Living in Accra

We’ve been in Ghana for more than two years now. I want to capture the dust and the sun and the music and food of Accra and Ghana. I want to tell about the people and the places. The challenges and the victories. So many things are jumbled in my head. If I try to tell you everything, I will tell you nothing. Let me just say something about living in Accra.

Many in the U.S. have a difficult time picturing life in Ghana. It’s so foreign, and often Sub-Saharan Africa is treated as a giant homogeneous, uncivilized wilderness. I think that image is changing because it could not be further from the truth. The Republic of Ghana is one of a small line of countries along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is nearly the same size as Oregon with a population slightly larger than Texas. Ghana has ~33 million and Texas is estimated at 30.5 million people. Greater Accra, the capital region where we live, has a population of about five million people sprawling along the coast.

There are distinct environments ranging from savannas to rainforests and coastal mangrove forests. Ghana has eight major ethnic groups with a variety of cultural differences.  English is the official language, but there are 11 government sponsored local languages. In public schcools, student instruction is in English and the predominate local language of the area. In Accra, students learn Twi in schools, but Ga is widely spoken as it is the language of the local ethnic group. 

Our Corner of the City

Living in Accra is easy and challenging all at the same time. We live in a very good neighborhood, and our little piece of the pie includes mixed-income housing and tree-lined streets. We are close enough to walk to work and to school, but we usually drive because of the heat and humidity. There are sidewalks most of the way to both locations. 

There is a corner store across the street with eggs, milk, juice, paper products and more. Before you get to the  end of the block, you can buy fresh fruits, vegetables, and homemade peanut butter—Ghanaians say ground nut paste — at three different market stalls. Around the corner is a bar and chop selling local beer and Ghanaian dishes. On the same street, there is a bakery, hair salon, barbershop and tailor. 

The shops aren’t fancy. They primarily serve the locals who live here in a sea of foreigners. When we first arrived, the stalls blocked the sidewalk, but now they are hidden behind the wall of the compound they serve. 

A Changing Neighborhood

I don’t know the future of these shops.  The affordable housing blocks they serve are scheduled for redevelopment. The basketball courts, poorly maintained on our arrival, and the trees shading them are gone now. Based on the surrounding construction projects, I expect to see tightly-packed, luxury townhouses spring up where children once played. 

Two developments have appeared over the last year across the street from the shops. The three- and four-story, off-white luxury townhouses are packed so tightly I feel claustrophobic from my vantage point on the street. Every time I pass by I imagine myself leaping from balcony to balcony. Perhaps I’m climbing over the glass rails and stepping across to escape from assassins or chasing down a spy à la Jason Bourne. Maybe I’m having a party with my neighbors. Each of us sitting on our own balcony. We pass wine across the narrow gap as we watch a football match on the TV of the one neighbor who paid for the premium package. In my imaginings, he is nice enough to never close his shades during the matches.

Our Quiet Oasis

Traffic in our neighborhood is fairly quiet by Accra standards. You have to watch the tro-tros (local busses) which speed off once they are full. It’s safe to walk and run after dark. There is petty crime, and people have had wallets stolen, purses snatched and homes invaded. Mostly, it seems no worse (and often better) than other places we’ve lived. Our house, like most here, is on a walled compound with several others making it a quiet haven. We do have to make sure to lock the doors and windows as break-ins to unsecured houses are common.

There are lots of kids in our little compound. From the just-turned-two to the senior in high school, boys and girls of all ages play outside in the afternoons. To be honest, we don’t see the teenagers that much, but they are here. They practice their skateboard tricks or hang out with their friends. There is a pack of pre-teen boys who play outside in the street – football, soccer, basketball, tag, and nerf gun battles. We have a few preteen girls who skate or ride their skateboards, scooters and bikes down the hill. The little kids – there are fewer of those – play on the fringes with parents or nannies trying to keep up. The first person we met was a little boy – about two – throwing his ball and chasing after it. That family has returned to the states and a new one filled its place. Every time a family moves in and out, the personality of the compound changes a little bit, but our youngest son has always had playmates his age.

Weather in Greater Accra

Living in Accra means equatorial sun. The weather is 85-90F with sun nearly every day. Because we are near the equator, the sun rises and sets at roughly 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. respectively. Most days there is a breeze either from the ocean – a few miles to the south or from the north. In the rainy season, roughly April to October, the winds are cool an breezy. From November to March, a searing wind blows the sand down from the Sahara desert. In January and February the dusty air traps the car exhaust and wood-fire smoke making masks a common site. For two days in February this year, we had the worst air quality of a major metropolitan area in the world. School didn’t close, but outside activities were canceled and masks encouraged.

