weasel central

Following up on my previous thread about various job locations, I have decided to stick with Cairo for now. Looks like I will sign up in the next couple of days.

All the exotic locations have at least a 6 month lead in so for now Cairo is going to be the new base, dealing with the Gulf area and North Africa (including Morocco and Algeria ) from here.

I am available for guided tours of Cairo at good BE rates

Paracletus

May I ask, what is the most boring place you have ever lived? It seems to me it must have been so dreadful that you make any excuse to find exotic locations to shake of that..Sana'a..Cairo..anywhere else? (forget the saudi stint). I am infact quite intrigued.

weasel central

Well I have lived/worked in the following locations (in no particular order):

Boston and Houston USA, Sydney Australia,Berlin, Dublin Ireland (home),Sana'a Yemen, Dubai, Cairo (for the last 2 months ) and by far the worst Riyadh KSA.

I can't express how much I hated Riyadh, you are right to one degree I chose Yemen to escape Riyadh, circumstances beyond my control obviously have made me leave Yemen hence the latest move.
Since moving permanently to the ME I am now very attracted to off the normal course destinations, (not saying Cairo is exactly this) but it gives me the chance to develop into places like Morocco/Algeria and possibly Sudan.

I like the lifestyle, the differences and the sort of "adventure" that goes with it. I would never consider returning to Dubai for example, as it holds no attraction for me except for brief visits.

And obviously the money offered helps too, just in case you think I am some sort of hippy

Southlondoner

Hi Weasel Central

This is fascinating. You are really well travelled. How come you dislike Riyadh so much? I have been there 3 times now, for 2 separate interview processes.
Am considering a move there, if I get an offer.

It is boring and dull at weekends - but compound life seems fairly active. There seems to be a real camaraderie among the western expats in Riyadh. All in the same boat and help each other out.

Negatives I can think of:
No wine and little culture
No music
Extreme heat

The feared religious police do not pick on foreigners so much right? For instance, I went into the malls on Friday - while single local men were barred from entering.

It must be bad though, if you prefer Yemen to Riyadh!

al dente

Weasel, i think i *heart* you (from the safe distance of an internet board). I love your sense of adventure.

weasel central

Well I struggled a lot with Riyadh, its the sense of being in an open prison and a compound being your only refuge. After a while no matter what compound you are in, it feels very restrictive. I worked with a Saudi company also so even the office/project environment was hard work. I prefer to live in a regular house or villa in a city neighbourhood rather than the luxury western ghetto style of Riyadh.

You are right about people being helpful though, I made good friends there, it was almost a sense of bonding through a tough time as if we were in the trenches together so to speak.
I liked FAL compound it had a sense of life to it, but Eid, El Waha, Grenada and a few of the others were quite dead in comparison.
The muttawa can't usually come onto the compound so you are safe there!

Regarding Yemen though its actually a much more open and friendly society compared to its media image.

weasel central

thanks you can continue to live vicariously through my posts , though i am not sure why I post about it on here except for the obvious attention seeking or discussions it some times provokes.

Paracletus

I see, must have been your time in Boston then..

I wholeheartedly agree with you on your Dubai sentiment. Never lived there, but much too crowded with the usual expat crowd which I tend to avoid. I quite like living in places where one must go native to survive. Also, not being a big racist fan, I find the more foreigner folk around, the more hostile the locals get. I had to endure 4 years as 'Joe'..Can you believe it??!!

Anyway, looking to get out of Bahrain now..been bored here for awhile..I know all the bands and they play me songs from their secret reportoire..work is slow and unpredictable. Fancy somewhere exotic and cold, possibly in Europe. Perhaps try my luck in Northern Scandinavia or Russia..would you recommend?

kittycat1

I always say never say never as you look liek a twat when you end up doing what you said you'd never do.

weasel central

True in my case though i would just look like a bigger twat than usual. Obviously we all have a level where we can be bought or maybe thats just me!

weasel central

I don't know what industry you are in but its probably not too difficult to pick up work in the likes of Kazakstan/Turkmenistan and neighbouring countries. Both oil and gas, and construction work are going there at the moment, deeper into (proper) Russia is more difficult I'd say.

Being European means of course I don't fancy Scandinavia, because of its high cost and ludicrous tax rates. Also I don't see many opportunities there for non-Scandinavians.

nottmbantam

Well, best of luck to you on your new adventure in Cairo, and us 'prisoners' here in Riyadh will look on in envy as you enjoy living in a much more vibrant and lively a setting.

Look forward to reading your updates on life in Cairo and ventures into Algeria Morocco. Sounds all good

Victor Meldrew

I liked Riyadh a lot, mostly
I hated Cairo
I am OK with Dubai

OleJanx

Good luck, Weasel, and may you be happy wherever you end up
For what it is worth, a lot of what you make of a place can be down to how much you are prepared to adjust to it. One of my favourite places was Kuwait. It all comes down to how you find somewhere. What one person hates, another one loves. Sadly there is no accounting for human nature!

weasel central

thanks for the well wishes, yeah you are right each to their own

fingers crossed it works out and if it doesn't well on to the next thing