What would you say the average living conditions are in Egypt? For the US I would say on average a small 1,500-2,000 Sq Ft home with a small yard. Can anyone who lives in Egypt or has a lot of experience there venture a guess to what it would be?

Well I can only talk about Hurghada which is one big building site. No matter what part you are in there are new buildings being constructed. Unless you go into a compound, and not even then, most buildings are apartment blocks.

I have just signed a 3 year lease on a 4th floor, 3 bedroom apartment which totals 140 sq.m. That is a good size when some of the others we looked at were 2 bedroom and 85-90 sq.m. Most have open kitchens - American as they call them - and some, not all, have bath tubs. Gardens are a rarity here, and I must admit that is the downside for me as I loved my garden in the UK. There are very few flowering plants i.e. crocus, tulips, iris, lilies etc, mostly it is just greenery. My daughter is coming over this year so I am going to ask her to bring me some bulbs and put them out on my balcony.
The upside of living here is every single morning I open the curtains and say 'another sunny day'.

Is it a normal thing to sign a three year lease? Or do you have a choice? I just ask because here in the US it is usually a one year lease. Not to sure if I would want to sign a lease for that many years if I was renting. Just because I was one of those people that used to move around alot. Not so much anymore though.

The normal is 1 year, but we asked for 3. That way the increase every year for those 3 years is fixed. Mind you here a Contract is just a piece of paper and doesn't mean a great deal.
Perhaps in the US it is easier to move, but here it is a nightmare. There are no proper 'removal' vans, the norm is an open backed flat bed truck where everything is piled on with a couple of guys to help you load and unload. Of course there is no insurance so anything that is broken, well it is just tough.
You should see my present apartment at the moment, we have started dismantling the spare beds etc and packed things in boxes, it is an absolutely tip.

Gotcha, I did not realize that the rate of the rental would be fixed for three years. My problem would be that if I decided to move before the lease was up. Here they make you pay for the rest of the lease. Now I would sign a three year lease if I knew for sure that I was staying that long. Thank you for the information.

I'vew dealt with leases in a few countries other than the U.S. and three years is actually a good deal because of the fixed rate. In a couple of cases, I've had to leave before the lease was over and it was fairly easy to negotiate an amount to get out of the lease. Bear in mind that if the economy is good and housing short, the landlord will be able to do better on the rent with a new tenant so sometimes they aren't all that upset.

Leases don't mean that much here as I said before, they are only pieces of paper and with one month's notice on either side, the lease is forgotten.
Yes I think we have a good deal on our new one WHEN it is finished.

That's great that they don't really mean anything there. Because man they sure seem to her. I ended up having to pay six months on a lease I had no choose but to break.

Hmmm.... I must have had some great landlords back when we were renting. There was always a year's lease but as long as there was a month's notice, no one really cared if the tenants had to leave. It just was never a big deal as long as there was notice on either side.

Katharina - yes they are pretty easy going here.
Tater where are you?