Expat Advice: Relationships in Beirut, Lebanon

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Beirut

What is your current status? Are you single, dating, in a long-term relationship, married or divorced?

I'm married with 2 children.

What is it like in your country of residence for someone with your relationship status (married/divorced/dating)? If you're single, how do you meet other people? Do English-speaking people tend to gravitate to certain parts of your city?

Social life in Lebanon, is quite active if one wants. Abundant nightlife; restaurants, nightclubs etc. Many sporting and outdoor activities are available, beaches in Summer, skiing in winter, other year round sports are also available.

There are very few Americans that live in Lebanon and other nationality expats are also relatively few. We very rarely socialize with real locals. We socialize with a few select couples, mostly with locals that used to live overseas and a few couples where one of the partners is foreign.

There is no one part of Beirut that is an expat magnet, social activity is generally dispersed.

The biggest problem with social life in Lebanon is that is extremely non children-friendly. No parks or playgrounds, no safe places to play (safe from traffic that is), no green spaces at all, very few children oriented activities. Almost all leisure activities are for adults.

If you have children, what advice would you give to others making a similar transition to your country of residence?

They don't cater to childrens' needs in terms of playgrounds and activities etc. (see above). A small example; very very few restaurants provide high chairs, and none that we have tried provide non-smoking sections.