Welcome Guide for New Arrivals

If you’re planning a move to Addis or just arrived, this page should give you a good introduction to life here. We begin with some essential info on Ethiopia as a whole, followed by an introduction to Addis itself. Below that you’ll find some basic info on settling in to life in Addis, including how to get around, find a place to live, get a sim card, manage money, etc etc etc. At the bottom you can read about the various social media that connect expats in Addis, which are essential for connecting with others, buying and selling stuff, etc. I hope you find this section useful and don’t hestitate to get in touch via Instagram if you find any mistakes or have any suggestions.

Introduction to Ethiopia

I don’t want to sound too cheesy, but Ethiopia is a unique and wonderful country. Unlike many of it’s neighbours, Ethiopia has its own food, languages, writing system (although also found in Eriterea), music, and general culture. The people are super friendly and you will instantly feel welcome here.

The only major downside to living in Ethiopia right now is the insecurity in the country, which has deteriorated massively since the start of the Tigray conflict in 2020. Ethiopia used to be very safe to travel all over whilst now, caution is advised everywhere and some places are off limits.

Geography and Climate

Ethiopia, located in the Horn of Africa, is a country of diverse landscapes ranging from lush highlands to arid deserts. Addis Ababa, the capital, sits at an altitude of 2,355 meters (7,726 feet), making it the fifth highest capital city in the world. For those from Europe, it’s over twice as high as Chamonix!

The weather is usually great in most of Ethiopia, with the exception of a dastardly rainy season from July to September. During the rainy season it rains most days and gets cold enough that you need heaters at home, but for the rest of the year the weather is simply perfect, ranging from 22 to 28 everyday depending on how sunny it is.

History and Culture

Ethiopia’s history goes back thousands of years and it is considered the birthplace (/area) of human kind. One of the main tourist attractions is the fossil of “Lucy“, one of the earliest pre-human fossils in the world dating from 3.2 million years ago.

Ethiopia is the only African country that was never colonised (Ethiopians are very proud of that), which helped to preserve its unique culture. It was ruled by a line of Emperors which alleged went back as far as the Queen of Sheba, whose son

Until the recent conflict started in Tigray, Ethiopia was a toruist destination for more adventurous travellers, or those based in Africa. There is a huge amount to see around the country, including:

• Historical Sites: Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches, Axum’s ancient obelisks, and Gondar’s castles are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and offer a glimpse into Ethiopia’s rich history.

• Natural Beauty: The Simien Mountains, Bale Mountains, and the Great Rift Valley offer stunning landscapes and opportunities for trekking and wildlife spotting. These destinations are perfect for nature lovers and adventure seekers.

• Cultural Experiences: Visit traditional villages in the Omo Valley or enjoy the Timkat festival, an important religious celebration. Experiencing these cultural events will give you a deeper understanding of Ethiopian traditions and way of life.

Introduction to Addis Ababa

The official population of Addis is 5,000,000 but in reality probably higher since there are many undocumented workers who come from the provinces to work here. In short, it’s a massive city with different areas that have different vibes. You need to think carefully about where to live, for example, because you don’t want to be too far from where you work.

Addis is divided into 10 districts called sub-cities (see maps here). However, most of these areas are not commonly referred to (by taxi drivers etc) as they are too large; they tend to refer much more frequetntly to smaller areas such as Old Airport, Arat Kilo, Zakanchis, Bole Airport, Bole Atlas, Bole Rwanda, etc.

Bole, Old Airport, and Kazanchis are the most popular areas for expats to live.

Safety and Security

Unfortunately there has been a significant uptick in petty crime here in Addis over the past couple of years. Since the Tigray war started in 2020, the economy suffered and people have become more desperate, which has led to an increase in crime. There have been numerous reports of pickpocketing and other small thefts in Addis, often centres around the areas with more foreigners. In recent months there have been some reports of such incidents involving violence so one must now be extremely careful when walking and avoid walking at night, early in the morning, and alone.

The Language

Amharic is the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia and the only one that you will need in Addis. Unless you are planning to live in one of the other regions in Ethiopia, if you plan to learn a language, you will probably want to learn Amharic.

Settling into Addis

This section provides tips and advice for new arrivals to Addis, including how to get around, managing your money, ordering food at home, hiring home help.

How to get around in Addis

Taxis / Public Transport

• The most efficient and far safer way to move around the city (without your own car) is with the ride sharing apps Ride or Zayride, which you can download from the App Store or Android Equivalent. Unfortunately, the drivers still don’t trust the mechanics of it all and insist on calling you to confirm you location each time even though it’s in the app, but ultimately they do come and are quite reliable. There is another one called Feres which my crazy French friend says is the best (soon I will find out if he reads my website), but I haven’t tried it myself.
• A cheaper option is the little blue and white taxis which are found everywhere in Addis. However, they are not high quality and many organisations (mine included) do not allow their staff to use them. I personally prefer the apps as at least there is a record of who you are travelling with.
• The cheapest way to get around, favoured by most Ethiopians, is via the minibus network that criss crosses the city. Confusingly, Ethiopians also call these taxis even though they run on set routes. These are highly crowded and not recommended for foreigners.
• Finally there is are 2 tram lines in Addis but, again, not recommended for expats, especially not when you first arrive.

Finding Accommodation

If you need to find accommodation, I recommend using the facebook groups where apartments and houses for rent are posted every day. You might also find the online marketplaces of Qefira and Addis Property Market and the following companies useful – B&B Real Estate, Zelalem Real Estate, and Fikadu Real Estate (I haven’t tried them myself so cannot vouch for them).

