Ghana has its up and downs. The most concise way to describe this country is as one where the people are cool, but the economy sucks. As a foreigner residing in Ghana, one’s level of comfort is based on a number of factors, including your ability to rightfully acclimate.
Ghana has infrastructural issues which people from overseas may not be accustomed to. Water and electricity flow can be inconsistent. Street roads – and let’s say side roads in particular – can be very difficult to traverse, sometimes even by foot. And this is especially true, as pictured below, during the rainy season.
The situation has improved dramatically in recent years though. “Dumsor” – intermittent, usually unannounced disruptions in electricity – used to be a major problem, but they’re not so much these days. In some areas, especially those along major pipelines, water flows regularly enough that so long as you have a tank, the household shouldn’t be lacking. And whereas most side roads still suck, the government has been making admirable headway in terms of building and maintaining principal roadways.
As a newcomer to Ghana, it’s a lot more comfortable if you settle in an area with good roads, consistent water flow and regular electricity. As time progresses, you can gradually acclimate yourself more towards the bush side.
In this country, it’s good to know how to survive if you suddenly find yourself cut off from amenities. For peace of mind you need to have viable backups, such as alternative ways to charge your devices, an electricity generator, adequate water storage capabilities, etc. Moreover, transporting yourself to and fro in remote or overcrowded areas can be challenging if you don’t access to the right type of vehicle(s). For example these days, as shown above, a lot of people hire motorcycle drivers to get them around expeditiously.
I’ve had to deal with an ample amount of BS in Ghana, and as a foreigner you likely will too. People here seem to be under the impression that all Westerners are paid like Bill Gates. So it can be difficult interacting with Ghanaians on a monetary level. Or let me say that they’re socialized to try to take advantage of foreigners or anyone gullible enough not to know the prices of goods and services.
On one hand, this is understandable. Third World countries like Ghana have been and continue to be ruthlessly exploited by the West. But on the other hand, most overseas’ foreigners you meet here are sympathetic to the African cause. And the fact that I regularly have to deal with merchants and others who try to gyp me based on my accent has prevented me from truly feeling at home in this country.
That said, on most levels Ghanaians are extremely cool. Also, unlike population of Blacks in some other parts of the world, they are not prone to resort to violence.
The goodness of Ghanaians, so to speak, is one of the things I love the most about this country. They behave a lot differently than African-Americans. In a place like New York for instance, if locals perceive that you’re a defenseless foreigner, you’d have to worry about a lot more than just being overcharged for goods. But in Ghana, I’ve traveled around plenty on my own and have never been subject to a violent robbery or anything like that per se.
The civility of Ghanaians is in large part due to them being a religious people. If you’re an anti-religious person, this probably wouldn’t be the country for you. That’s not to say that anyone would try to force you to adopt their beliefs. But you would likely have to get accustomed to the likes of loud churches and/or mosques.
As for me personally, I’d love to live in some remote, quiet part of the bush. But here’s a not-so-fun fact. Noise travels farther in the bush than it does in the city. So even if you do live in a remote area, all it takes is one don’t-give-AF neighbor in the vicinity, and there goes your dreams of tranquility.
As for the place I currently live, there are no churches, mosques, discos, spoiled babies, caged dogs or anything like that around. The only notable external noise we get is from vehicles with loud speakers passing by, usually promoting a product or political party.
But the thing about these types of settlements is that sometimes, they attract a considerable amount of visitors nonetheless. If your house appears to be the only welcoming one around for miles, than you can expect outsiders regularly showing up at your doorstep. This is besides the compound I live in being a family home and place of business. So even though I’m not particularly fond of being around people, even out here in the bush I’m forced into interactions regularly.
Noise pollution is illegal but pretty much unenforced in Ghana. So if, like me, you’re a person easily disturbed by loud sounds, then you really need to study an area before settling there. You need to not only know what type of residents are present but also who intends to come in the future, if you’ll still be around.