Notwithstanding the few days of intense dust, Accra’s weather is very nice – I might not be able to readjust to the temperate climate in the U.S. I am so used to sitting outside for lunch or dinner. I will miss walking in local neighborhoods where the children are playing outside and the adults are playing cards, chess and other boardgames or watching a football match on a neighborhood television.  Our favorite restaurants have outside seating, and it is so nice to sit in a garden or on a terrace in the evenings.

Accra Hash House Harriers

Early on, I joined the local Hash House – a running club started by British officers stationed in Kuala Lumpur in the 1930s. Each week, two members of the club set routes —one for runners and one for walkers — and announce the meeting point and time. We meet up and follow the signs they set as we walk and run through various neighborhoods to the end point where cold water, beer and soft drinks await us. If we are lucky, the Hares and Harriets set up a drink stop at one of the checkpoints along the way. It is an excellent way to get to know the city. After the run, we have a meeting – much like the Kangaroo Courts or Mess Meetings in the Navy – including nicknames, bawdy songs, and fines for breaking various arcane and ridiculous rules. 

Meeting People

I don’t love the sophomoric songs, but the group is very fun and fun loving. I very much enjoy the opportunity to meet people and see places I wouldn’t see without the group. The group is a healthy mix of Ghanaians from various regions along with Americans, British, Canadians, Germans and Nigerians. We have members from Mali, South Africa, Sri Lanka and other places as well. My favorite part is spending time with different people during the walk or after the meeting to learn about their lives hear their perspectives on Ghana and the world.

Learning the City

The walks themselves are the real window into Accra. The best walks provide a mix of the old and new of the ever-changing Accra. Our path might take us through Nima’s busy market and the Muslim quarter or through a warren of twisting paths and courtyards in Osu as people make preparations for their evening meals. We travel down busy roads like Liberation Avenue where even the slowest walkers outpace the evening traffic. We pass through quiet neighborhoods like the one I live in or North Ridge marveling at the villas peeking up behind high walls. Our routes take us through malls and school grounds, along the beach, and once into the Achimota forest.

Haves and Have-nots

Those routes also reveal the stark reality of Accra. It is a city where the haves and the have-nots occupy the same space but live in different worlds. Some families share a single room in a compound with communal baths, toilets and water, while next door, a single-family villa sits in a garden of mango trees. Blocks of old apartments rise three to four stories with antennas or satellite dishes on every balcony while nearby luxury apartments with glass walls and terraced gardens rises above the chaos. The homeless find quiet places along the roadside or in parks and traffic circles to settle their families.

High-end SUVs and luxury cars vie for space in the traffic with old jalopies held together with wire and tape. Tro-tros packed to the gills with people and goods careen from stop to stop as pedestrians wait for the right moment to navigate a crossing — all while motorcycles weave between the lanes. On many of the busy street corners, refugees, the disabled and the homeless beg for money and food among the hawkers selling water, fruit, and even books, art and furniture. 

Infrastructure and the Economy

Living in Accra means traffic and, often, poor roads. Potholes dot the roads and speed bumps – often unmarked – appear out of no where to slow traffic. Curbless open sewers line the roads in many places. I’ve seen more than one vehicle find itself in the sewer either by accident or to avoid an accident. During the day, driving is a challenge, but at night, some roads are poorly lit, and the missing sewer grates and manhole covers take the challenge of driving to an entirely new place. The pedestrians are like ghosts materializing out of the gloom. Oncoming lights are glaringly bright or perhaps you encounter a car without its lights, it’s silhouette visible only when your headlights happen upon it.

There continues to be a lot of road construction, but right now the traffic is in the “worse before it gets better” phase in many of places. Many large roundabouts are being converted to multi-layer intersections. When complete, they will be much easier to navigate, but at present, they are busy, bumpy obstacle courses that turn to muddy bogs in the rain.

Economic Challenges

Unemployment is high. Even with a college degree, it is difficult to get a good job without connections or luck – often both are needed. The value of the Cedi against the dollar has dropped from around 6.5 Cedi to one U.S. Dollar when we arrived to around 13 as of this week. In November of 2022, the value had dropped to 16 Cedi per dollar, at the time the weakest currency against the dollar in the world. The housing market is tight and the rents are high. Many people working in the city commute an hour to an hour and a half each way.

The country is trying to claw its way out of the recession exacerbated by the COVID19 epidemic. They have restructured loans and gained further financing from the International Monetary Fund. Foreign investment – especially from Europe and the United States – could be in jeopardy, though. 

Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation Could Affect Economic Growth

Ghana, like most of West Africa is culturally conservative whether they practice Christianity, Islam, or a local religion. The LGBTQ+ community is often subject to violence but rarely prosecution. However, as I write, the parliament has recently passed a bill to criminalize the LGBTQ+ community and those that support it including jail sentences for advocates. The bill is currently on the Ghanaian President’s desk, and it is unclear when and if he will sign it. 