Expat Social Media

The first thing you will want to do when moving to Addis, or even before you get here, is to connect with other expats. Unlike other places that I have lived, there is not a single go-to facebook group for expats. Rather, there are many facebook groups (none which are expat-only), some Telegram groups, and some WhatsApp groups.

Unfortunately many of these groups are by invitation only and so you’ll need to be introduced by someone. I don’t think people would appreciate me sharing the link publicly online. Nevertheless, there are some good public ones such as:

1. There are LOADS of expat groups on Facebook, just search for Addis Expats. However, I haven’t found a really good one yet. The biggest are Expats in Addis Ababa and Expats in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, both with 32,000 members. Expats in Addis Ababa Ethiopia has 25,000 members whilst Ethiopia Expats has 24,000 members, followed by Expats in Addis Ababa with 19,000 members, and Expats and Diplomats Network in Addis Ababa with 4,000 members.
2. Anything Important Telegram Group has over 4,000 members so you should easily be able to find an invite.
3. There are more Telegram groups including LinkUp Addis, Events Ethiopia, and Addis Parents, just search for them on Telegram.

Getting a Sim Card

There are two network providers in Ethiopia: Ethio Telecom and Saraficom. Ethio Telecom is state owned and was founded in 2010. It is the most extensive and easy to use, so I recommend that you start here. Saraficom is a Kenyan network which entered Ethiopia in 2021 so it still relatively new. I haven’t tried it so if you’re using Saraficom, please let us all know how it is.

To get a sim card with Ethio Telecom, you just need to visit one of their many offices, show your ID Card, and they will register you on the spot. I did it when I was still on a tourist visa and it didn’t seem to be a problem. Top tip – register for Telebirr at the same time as it’s super useful and you’ll be able to top up from there – see below for more details on Telebirr.

Managing your Money

On Monday 29 July, the Ethiopian government announced that they would end the practice of fixing the official exchange rate and allow the rates to be set by the market value. Before this, there was a rampant but hidden black market which provided more than double the official exchange rate for USD. Now, the official rate is almost the same as the black market, which has rendered the black market almost irrelevant. You can read more about this here, here, and here.

Not all foreigners used the black market but those that did would try to bring as many USD from abroad as possible. That is no longer necessary. According to my calculations, the cheapest way to spend in Ethiopia is to use a foreign credit card which charges you directly in your home currency. For example, I now use Wise and Revolut, which both offer around 130 Birr per CHF (my salary is in Swiss Francs) without any transaction fees. If your money is stored abroad, I highly recommend using either Wise or Revolut. If you don’t have them, please use my referral links so that we both get a bonus.

• Signup to Wise here 
• Singup to Revolut here

Ethiopian Bank Accounts: Some people choose to open an Ethiopian Bank account. You need t be registered here first, either with a resident’s permit or a diplomatic ID, but then it’s pretty easy. You just visit the bank, provide your documents and passport, and they will open it for you right there and then. Wise and Revolut are currently offering such good deals that it might not be worth opening an account if your money is abroad, but if you are paid in Ethiopia or have money here then it’s probably worth it. There are a number of banks such as Dashen Bank and Awash Bank, but Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and is recommended as it’s the easiest for foerigners.

NOTE: There are limits to the amount of currency that you can withdraw in dollars and how much you can take out of the country so do not accumulate a lot of money in Ethiopia; just maintain the amount that you will need to spend here.

Telebirr / M-PESA: The two main mobile networks offer finance apps which you can use to store money and pay for things.

• Telebirr, which is provided by Ethio Telecom, is the most widely used by far and accepted almost everywhere (the Hilton is one notable exception). It’s super useful and has loads of apps within it so you can pay for things like airtime, flight tickets, and taxis directly from the app if you want to. It’s also easy to transfer money from one person to the other.
• M-PESA is the Safaricom equivalent but is less widespread because Safaricom only started operating in Addis in 2021 (it’s from Kenya!). I haven’t tried it myself but I understand that it does many of the same things. Nevertheless, I would stick with Telebirr for now.

Visas and Immigration

As an expat, your organisation will probably be providing you with a visa. If not, or if you have visitors coming, then this is the official site for applying for e-visas: www.evisa.gov.et.

Food Delivery Apps

There are a few food delivery apps in Addis including Deliver Addis, ZMall, and Ride (same app as ride sharing), but none of them are great.

• I have not had a good experience with ZMall in particular; I had difficulty confirming the payment method and then, when I finally managed to place the order, they didn’t have anything I wanted. I think it would work better for food but I was trying to order from a supermarket, which is a service that they offer but they might as well not bother.
• Ride was also useless for supermarket stuff but works OK for restaurants. You still have to answer about 4 phone calls whenever you order (the restaurant, the driver, and Ride all call you separately) but I did manage to get delivery. I was particularly happy with the Chinese from Chanoly Smoothie and Noodles. In my opinion, it tasted just like a Chinese takeaway should!
• I have tried deliver Addis a few times but yet to make it work.

Overall, the delivery apps have a lot of room for improvement but do work if you’re desperate.

Hiring Staff

Many people who move to Addis will be looking to hire some kind of help such as cleaners, cooks, nannies, drivers, security guards, etc. Sometimes your employers might take care of this but many times its left to us to organise.

There are many ways to go about this but I highly recommend hiring people that come recommended by other expats. Every few days I see posts from people who are leaving that are looking for new employers for their staff and so I suggest that you join the various expat groups before you even get here and already start looking. That way you can arrange for them to come for interview on the day you arrive and they can usually start straight away.