₦airaland Forum

alfonso36:
i will suggest you stay around lekki, low crime rate as compared to ikeja, yes you should look into radio or tv for job, i know a friend who came in from the uk and doing well now working with a radio station, you try to blend quickly so as to avoid cheating, and hey theres a rivalry going on between mainland and island guys, if you join us on the island you wont regret it, we have the best night life compare to mainland, wait are you white or black??

Lol at the last part. From my post what do I sound/type like? Lmaoo

Also...rivalry brewing? Uhh not sure how I feel about having to decide between either side. A loved one stay on the island (which I'll be visiting I'm sure) plus I'll probably stay on island just because like mentioned that's where the nightlife and the Life I experienced while visiting is located. So idk.

Another close friend of mine suggested Lekki to me when I mentioned Ikeja to her. She shook her head at my new idea of possibly staying in Ikeja due to rent etc. so apparently I need to educated myself more and tons of more research. Help me out on that one?

Btw I'm black/African American whatever
Lol

Pidgin2:
Hi, with less than half of your current annual rent you will get a very good place to stay in Lagos. I recommend Ikeja because houses there are cheaper to rent than most of the same type of houses on the Island and in Lekki.

With your dollars you will be living like a king here because of the current exchange rate.

Don't worry about our weather, it's currently quite hot but we are expecting the raining season to start soon.

As for business, I suggest you look into importing things from US and selling them here. Also, with your accent maybe you should start looking into presenting on radio/TV?


On the streets, try to blend in as fast as you can so that you don't attract people who might think you are naive. Try to speak like a Nigerian as quickly as possible, this will help you avoid cheats. Good luck and enjoy our blessed country

Thank you so much. Very helpful tidbits. Sorry for the delay, but I'm 6hrs behind everyone in Nigeria.

I'm working on my Yoruba. Some friends are slowly teaching me. Tough language lol but not too difficult.

Re: radio personality, that just might work. I have a deep voice so it may take me far.

Ikeja is somewhere I have to keep in mind. I don't want to live too lavishly because I want to blend in, regardless if our dollars are weighed significantly more, but I am aware of the conversion rate. When I visited I was actually shocked at how US dollars was appreciated and converted smh. That may be "good" per se for Americans but in hindsight very bad for my family in Lagos etc.

The weather is one thing I have to get used to.

My hair won't allow me to blend in so easily unless I chop it all off smh which I'm not ready for just yet, so I have to learn to speak like you all.

Thanks for response though, any other tidbits would be highly appreciated.

Lexusgs430:
Before you contemplate partial or complete relocation, I would advice a 2/4 months stay prior.
Don't let the 3 weeks nostalgic holiday euphoria cloud your imagination. A huge difference between holiday & relocation..... ...... ....
Use the stay prior to relocating, to holistically look into all aspects of your relocation, cost, expenses, legality etc etc etc
An employed person might not mind paying $10,200 on rent, whereas an unemployed person cannot easily afford $1,000 on his/her rent annually. ... .. .. . . ... .. Give it deep thoughts and weigh your options. ... ... .

I appreciate the response but with respect to a visit of 2-3 months that's something I just can't afford.

So my decision would be to just stay in the States or throw my hat into the ring and just move.

If I stayed for a couple months then that would mean I would still have to give up my job (as I would had I decided to move for a year) and coming back to the States with no job would be very harmful to my survival. It's really all or nothing.

Hello my fellow brothers and sisters.

I just discovered this site earlier today and have been enjoying every second of it thus far.

However, I am in a bind. Please don't insult me or think I am foolish for what I believe and feel.

I love Nigeria. I understand why some have their preconceived feelings about a place they have never visited (thanks News and Social Media) but nevertheless I absolutely love Nigeria.

I recently visited you guys country just last month (Feb) for 3 weeks, so yes I already have a feel for how the country operates & how I'll be treated.

Speaking of treatment: I was freaking treated like a KING. Omg! I have neat dreadlocks and the girls LOVED every second of me. Surprisingly, the fellas were intrigued also. I kept being called Rasta which was cool lol. No I'm not Rasta. People kept staring at me, my friends said it was because of my hair.

I was VERYYY nervous before I arrived, & when I was departing I was yearning for more and didn't want to leave. (Although I hate the Hammertime (?) season smh can someone please elaborate what the hell that is and why does it exist? I almost choked to death lol)

As a black man who lived 29 years of his life in America I am just TIRED. America is NOT all that its caked up to be. Yes I like my country and yes I love many things about it. So again, yes it will be missed and I'll visit quit a bit throughout time. But enough is ENOUGH.

I need sooo much advice about what I should do to properly prepare for my move. I'm moving within a year and that's final. No one or nothing is stopping me unless their name is Jesus Christ themselves.

How much money (US$) should I bring for atleast a 1-2 year stay? I'm aware of Lekki, Victoria Island, Mainland etc... but if I was to set aside 4-5K for housing alone where should my friends in Lagos look for a place for me? Not to sound pompous or anything but I would prefer a quiet/SAFE area more than anything. It doesn't have to be fun or exciting, just SAFE AND QUIET.

Aside from Rent (which I know we pay in advance for the year or next two years) what other utilities does Nigerians pay monthly? In the States smh you pay literally for everything. I.e Gas, electricity, wifi, garbage, sometimes security, maintenance fees, pet fees, insurance, water, vehicle fees if u have multiple cars sometimes it's just a mess. Plus you pay monthly! My rent right now is $850.00 (US) x 12 (months) = $10,200. Nothing is included either. So all the other fees mentioned above would be paid in addition lol laughable right? So no, I don't care about limited electricity (Hello Generator!) or terrible roads (Hello! Buffalo, NY!!) or even bad traffic (Hey! Los Angeles, Atlanta, DC, & NY)

What hidden fees (other than medical and feeding) should I budget?

I'm not rich but I make my money, so I have to properly save now to make this move a reality.

I have a Business Degree from a school in NY, so I think that'll help with employment and I speak great English and ASL (American Sign Language) and sound kinda proper to be from New York lol not much slang in my vocabulary (unless angry then I can get very gangsta hehee) so how does businesses take to foreigners? Will I be look at as an asset (hopefully)? Or look down upon as an intruder? That's my biggest issue, wondering if I'll be employable.

Lastly and most importantly: does anyone know the process it takes for a US citizen to make the change to become Nigerian (hehe) I mean atleast a citizen of Nigeria? Is it a hard process? (Like it is for my brothers and sisters to gain entry into the US) What steps do I follow? Do I have to have my employer take action? What if my employer doesn't operate there? I hear often times US citizens gain entry with the help of their employers for assimilation.

I'll just be coming over with cash that's it. Oh, and a dream. Yes, I have friends there so no I won't be defenseless but nonetheless I wanted to reach out to your guys (which is why I created my account today while researching Google for help)

Sorry for the long story but I prefer to be descriptive rather than short on words.