Shortly after the bill passed, the U. S. Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer sent a statement on social media, “I am saddened because some of the smartest, most creative, most decent people I know are LGBT. The bill Parliament passed takes away not only their basic human rights but those of all Ghanaians because it undermines their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press. It will be bad for public order and public health. If enacted, it will also hurt Ghana’s international reputation and Ghana’s economy.” You can read more of Ambassador Palmer’s concerns in an article from the Daily Graphic .

Positive Signs

But the news isn’t all bad. Ghana remains a stable democracy that values education and hard work. The presidential election will occur later this year. Entrepreneurs are starting businesses and seeking markets domestically and abroad. South Korea recently announced a partnership to open an auto manufacturing plant here. There is hope that a port project —put on hold when COVID-19 struck—may be revitalized. As already mentioned, Accra is in the midst of a building boom. The country is rich in natural resources, including gold and petroleum, and agricultural cash crops, like palm oil and cocoa.

Moving Goods and People

Logistics remains a challenge and, right now, all goods coming by sea seem to pass through Europe even though many Ghanaians have family and business connections in the United States. Internally, the roads are in poor condition, and the national railway is in the midst of being rebuilt after decades of disuse. Currently, there is one passenger train line in service between Tema, the main port, and Accra, but there are active construction projects to connect Takoradi, Kumasi and Accra in a railway triangle. 

Traveling in Ghana

Living in Accra means lots of opportunities to get out and see Ghana and the world. From Accra, you can fly or drive to many domestic and international tourist destinations. Several domestic tourist locations are easy day trips from the capital – Akosombo Dam on the Volta River, Shai Hills for hiking and others. Cape Coast and Kumasi are four and six hours drives respectively. Cape Coast is home of the eponymous slave fort – one of several forts here designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Kumasi is the Ashanti capital. You can also drive across the boarder to Lome, Togo in about four hours. Domestic flights will take you to Kumasi, Takoradi, home of the Western Naval Fleet and gateway to the Western Region’s beaches, and Tamale, where you can visit the largest national park in the country.

Traveling from Accra to the World

There are two direct flights to the U.S. from Ghana—one to New York and the other to Washington, D.C. Accra’s international terminal serves several destinations. From here, we have direct flights to several African cities – Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cairo, Egypt; Casablanca, Morocco; Cotonou, Benin; Dakar, Senegal; Johannesburg, South Africa; Kigali, Rwanda; Lome, Togo; Luanda, Angola; Nairobi, Kenya; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and São Tomé, São Tomé; European cities – Amsterdam, Brussels, Istanbul, London, Lisbon, and Paris; and Middle Eastern cities – Beirut, Lebanon; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Word on the street indicates ITA, Italy’s national airline, will resume direct flights between Kotoka International Airport and Rome this summer.

Accra Entertains

There is plenty to do right here in Accra. Living in Accra means we are at the heart of a cosmopolitan city. There are shops and markets along with malls and shopping centers – all becoming busier every weekend. Similar to US cities, there are go-kart tracks, trampoline parks, skate parks, bowling alleys, and a movie theater.

A Day at the Beach or by the Pool

The beaches within the city limits aren’t the cleanest – many of them are part of working fishing villages, but there are a few that are quieter and cleaner than most. Most of the public beaches require a small fee equal to about $2.00. Several high-end hotels offer day passes to their pools and at least one offers private beach access for about $20 per person. We have spent time at two of these hotels enjoying a day by the pool where the restaurants take care of the food and cleanup, so we can swim and relax under the shade of an umbrella.

Exploring Accra’s History and Culture

Living in Accra means we are in the heart of the capital with all its history and culture. History and culture lovers can explore the National Museum, the W.E.B DuBois Center, and Usher Fort – another of the slave forts designated as UNESCO Heritage Sites. They can visit Kwame Nkruma’s museum and mausoleum. Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana, and his museum commemorates his life, but also the republic’s formation. Stop by the art center to see the traditional and modern arts and crafts in Ghana, or brave Makola Market to explore the fabrics, food and frankly whatever else you need. If Makola is too intimidating, each weekend there are markets offering local goods. I wrote about the market at W.E.B. DuBois Center and the Butterfly Market in a previous article.

The great thing is that there are knowledgeable tour guides available to guide you if you aren’t sure what to do or how to do it. We regularly use Yenko Ghana Tours. These professional guides will also make sure that you get a taste of local cuisine.

Dining in Accra

Speaking of food, Accra has good food and most places, regardless of budget, have a great playlist. I’ve eaten amazing chicken and noodles from a roadside stand and had toga-clad hosts guide me through a “secret” door into a richly appointed restaurant perfect for an Instagram photoshoot and serving excellent steak, seafood and pasta. With significant Indian and Lebanese populations, there are vegetarian options and with its proximity to the sea, pescatarians can be very happy. In addition to Ghanaian, Indian, Italian, and Lebanese cuisine, there are restaurants with food from around the world – Chinese, Ethiopian, French, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, South African, and Turkish, just to name a few. A friend did lament that there was no place to get good Kenyan cuisine – but maybe we just haven’t found it.

