For any American borns thinking of moving to Nigeria, here are some tips. Ill develop more over time.
1. You must have someone in Nigeria preferably a team of people invested in providing you a "soft landing". This means housing, cars, advice, generators, wifi, and time to help you get adjusted. If they live on the island, this is a plus!
2. If you are coming for a job, make sure you have a contract signed and written (preferably in stone) before you arrive. There are fraudulent companies here. Also a respectable job title in the US, might mean something completely different in Nigeria. Research well.
3. If the company is not a multi-national have well placed individuals on the ground investigate the company for you.
4. Identify friends or friends of friends who will have no problem introducing you to their friends. Lagos is one big group of cliches.
5. Pay extra for a suitcase full of every product you need and any dry goods you want. Lagos has to be one of the most expensive cities on earth. Any quality product or service will be 3-5 times more expensive here than in the US.
6. Buy bottled water and use that to wash your face and brush your teeth...after days of a peeling face, I switched to this method and realized the water quality is extremely different than US.
7. Don't be scared. Lagos at least is a safe city. Nigeria has horrible PR. Drop your pre conceived notions and keep an open mind.
