Asmara - Post Report Question and Answers
Are there any particular mental health issues that tend to crop up at post, such as Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter blues)?
Travel in and out is difficult, and one can feel a bit cooped up after awhile, especially as we're not allowed to leave the capital without permission from the government. - Apr 2021
No real ones that I can point to, but people do tend to get a sense of "island fever" and often need to take trips out. Expats can get really isolated here in Asmara. But, there's plenty of sun all year, so no SAD. - Dec 2019
Definitely not SAD. The weather here is bright and beautiful with mild temperatures virtually the whole year round. While no particular mental health challenges come to mind, many people find they like to travel abroad every few months. Asmara can be a small place, and sometimes it's nice to get away to a more developed consumer economy. - Feb 2019
Asmara is hard for type A personalities who want to get things done. The internet doesn’t work, the government has capacity issues, so your sense of accomplishment has to be adjusted. As someone once said, “enjoy Asmaraâ€. - Sep 2018
No. Just know that the Embassy is a small community, the diplomatic/expat community is small, and the city is small enough where everyone knows everyone...so it is definitely a place where it's in everyone's interest to play nice and get along. - Dec 2016
