Misr American College

Expat life in Cairo concentrates in a handful of well-serviced enclaves — chiefly Maadi, Zamalek, and New Cairo — that offer international schools, English-speaking private hospitals, direct flights to European and Gulf capitals, and a social infrastructure that has existed since the 19th century. Outside those zones the city is Arabic-dominant and navigating daily life without some language baseline is genuinely hard. Quality of life as of early 2026 is described as stabilising after significant inflation and currency adjustment; expatriates earning in USD or GBP find purchasing power meaningfully higher than at home, while those paid in EGP have felt the squeeze of recent inflation cycles. The city rewards people who arrive prepared to lean on local relationships and neighbourhood networks rather than expecting Western administrative predictability.