Music and Dancing

Many restaurants have a dedicated DJ and some have live music. Whether you just like to listen to music or dance, there are places to go. There are opportunities to take dancing lessons in multiple styles during the week. If you like to party, there are several dance clubs, but be ready to stay up late. Many of the night clubs don’t open their doors until midnight or later, and they close after the sun comes up. I have never made it to one of these clubs, though I’ve had a few peeks inside before they open. Over Christmas and New Years, there are music festivals that go all night.

Quenching Your Thirst

Depending on the venue, you can pay fifty cents or four dollars for the same beer. Ghana has a few locally brewed options. Club and Star have long histories here with their light refreshing tastes perfect for the hot weather. Local craft beers, like Django and Tale, are also available  providing refreshing beers while incorporating local flavors like ginger and hibiscus.

A cocktail or a glass of wine in one off the rooftop lounges is less expensive than in New York or LA, but remains comparable to many other places in the world. The real thing to look out for are the amazing non-alcoholic fruit juices, nut milks, and teas—ginger-pineapple, orange-mint, mango, hibiscus tea, a.k.a. sobelo, and tiger nut milk are common offerings, but everyone should check out the mocktail menu for amazing flavors. 

A Taste of Home

There are no McDonalds or Chic-Fil-A. When we need an American food moment, we can eat Burger King or KFC. KFC’s chicken is better here than at home, but loses points because they don’t have mashed potatoes – according to our youngest son. Pizza Hut and Domino’s also have stores in Accra, but I prefer a few of the Italian venues when we order pizza. 

Ordering In

Living in Accra means you can order in! Just like the U.S., there are multiple delivery services. We can order on apps from various restaurants or just call the restaurant for their own driver or takeout. The service itself is not very expensive, but like the U.S., the drivers depend on tips for most of their income. The majority of them use motorbikes or bicycles for delivery. The most amazing thing to me is the ability to get ice-cream delivered.

Grocery Shopping

I like to cook, so we don’t eat out most nights. We are lucky to have multiple good grocery stores in the neighborhood. Other, larger stores aren’t too far away – and we need all of them. The down side of Accra is that I have to go multiple places to get what I’m looking for, and there is no guarantee that a product will be in stock. We joke that if you see something you might want someday, you should buy it today. Actually, when it comes to my husband’s favorite ice cream bar, this is not a joke. I have to buy some if I see them, because it is sometimes months between sightings. 

The Search for Ingredients

Living in Accra means going different places to buy different things. The corner store has a great price for milk and eggs. It is so convenient, and the fruit and vegetable stand is almost too easy. However, for our big shopping, I head to one of the local groceries. Two of the big chains don’t sell pork. One of those has the best imported vegetables. The other has the best cheese and a good selection of cleaning supplies and canned tomatoes. One chain sells our preferred lunch meat and has a good selection of pasta, bread and my coffee. If I want pork chops or ground pork, I have to go to the South African meat market a grocery a bit further away, which is also where I can reliably buy wine, beer and liquor. I rarely shop for seafood, but when I do, there are two other places to go. 

In addition to the challenges of finding your preferred supplies in stock, you also have the challenge of price. Some things are great. I can buy a supply of tropical fruits, potatoes, onions, carrots, and ginger for about five dollars from one of the fruit stands. Cucumbers and zucchini are affordable, but celery and iceberg lettuce can each set your back $10 or more. Milk is $2 to $4 a liter depending on the brand and a small box of Cheerios or Lucky Charms might set you back $10 or more.

One Stop Shopping

There is a large supermarket at one of the malls – about 20 minutes away. Additionally, within the last six months, a huge supermarket with a department store on top, multiple restaurants in the same building, and good parking has opened. This hasn’t helped with the prices, but it can help with availability. If we go early on a Sunday morning just when it opens, it isn’t too busy, has  most everything we might need, and is only about 20 minutes away. During the week, it is chaos to get there. For now, it’s easier for me to go on my little jaunts to various stores in the neighborhood while I’m out doing other things.  I don’t have to have a weekly menu plan if I go to the stores in the neighborhood and we can spend our weekend relaxing.

When We Leave

Someday, we will leave. We will move on to another post or return to the U.S. I won’t miss the poor infrastructure, the lack of enforced regulation, or the  disregard for traffic safety. However, I will miss the sun and the warmth. I will wish for the conversations and the explorations, coffee or a drink with friends. I will be thankful that we added so many good songs to the soundtrack of our lives. It doesn’t matter where I am, I will keep the people of Accra in my heart and enjoy the memories of our time living here.