For instance, you can go and build a house in the middle of nowhere. Then the next thing you know, someone decides to build something like a church or factory right next door, f*cking up your peace. Building construction and renovation, both being major sources of noise, seem to be going on everywhere in Ghana. In fact I’ve lived so many places, dealing with a plethora of noise pollution issues in the process, that now I’ve become accustomed to it.
As a foreigner, you also may not want to live someplace where the people are too needy, even if the community is otherwise attractive. This is not to imply that they will rob or that you shouldn’t help others. But having people constantly asking you for dough can be very irritating. I even know of one dude, an African-American living in Ghana, who relocated to a different part of the country for that very reason.
It’s sad, as a Westerner, to witness the types of poverty that are common in Ghana, and most of us naturally sympathize. But it’s even sadder when people don’t understand that you’re not made of dollars.
So the unintended lesson of this particular section is don’t judge an area of Ghana by how it appears on the surface or based on your preconceived notions. If you decide to settle somewhere, unless the place really speaks to your heart, do your research beforehand. Of course there are a lot of things you will never know except by experience. So at the end of the day, flexibility and the ability to relate to the locals, either directly or through a trusted intermediary, are imperative.
Making enough money to survive in Ghana, especially as someone with Western tastes and acculturation, can be discouragingly challenging. The locals also have a difficult time making a living, as the one thing they complain the most about is the state of the economy. The types of hustling some Ghanaians engage in are ridiculous, such has homegirl pictured below hawking low-priced drinking water.
Many foreigners come over here to set up a business. It’s rare that one of such entities is successful enough to survive on its own, without foreign funding. So what usually happens is that said founder returns home, often on a regular basis, to pump money into the business.
Other expatriates may opt to apply for a job, which is a sound strategy if you know where to look. If you intend to stay in Ghana, I recommend even finding a job before you come over here. That way, you have a better chance of landing one that will pay you higher as a foreigner, if you know how to read the system.
Finding employment in Ghana that pays an appreciable, respectable wage is not easy. Labor-based oppression is very much extant. So I’m not trying to discourage anyone from starting their own business. All things considered, that may be the best option for expatriates. But unless you have a whole lot of money to invest, coupled with trustworthy, loyal and knowledgeable advisors, starting a successful enterprise can prove more of a hard-fought war than a short-term skirmish.
One of the biggest mistakes I made when expatriating to Ghana was not knowing the options that were available to me as an American. Generally speaking, you can make a lot more money working for, say, the US Embassy than you would with a local entity or through your own business. It doesn’t matter how you feel about your home country. If you’re from a First World nation and decide to move to Ghana, then it would be wise, especially from an economic standpoint, not to burn home-based bridges.
If you’re living in Ghana and consuming a Western diet on a daily basis, that means you have a substantial amount of disposable income. Pizza distribution is becoming more ubiquitous. But as for finding a proper burger, you’d have to live close to the heart of a big city or in swanky resort areas. For instance there’s no McDonald’s and only three Burger Kings in the all of Ghana. And all three of them are basically located within central Accra.
There’s also the option of cooking those foods yourself. But their ingredients are only found in international supermarkets which again, are based solely in big cities. Also, Western foods are a lot more expensive than local varieties, thus making them luxury items in Ghana.
I never really grew accustomed to local dishes. Ghanaian markets are increasingly becoming inundated with junk foods which, relatively speaking, I consume a lot of. Some of my Ghanaian friends, like they don’t consume sugar at all.
A lot of the (fast) foods that are sold on the roadside have a general, worldwide appeal, thus making them viable options for foreigners. For example, you can find someone selling cooked ramen noodles just about anywhere these days. Other common roadside foods in Ghana consist of the likes of franks, fried chicken and fish, spaghetti (noodles), rice and grilled sausages (pictured above).
