Expat Life in Luanda, Angola - Part Two
Driving, safety & Portuguese
Are you considering moving to Luanda, Angola as an expat? Then you’re in the right place. I lived in Luanda for 3.5 years as an American expat and I’ll tell you everything you need to know about being an expat in Luanda.
Prefer to watch me talk discuss these topics? Check out my YouTube video—>
Welcome back to my “Expat Life in Luanda, Angola” three part series. If you haven’t read the first article in this series, check it out here. I discuss the topics of poverty, food and expat housing. I also share more of my background and life in Angola.
And don’t miss the third part in this series where I talk about travel, stores/access to goods, cost of goods and work visas!
If you’re considering or planning to move to Luanda, Angola be sure to read all three articles closely for all the information you need before moving to Luanda!
And check out this activity list I created with over 40 things you must do in Luanda, Angola!
Now that you’ve read part one, let’s jump right into this article's topics...
Driving
My guess is that you won’t be doing much driving in Luanda. If you’re moving to Luanda on an expat assignment with your company, they will most likely provide you with a car and driver. The traffic and roadways in Luanda are horrendous. There is bumper to bumper traffic all hours of the day. And there are only 2 major roadways that take you from Luanda Sul (where most of the expats live) to downtown Luanda (where most of those expats and Angolans work) so they are packed all the time.
And the typical rush hours are ridiculous. When we left work at 4:30, it would take us an hour to get home. We lived in Luanda Sul and that area was less than 10 miles from downtown. So one hour to travel 10 miles...well, it’s not fun. But since everyone has drivers, most people will get some extra work done in their car, read a book or listen to a podcast. Podcasts weren’t very big when I lived there but I was sure to keep a little handheld electronic Yahtzee game with me when I got tired of looking out the window at Angolan street life.
I’m working on a blog post specifically dedicated to having a driver and will link it here when I’m finished. But having a driver has its positives and negatives.
There were times when it was really nice to have a driver, like after work or after a night out on the town (Yes, there are lots of places to party in Luanda). But sometimes it was hard to manage another schedule. Or know when you wanted your driver to arrive the next morning. And for me, there were lots of feelings of guilt involved. For example, if we weren’t sure whether we wanted to go to a Saturday night dinner, we would need to keep our driver around all day while we were just relaxing at our house. But if 7pm came and we didn’t feel like going out anymore, I would feel so guilty for keeping him around all day for nothing. I’d like to be able to say I got used to that feeling, but honestly I never really did. I felt guilty or “bad” about their schedules/hours a lot.
But I would try to remind myself that being a driver was a very good and sought after job in Luanda and that I shouldn’t feel bad. We/our company were supplying 2 jobs (a driver and a back-up) to Angolans that needed the employment to support their families.
Luanda Roads
The roads in Luanda aren’t constructed very well so the lane marks are barely visible (and not followed by drivers). When it rains (only a couple times a year) a lot of the roadways get washed out and you can’t drive on them for a day or two until they are cleared of rubbish and piles of mud.
Another important role of the drivers in Luanda is to keep their expats safe. Expats usually don’t know where the more dangerous places in Luanda are located. Or areas they should avoid at night. Having a driver meant I didn’t have to worry about this. He would never take me someplace unsafe. And if I asked him to take me someplace he thought was risky he would let me know.
That brings me to the next topic of safety...
Safety
Personally, I don’t remember ever feeling unsafe when living in Luanda, Angola. I do remember people being very curious about me on the street because I looked so different from them and I clearly wasn’t from Angola. But I never felt unsafe.
When I lived in Luanda, I didn’t really restrict myself as far as where I went. I felt comfortable walking along the streets or going to the local street market to find goods. I always felt this was where you got to know the real Angola. I couldn’t smell the smells or hear the people from my car. And I wanted to really experience it.
I did meet many expat wives in Luanda that had never walked the streets. Some even preferred to go to grocery stores in pairs or groups. I was not that person. Maybe it was my youth (I was there from 29 - 33) but I never felt nervous or scared being “on the street”. I never felt like I was going to be robbed or hurt.
Now, that’s not to say I didn’t take some smart precautions when living in Luanda as an expat.
Safety Precautions
First, I never wore my wedding rings. In fact, I didn’t really wear them in Buenos Aires either. So much so that after 7 years of living abroad it’s hard for me to remember to put them on now! I regularly leave the house without my wedding rings! So no flashy jewelry. And the purse I carried was very plain. It was plain brown colored and small and I used the same one for all 3.5 years. Never upgraded or bought something nicer. I didn’t want to draw anymore attention to myself when I was walking around. I already stuck out due to my looks.
I also tried to be very observant whenever I was out. Even just walking up to a grocery store from my car, I saw who was out there and who was likely going to approach me for money. If the street beggar was on my left I made sure my purse was along my right hip before I got out of the car. Small things like that make a difference.
We would regularly go out at night, but never to walk around. We would have our driver drop us off at the restaurant or nightclub door. And when we were ready to return home, we would call him and he would drive up to the door to pick us up. I would not recommend moving around too much at night in Luanda, Angola, especially without a local Angolan or driver.
If you take simple safety precautions while living in Luanda, Angola you should feel safe too.
Portuguese
Portuguese is the national language of Angola and the Angolans all have tribal languages too. I think there are over 100 tribal languages?! I will say that you can definitely get by living in Luanda, Angola without knowing Portugese because I saw many expats do it. I think the majority of expats I knew could only say a few Portuguese words, such as “hi”, “bye” and “thank you”.
But if you want your life to be a little easier living in Luanda, Angola then I suggest you learn as much Portuguese as possible. My husband and I started studying it while we were still in Houston so we would know some of the local language when we hit the ground. And we continued our lessons for a few months after we arrived in Luanda. But then life got in the way and with our busy work schedules, lessons fell to the side.
But the Portuguese I did learn allowed me to hold basic conversations with Angolans while living in Luanda. That was helpful at work when building coworker relationships. And also at home, where I had to communicate with our maid, drivers, gardener and vendors that came to our house to work on things like our pool, water system, or internet.
Finally, most Angolans do not know English. Yes, the ones you work with in the office will know English (at least a little) but as soon as you leave the office, you will meet very few people that can communicate in English. Not at grocery stores, restaurants, the airport, hotels, etc.
My suggestion is that you learn as much Portuguese as possible, even if it’s only to a beginner level. It will make your life easier and the Angolans around you will appreciate your effort to assimilate to their culture.
Be sure to check out part three where I share my conclusion and whether or not I think you should move to Luanda, Angola as an expat.
If you’re ready to take the plunge and move abroad, check out my ultimate overseas packing checklist which has everything you need to make your new country a home!
I also have a Luanda activity list with over 40 activities you have to do when you move to or visit Luanda, Angola! Get it here!
Please leave any questions you have about Angola life below. I would love to help anyone out that’s moving there and has specific questions.
