Living in Tamatave

hello  all
I  write this story to help others who want to settle in Tamatave.We arrived in Tamatave at the airport at 8 in the morning on Wed 28 of August 2019.. Found a taxi ( 20,000 Ar) that would take us and 8 bags to the hotel Flamboyant. Family room with balcony for 85,000 ariary..   Wednesday we rested and had a family meeting about our program.Thursday, Friday, Saturday was to hunt  and look for houses and apartments in different neighborhoods and learn which area is safe and would not flood when the rains and cyclones come.   We also wanted a house as close to high school LF Tamatave.   Good news is that there are many houses and apartments to choose from even though we started to look at the end of August.  From my experience the best time to have the best choice is the beginning of August.The neighborhoods that are safe and we looked at are Valpinson, Morafeno and about a 7 min drive to the school in normal traffic, but with school traffic about 20 to 30 minutes.Also Tanamakoa is in the neighborhood of LF Tamatave and Streamliner Hotel.  Tanamakoa is divided into two neighborhoods, one safe the other not so much.  Streamliner hotel is opposite LF Tamatave.  Apartments for a family of 4 are 144 euros a night.  We found a house next to Streamliner hotel, price 450 euros for one month.  New house, new just a few months old,  we are first time renters. 4 bedroom, 5 bathrooms, two level house  , two balconies all tile house with small  garden.  House already has 5 air conditioners, hot water and about 150 meters from LF Tamatave , so we can walk to school.I do not have a car, I need to buy one---any suggestions for this in Tamatave?My two daughters have different schedules every day and different times, so they can both come home for lunch.We looked at many houses and apartments from the range of 300,000 ar to 1,000,000 ar .  1,000,000 was the most popular price for a house and apartment, more or less.   The best way to find a house is to go to the neighborhood you are interested in and talk with the locals, they know the houses that are available and they know the people who can help.  Mostly for houses 1,000,000 ar or less in price.  Agencies are more for homes 1,400,000 and higher.   Local people who are middle man ( called pannaire in Malagasy) get 5,000 ar for just visiting the house and if you take that house they get 60% commission of the first month rent.  And you also pay first month rent.Agency does not charge 5,000 ar but they do get the amount equal to one month rent.  So in my case, I went with an agency and they got 450 euros for their service, I paid the owner of the house 450 euros and an extra 450 euros as a cushion.  Also you must bargain on all prices.  In my situation I was able to get the house for 450 euros, the owner want 575 euros.   Other house we looked at are marked high but they will take less.  We are still in Flamboyant on Sept 6 and my truck with household supplies comes Saturday morning from Mahajanga , cost for this sprinter is 1,500,000 ar.  We move into the house this weekend, the house needs to be clean and there is some fixing to do as in our contract for one year.  Hope this helps, for more details please do not hesitate to contact me.Alex

Small world. I used to love across the street from College Francais Francoise in Ambondrona, in Majunga, but was moved to Mahambo, about three hours North of Tamatave. It took me a while to warm up to Tamatave, such an ugly city, all the black mold on all the buildings (which forced me to leave the area, the mold kept me sick all the time), but over time, I really grew to love it. My cycliposy driver, Mamy, used to live in Majunga, and it was always nice to be able to speak Sakalava Boeny with him (didn't really spend much time learning Betsimisaraka, since my heart belongs to Majunga), and any time I came to town, a quick text and he was waiting for me when my brousses arrived. I just gave him my shopping list and he knew where I could find the best prices for solar devices, or vanilla, or popcorn, etc.

I left Madagascar in March, moved to Belize, but I'm moving back to Majunga in February, having an apartment built near Plage Village Touristique. Madagascar is the place where magic is born. Oh, enjoy your life there, it's so wonderful.  All the best to you.