Abuja is pleasant. The Harmattan in the winter is dusty, and the dry season following is quite hot, but with the summer rains life outside becomes cooler. Expat communities are tight, and it is easy enough to meet people, although I mostly hang out with Nigerians, but that is my personal choice, not a necessity.

Many working Nigerians live on as little as 200-300USD a month (current calculations reflect 40,000-60,000N at 200+N to 1USD). Some live on far less. You can live large on 1000USD a month, buying new clothes, eating out, traveling on vacations abroad twice or more a year, and still save money, if you scrimp like a local in between splurging.

Traffic isn't a problem within Abuja but travel outside the city can be wearisome due to congestion in some areas (Nyanya in particular), potholes, checkpoints, and other hazards.

The city has lots of green areas, often with bush bars so getting a cold beer and some local food is seldom an issue, and prices are cheap (1-2USD a 600ml beer, roughly 220z). Maitama is the wealthy expat neighborhood, but even there prices for anything beyond housing are reasonable.

It's not a walking city; sidewalks are often non-existent, and distances are usually too great for more than local market shopping. Driving is a bit hair-raising at first, but the light traffic makes it reasonable enough during the day. I don't like driving at night unless I know where I'm going well.

Crime is not a problem, and I visit questionable neighborhoods, often with locals, but sometimes alone, although I am a big guy, so my advice would be different for a small woman. Sexism is over the top here, which is rather unfortunate.

It's unlikely you will have water or electric issues due to company housing, which almost certainly includes a generator. It's normal to buy water for drinking, but tap water is fine for bathing and washing vegetables.

Current (3/2015) food prices are roughly 4-5USD for a "flat" or 30 egg tray, 3USD for roughly 5 pounds of potatoes (a wastepaper bucket filled and mounded on top), same for a bucket of oranges. A large pineapple would be 2-3USD at most. Meat is a bit more, and most expats shop at Shoprite, a South African based grocery chain (2 in Abuja, main one at Silverbird, a modern 4 story mall). Odds are good you'll hire a maid who can also shop and cook, and monthly wages typically run between 150-250USD.

I can get a meal (pressed chicken, suya, pepper soup) from a street vender or local restaurant for 3-5USD. An expensive date at a fancy restaurant might run to 50USD for both of us, including drinks.

Gas/petrol is roughly 2USD/gal or 87N/liter. Due to the low price we're experiencing one of the occasional shortages (the wholesellers are keeping gas off the market to drive the price back up). You can hire a driver to deal with this issue however (I don't, but do pay for a steward)

Abuja is a good place to be an expat in Africa. Not as good as South Africa or Kenya, maybe, but pretty chill nonetheless. I've no complaints after a couple of years here.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-it-like-to-live-in-Abuja-Nigeria

He makes me wanna ....... Cc Lalasticlala Seun

Nxt please

Very true

I am not in his league of assertions.

Abuja is EXPENSIVE

fiftynaira:
I am not in his league of assertions.
Abuja is EXPENSIVE

I tell you