Currency: Jordanian Dinar (JD)
Exchange rate: 0.86 JD per euro (December 2020)
Time zone: UTC + 2
Country code (phone): +962
Climate (Amman): Moderately Mediterranean-continental
Finding accommodation in Amman
Thanks to the commitment of other newcomers such as Bastian Müller, you can now find many details about living online, especially about the capital Amman, where the majority of foreigners live and work.
When you get to Amman, you may not find an apartment right away. If your sending organization does not pay you a hotel or bed and breakfast for the transition, we recommend renting a furnished hotel apartment or a simple furnished apartment for a limited period of time, which is available in almost all facilities and price ranges in Amman. No advertising should be made here for individual providers, hence our recommendation: Enter the terms “Amman” and “furnished apartment” into a search engine and explore the current market. Attention: Fraudsters are more and more frequent on rental portals. You should only make cash payments. if you have met the landlord / agent personally and inspected the rental property yourself.
If you are on a tight budget, we recommend contacting the German-Jordanian Schneller School, which is about 5 kilometers from the city center of Amman in the suburb of Marka. The Schneller School has a simple, inexpensive guest house in a relatively quiet area.
Current offers from landlords and brokerage firms can be found in the advertising section of the English-language Jordan Times, as well as on special pages for foreign employees on the Internet. Often it is also worth taking a detour to the foreign cultural institutes (British Council, Institut Francais, Instituto Cervantes, Goethe-Institut) or to one of the pubs that foreigners like to visit, such as books @ caféin Jabal Amman / Mango Street, or Jafra Café downtown opposite the main post office.. There you can often find interesting apartment advertisements on notice boards. And finally, you can ask for tips from the sending organizations on site or from colleagues who have been living there for a longer period of time.
In downtown Amman (within walking distance of Habibi, Hashem, Jafra-Café) a number of inexpensive, clean hotels have opened in recent years.
Rentals and leases
Apartment rents have risen sharply in Amman. However, differences are still considerable, depending on the location and equipment. As a rule, foreigners pay higher rents than Jordanians. Tip: Don’t accept any price, haggle. Here are some guidelines, without guarantee:
- A room or a small apartment: from the equivalent of 200 euros per month
- A four-room apartment in a quiet location: from the equivalent of 800 to 1200 euros per month
- Average house with a garden for a family of four including room for the domestic staff: 1500 to 2500 euros monthly rent. Important: Check the condition of the water tanks! They are usually on the roof.
Some landlords require a full annual rent in advance. Such an offer can be quite tempting, because sometimes interesting discounts can be negotiated with the help of a prepayment. Before paying for a full year, you should consult a notary or lawyer chosen by you. Ask the German Embassy in Amman for appropriate addresses.
Where to live
With the number of residents in Amman, car traffic has increased dramatically. The frequent traffic jams cost time and nerves. Therefore, when looking for an apartment, logistical questions are particularly important: Can I get from my home to work or to institutions with which I work regularly? If children travel with you: are kindergarten, school, sports facilities within a child-friendly distance or ideally on the way to work? Can I quickly get to my favorite excursion destinations on days off?
Cost of living, food and drink
According to eningbo, Jordan is considered a middle income country. The price level in Amman is high and in some cases at the level of Switzerland. This affects restaurants as well as numerous everyday goods, including some food (milk, cheese, etc.). If you cook yourself, you can find fruit and vegetables at low prices in some cases (e.g. at the market in downtown Amman). Many popular restaurants are also affordable. The takeaways are also worthwhile in culinary terms, as the traditional Jordanian cuisine is tasty, diverse and generally very healthy. The videos of the influencer Mark Wiens on his forays into Amman, which were clicked a million times (and sponsored by the semi-state Jordan Tourism Board), give a clear impression.
At first glance, meat seems to play an important role, but there is actually a considerable selection of meatless dishes, from the crispy Hallumi grill cheese and the creamy yoghurt white cheese Labnah to traditional vegan dishes (parsley bulgur salad, tabbuleh, mixed salad with sumac fattush, Hummus balls falafel, chickpea puree hummus). Whether a simple snack or five-star restaurant: you can generally count on decent quality and hygiene in Jordan. Exceptions prove the rule.
