Why I Think Egypt is the Best Place to Live Today I know some might call me crazy, but lately I have been waking up everyday thanking God for having brought me back to Cairo. With the lines outside of embassies growing, attempts at a mini exodus started some time before the revolution even took place and have naturally in recent years, grown. Seems like most people want to peace out. But even given the myriad of chances that I had to leave, I fail to see a better place to live right now, than in Egypt. The other day I took a cab to work because I was too tired to drive and my driver was pretending to be sick so that he could get a long weekend with his family in Fayoum. As I was sitting in the cab looking through my e-mails someone opened the back door and tried to grab my phone out of my hand. Serves me right really for not locking the door. I was shocked momentarily at the rapid obstruction of my personal space. However, the kids quickly ran off as the driver shooed them away and nothing really came of it. Sure, Cairo is chaotic. I have traveled far and wide and Cairo is by far the most Chaotic city I have been to. More chaotic than New Delhi. More chaotic than Mexico City. Sure, Egypt has lost all traces of orderly living; even the little order that it was able to maintain 3 years ago now seems foreign to its inhabitants. Yet, because of this completely deconstructed environment , because of this complete loss of decorum there is a huge space to Build. A space to Create. A space to Solve – virtually any and every problem you can think of. Water scarcity? Check. Alternative energy needs? Check. Irrigation solution needs? Check, Check. And the list goes on reaching into virtually ever nook that penetrates Egyptian life. Egypt is one of the few places in the world where if you plant a seed right now it will probably grow into a tree and a very fruitful one at that. The now virtually barren land along with the exploding population makes for an unbeatable combination that results in a market that is perhaps complex, yet very much alive and ready to consume. In the upscale neighborhood of Zamalek more than 30 new boutique restaurants have opened since the revolution. Numerous gourmet burger places, a frozen yogurt shop, a few cupcake spots, juice shops, a place that sells high-end Egyptian street food and even a Mexican burrito joint. You want to sell Mexican food to Egyptians? Go ahead because you’ll find a subset of the population of nearly 90 million to buy some. You want to open a beauty salon specializing in nail art– do it because you’ll find a sizable group of girls to pay you exorbitant amounts to get evil eyes painted on their nails. You want to create a soil-less irrigation system for rooftops? There are surly plenty of rooftops in Egypt, so no need to worry about your market size. You want to work on the education system? It’s certainly so decayed, that anything you can do will be a step up! I can go on forever. Literally. My point being, you can do almost anything you want here given careful evaluation of who you are trying to target, what it is that they need, where they need it and when. So my question is, why live somewhere where life is seamless and where the markets are so saturated; a place where no matter what you do and no matter how hard you work it will all be taken somewhat lightly. Live in a place that needs you. A place that needs your help and where with the same amount of effort your impact can actually reverberate.Live in a place where you feel like you matter because of what you do, are doing or have done. A place where if you leave your absence will be felt. Live in a place that motivates you to work hard because the harder you work the more you can see your impact grow. Impact. One of my favorite words. Impact. See, it sounds so strong. It shakes you a little because that is what true impact is meant to do. It is meant to shake and disrupt. It is meant to solve, change and challenge. It is meant to be non-disposable, lasting and memorable. These days I have been waking up every morning energized. I feel like I’m tripping on this city at dawn and I can’t get enough. Absolutely nothing like Cairo at dawn. The streets are already packed. People selling fries and other oil filled foods at 7 am! By 8 it’s impossible to get anywhere in less than 30 minutes. This is a place where people need to hustle to survive. They need to run after the bus because it does not stop for them. And they do. I see them every morning running to jump into those big red public buses, as the buses never stop. https://medium/i-m-h-o/5e5c6b702fd5 Why I think Egypt Is the Best Place to Live Today medium I know some might call me crazy, but lately I have been waking up everyday thanking God for having brought me back to Cairo. With the lines … 1
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:13:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015