Havana - Post Report Question and Answers
What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
Housing is general single family homes with a few apartments. The longest commute for individuals with the US Embassy is less than 20 minutes. Housing is very nice. - Jul 2023
Housing is all rented from the Cuban government. They are generally large but not all of them. Commute times are mostly 15-20 minutes. - Oct 2017
Housing is varied-- mostly ranch-style homes from the 50s and 40s with back yards, about 20 minutes drive from the embassy. There are many maintenance issues. There are a couple of serious duds in the housing pool, but most of the housing is quite nice. - Jan 2016
Americans live in houses (and a few apartments) leased from the Cuban government. Most are great houses, full of character but they all older and need ongoing maintenance. Getting supplies and replacement parts is a constant problem. Some have damp or pest problems. However, the Section does a pretty good job keeping them livable. Commute times are increasing (although there is still relatively little traffic in Havana) all the time. They range from 10 to 25 minutes on a regular day, depending on the location of the house. U.S. families are located in Miramar, Flores, Cubanacan and Siboney. You can look up those neighborhoods on a map pretty easily. - May 2014
Housing is a crap shoot with some being overjoyed with their house until they learn that their 50 year old cistern has cracked and they have no water. Others seem unhappy with large but plain houses. All things considered a fair majority of the houses are very nice with wonderful detail touches from Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Modernist styles that leave you wondering "who lived in this place before Castro?" The sole landlord is the Government of Cuba and all residences are leased, it is very difficult to acquire new houses. - Aug 2013
Housing is on the large side, but decades of neglect shows. Materials are scarce and, over time, landlords have had to improvise. There is little traffic, so commutes rarely exceed 25 minutes. - Jul 2011
