HI,
I have been living and working in Erbil for almost 3 years. Hope this info is useful.
Erbil is a safe place, although, women should be more careful. Never get in a cab by yourself, find someone whom you trust and always use that person as your taxi driver.
I have 2 names I can give you, one speaks great English, the other only Arabic/Kurdish. There have been so many cases of women being touched or hassled by taxi drivers.
Erbil is a bit low key, there are more restaurants, coffee shops, and bars with expats and locals (some locals) popping up more and more but still not a huge social place. Lots of people end up having gatherings at their homes or on the compound or in one of the expat communities. The Royal Mall now has a movie theater.
The Carrefour and City Center at Majidi mall have basically everything you need. There is a grocery at Royal Mall now too. Lots of western food. So many amazing veggies and fruits sold along the street in all the neighborhoods.
-Girls bring tampons. I always stock up when I am in a country that sells them. Some times you can find them, most times you cannot.
Many expats live in Ankawa, the Christian area, so many places to eat, drink coffee, hang out e at different bars, etc. I dont know the rent but i am sure you can find sharing聽 for 500-600 and single for 1000$ or so.
W,I,N,E on FB is a women of Erbil page but if you ahve any questions, even men... such as housing someone may be able to help you. If you are woman and moving to Erbil, join this site, very helpful.
I hope i answered some of the questions that the men and women on this blog posted. feel free to email and ask me some more.
Enjoy your stay in Erbil.
Lili
