The plus points we found movng here from Texas was that our family found much more 'family quality time' together - you do not have to do house maintenance / gardening all weekend - it really is quality time. House help is economical and therefore you get much more time with the kids which is great for yours at that age! Whilst your wife wouldn't want to sit on a public beach in a costume - we all tend to go to beaches a little further down the coast for swimming and are more 'private'. The beach clubs here are great - 15 mins drive - very Western and you can wear anything and they are very sociable.
Because there are soooo many expats, we found it much quciker to make friends than in the States - that shouldn't be a concern.
Schooling varies, we use The English School for our children which is excellent and there are many American children in attendance there - the total number of pupils is just short of 500 and we find it similar to our local sub-division school outside of Houston that we were in catchment for prior to coming here. There are American schools, I think you have to visit them as it is very much a personal choice of which feels right for your child. Lots of nursery schools around as well as mother and tot groups
The realtor we use at Paguro is Canadian so she is great in terms of unrderstanding expat needs - I can give you her number. The housing is great in general with most expats living in villas or apartments - whatever you choose. If optinig for a villa midway between the school and your work in Ahmadi- ensure your company will pay KD950 per month - you can find a little cheaper, but that is the general price.
Exotic birds and dogs need an import licence from the Ministry of Health, many local peopel have aviaries so the supply of everything is here and dogs are acceptable. We have one. The security and safety is fine - whilst you may have read some issues recently - the police actively pursued known activists and I would hope that has closed the matter. Safety, especially childrens safety, is a very positive factor and it is one of the big points that makes this region so pleasant after Europe or the States is that crime is almost non-existant. Hope this helps - don't hesitate to ask for advice. My suggestion is where ever possible, a two / three day recce trip (with or without children) makes ALL the difference.

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