Beirut’s property boom

My experience hunting for someone to live in Beirut left me very curious about property prices in the city, which seemed to be fairly high in comparision with the average income. After meeting several new Lebanese friends thanks to couchsurfing, a site which seems to attract friendly and interesting people, I found the conversation kept coming back to the expense of living in Beirut and in particular to Downtown, the district in central Beirut which was almost completely destroyed during the civil war, and subsequently rebuilt under the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. Everybody I talked to had something different to add and a slightly different viewpoint on life in Beirut and the politics of property ownsership. When it comes to the topic of modern Beirut, and particularly the controversial Downtown district, there are a thousand different opinions, facts and rumours in circulation and everybody has his or her own personal viewpoint. Continue reading →