Some of my Ghanaian friends aren’t particularly fond of roadside food. One of their biggest arguments is cooking at home being cheaper. That has not necessarily been true based on my experience. Or let me say that if you’re cooking for a lot of people then yes, it’s cheaper than going out to buy food. But if it’s like just you alone, then all things considered the cost difference can be negligible.
With some dishes, it may be preferable to let someone else cook it, so that it’ll be healthier or taste better. Other times, you may want to cook something yourself for whatever reason. As a foreigner, unless you’re shopping in the heart of a major city, getting all of the types ingredients you’re accustomed to from home will be impossible. So, you have to improvise. And the good thing about forced improvisation in a country like Ghana is that you’re likely to come out healthier than before.
So yeah, I made that rice and stew above, replete with fresh onions and garlic. When I say fresh, I mean straight-from-the-farm, never-been-refrigerated type sh*t. They may have even been grown by someone in the neighborhood. That’s Ghana for you.
The ingredients altogether came out to approximately GH₵100, and the food lasted for about three days, thus making a GH₵33 per day average. I didn’t solely eat rice and stew over that time. Also, you have to take into consideration the cost of the cooking utensils, powering the stove and fridge, etc. which comes along with preparing and storing food.
By contrast the plate of waakye, a common roadside food in Ghana, pictured above, complete with three fish and an egg, cost me GH₵40, and it could take me for about an entire day. So cooking is less expensive than regularly buying food outside, even for an individual. But in the grand scheme of things, the monetary difference isn’t that much.
There are a lot of natural hairstyles in Ghana, especially these days with most of the boys rockin’ dreadlocks. But the likes of barbershops and hair salons are just about everywhere.
Above is a pic of a hair salon a friend of mine has setup inside what used to be a shipping container. She actually makes good money out of there, sometimes.
Competition is spread all over the place. Before a patron reaches a particular hair salon or barbershop, they will probably pass at least two or three others on the way. So factors such as atmosphere and especially the skill and consistency of the worker(s) are important.
As I’ve aged and my hair becomes thinner, I’ve become increasingly wary of who I let cut it. Most barbers out here, let me say they don’t have any natural swag. Also hairstyles in Ghana, though there’s a lot more variety these days, tend to be a bit monotonous. So most barbers cannot satisfactorily venture outside of the boundaries of what they’re already used to performing.
The homey above, sometimes he’ll give me a really good shave, and other times his performance leaves something to be desired. He’s a personal friend of mine, and how good he performs basically depends on what kind of mood he’s in on that particular day. Ideologies based on professionalism aren’t really that widespread in this country. That’s Ghana for you.
As a foreigner, you may find it difficult to get the type of clothes you want. This is especially true let’s say for those of us who have a sense of style. Ghana, outside of its traditional culture, really isn’t a fashion country. And that makes sense, because the sun is so hot out here that overdressing is extremely uncomfortable.
You may find yourself at times preferring to purchase used or discarded clothes shipped in from the West. Ghanaians tend to look upon these items unfavorably. But that’s really the only way to regularly find authentic pieces from name brands that are fashionable in West, unless you prefer the tighter, overpriced varieties that are available in some malls.
The possession of washing machines is becoming more common in Ghana. But most people still wash their clothes by hand. I sometimes do so myself, in the name of saving money. And of course you dry the clothes by hanging them in the sun (as pictured above). So sometimes during the rainy season, when it’s raining all day, it can take like three or four days before the clothes dry.
I actually prefer sending my things to the laundry. Most laundries in Ghana are pretty good, and they press the clothes and everything. Clothing also lasts longer under their care. But compared to washing them yourself, laundries are very expensive. Yet they attract an ample amount of business nonetheless.
Ghana is like the perfect society, coupled with a very imperfect economy. It’s hard to imagine one without the other. You have to be on your Ps and Qs when dealing with people, but the threat of being a victim of physical violence is minimal. The financial state of the country is such that cashflow will probably always be on your mind.
Living in Ghana is definitely a respite from the hectic pace of the West. But many of the same type of money-based anxieties exist nonetheless.
