I lived as an expat in Cairo for three years. I agree that daily life can be difficult, emotionally and physically, but it is a wonderful city and beautiful country. The people are extremely warm and friendly for the most part-learning a bit of local dialect arabic will be helpful and appreciated by the locals. We lived in an apartment in Maadi, actually not that far from the French School. Great place for walks, etc with children and while very green with tree-lined streets and flowers, parks and open green space are not readily available. Lots of good restaurants, coffee places, etc. I believe they even have a big supermarket (Carrefour) now-not in existance when we were there. Go with an open mind, enjoy your time there, live carefully but not with a constant fear and keep in mind that you are no longer in the Gulf and people have a lot less.

Angels123