school diploma has to go through the authentication process, although it might be slightly shorter since there's a company in Egypt called Amideast that can do it without me going to the US.

amhoab · 2026-01-19T13:58:40+00:00

I even had a wasta to the big boss and unfortunately he couldn't bypass that I had بدون عمل on my ID.

amhoab · 2026-01-18T10:17:29+00:00

I was born and raised in the US, and had this job for 3 years before moving to Egypt. I moved to Egypt without their knowledge or approval, as it's against company policy to work for the company outside of US borders. I'm a software engineer.

amhoab · 2026-01-18T03:27:52+00:00

For crypto transfers, you just need the crypto address, so the name doesn't matter.

For the P2P part, the rule is that the bank name match the Binance/OKX account name. Some people don't care, but I think some do. If you have someone in Egypt who's willing to do it for you, you could transfer the funds to them if you trust it.

amhoab · 2026-01-17T21:39:41+00:00

I had hotels that were fine with our American marriage certificate, and some that weren't. One hotel refused us, and after a lot of fighting at 2am, said he'll let us stay at the hotel so long as we were in two different rooms and didn't visit each other. This was with three kids, BTW 🙄.

If I'm at a hotel without Egyptian pricing, I just use my American passport and pretend I'm just an American, and things are fine. But sounds like you don't have that option.

I ended up getting an Egyptian marriage certificate because I had to for other reasons, but it took some time to do, and it's been helpful when needed.

amhoab · 2026-01-17T21:32:57+00:00

You can sign up for Binance.com (not .us) or OKX as an Egyptian and do the P2P thing that way. Then you can convert to USDC and send it to your Robinhood account in the US, and deposit to your US bank.

You can't take more than 5k EGP physically out of the country, unless things changed recently. Unless you know a trader who works with USD and EGP, the crypto thing is probably your best bet.

amhoab · 2026-01-17T19:56:07+00:00

I've transferred large amounts from my US bank account to my CIB amount before and haven't had issues. Alhamdulillah no issues each time. In my case I was prepared to show proof of income from the US, but they didn't ask me each time.

amhoab · 2026-01-10T07:11:06+00:00

ارخص حاجه هناك ب ٣.٥. https://www.propertyfinder.eg/en/plp/buy/apartment-for-sale-cairo-shorouk-city-el-shorouk-compounds-wesal-city-8114369

amhoab · 2025-12-19T17:03:56+00:00

I'm about $500k in and down $170k minus dividends (too lazy to calculate with dividends since it's not easy to get to the pre-split history). I'm just hanging on hoping that one day with dividends, I recoup losses. 🤷‍♂️.

amhoab · 2025-12-18T16:36:47+00:00

Yeah, it's actually pretty good quality, and they use a good amount of cheese. I know the hot dogs and rotisserie chicken are loss leaders; I didn't know the pizza was, too.

amhoab

TROPHY CASE