weasel decentral

Dear Forum,
Interested in your collective thoughts...

After three straight years in the ME and North Africa in various spots (currently Cairo) I am at a crossroads of sorts.
My company now have the intention to move me to Abu Dhabi in the next couple of months, and to be honest I am not terribly interested in the UAE. I find the lifestyle not really what I am after. So the choices are :

• Suck it up and go to Abu Dhabi with my company, hit the brunch scene, do the UAE ex-pat lifestyle
• Look for a more "exotic" location with my company, with less lifestyle and more money
• Look further afield than the ME, maybe Asia or Russia as examples
• Try complete emigration to somewhere like Canada or Australia

And the complications/factors I have are:
Recently bought a house that I don't want to rent out so will need to pay for this from wherever I am working. So no backpacking or voyages of self discovery will work.
Thinking to bring my gf with me so remote work isn't much of an option.

I am involved in contractor side construction work, mostly building works but with some O & G thrown in from time to time.

Comedy replies welcome

shiva

and the problem is what exactly

Meow

It's not compulsory to 'hit the brunch scene' in the UAE. You can live how you wish, rather than falling in with the cliches. Life here is whatever you decide it should be.

csdf

I haven't been to a single brunch since I moved here.

weasel decentral

Sorry I shouldn't have put in brunch scene comment, its detracting from my post. I meant it in a sort of, UAE is quite normalised or westernised I don't really consider it to be a foreign country experience. (against places like Egypt for example)

weasel decentral

Its not a problem, its more of making a decision which I want to stick with for the next 3 or 4 years. I am voicing my thoughts as it were.

Meow

Please don't do the line about not being a 'real expat' (whatever that is) because life in the UAE isn't rough! Who doesn't want decent bathrooms and working aircon in their life?


csdf - Nothing wrong with brunches. They can be fun. It's the mindset of some that's the issue.

co durham boy

I think the U.A.E is a great destination for an expat , good choices , good airline links , good location and good lifestyle .

Ive done the rough...and it's crap

weasel decentral

I don't really want to get sidetracked on this, I mean for me I like to try different places, I don't forgo aircon and toilets. For example even though England is a foreign country for me, I don't consider it to be exactly an alien place. That's how I feel about (the cities) of UAE. Right or wrong its just how I feel.
I was hoping people had been in a similar situation might have some insight

Meow

So what are you looking for? What do you want? Do you just want an entirely new experience?


Right now, I'd like to move to a small pacific island (with a decent bathroom naturally.) In some ways it'd be more civilised than the the UAE, or certainly some of the devious, sneaky, underhand, law-breaking bastards that live here. It's been a tough week.

shiva

THIS

britexpat76

China, Thats where its at.

1. No matter what a short arse you are, you will be taller than anyone else.
2. Either if you are a neanderthal, you will be far more cosmopolitan and cultured than anyone else.
3. You can feed 14 people in a hotel for £50
4. 50p A packet of cigarettes
5. 70p a Litre of beer
6. The females love white skin and pot bellies
7. No need to pay a maid there are plenty of willing freebies available.
8. A Taxi is 50p

shiva

fair enough

weasel decentral

I want an entirely new experience yes, but also weighed up against the financial side. To emigrate properly to Canada would be a great lifestyle change but on the other hand not as well paid as some of the more remote places. I am trying to strike a balance somewhere, maybe this is the precursor to a mid life crisis

co durham boy

I'm based in Qatar and a large percentage of my work is in Saudi , Kuwait and Libya .

Travelling in and out is no great shakes for weeks at a time for operational projects for me . Taking a full time role in a more remote location would maybe require a bit more thought .

10-15 years ago living out of containers in Yemen and Portacabins in the Philippines and Indonesia was the norm for me but as i got a bit older you do change and need different things and being married puts a different slant on it as well , can't see the missus getting washed out of a 45 gallon drum in the morning !

I still like the idea of moving around and not sticking to one place for too long as you get too attached and you get lazy and things that should be the exception become the norm and that can lull you into trouble . Being mobile keeps you sharp and the ability to be ready to move on again is a must in the contracting game as nothing last forever .

There's nothing wrong with taking a cushy number in the U.A.E in my opinion ...

You might actually enjoy it , it beats the 45 gallon drum