Rascal

From hubby's point of view of course, I aint there yet.
Hot! But bearable, not humid (yet) lol and yes, he agress the drivers are worse than Kiwis! lol Hell they must be bad.
Apartment, not too bad at all, all brand new furniture in, bought by company, 2 bed, 2 bathroom, kitchen, air con, balcony etc. Well impressed and at 4500QR per month, a bargain!
Food....EXCELLENT! The BEST curry he has ever tasted , even better than Manchester! Better than they are in Manchester???? lol
Hell, must be good.
The shops..EXCELLENT
The people...EXCELLENT
The job, the boss, the company...the best!
The salary..Brilliant! lol (4 times what we earned here) and tax free.
The cost of food..CHEAP!! (his curry was $4 NZD)
The work...all Uk construction using all Uk standards of measure etc. What he has missed this last 4 years.
Road network, very good.
Weather...brilliant, just to his liking.
Internet cafe 2 mins away from his apartment set up with Skype and web cam so we can chat and see each other.
So far, its the best decision he has made in his entire life (after marrying me fo course lol)
Will get Residency in about 4 weeks, as it stands I am looking to be out there on 21st july..I cant wait.
Anyone thinking about going to Middle east to work, do it. You will not regret it. I am so happy that he is happy and be even happier when I am out there!

TA5

so your husband has been there for a few days, you have not ever been there, you have no idea what you deal with living in the middle east, and you are telling people that the middle east is the greatest place on earth? Talk to you in a year or two, if you make it that long.

Rascal

Yeh he has just arrived and is with a guy who has been ther 15 years and another who moved out there in 1984, and both still there surprisingly.
Dont forget we have just spent 4 awful years in NZ! Its bound to feel better!
But I can see you dont like it, but loads do, doesn't mean to say we all wont like it.
You never know, you could come to live in NZ and love it?

Rascal

Plus he knows what a good curry is when he tastes one! lol

tootsie

Wayhay!!

Someone told me you were going to do it and you did! I'm really happy for you both Rascal. So much so I've re-registered just to be able to congratulate you (I disabled my old account in error and god knows what I've done with your email address ).

So, tell all then is the process of gaining residency in Doha any easier than getting PR in NZ? (nothing can be as bad as that was!!). And leaving NZ just as the cold weather really starts to bite - will think of you lazing by the pool in your sunnies as I'm trudging up the track in gumboots to fetch the post in the morning, lol! .

Tell M. that Toots wants, no - NEEDS -to know ALL about the shops - range, prices, do they accept all major credit cards etc.etc.....I need a 21st Century fix now and again. If they sell Lalique glassware and limited edition perfumes I'm coming over on the next plane. The Warehouse only sells so much you know

So what are your plans? tell all, are you thinking about staying long term, buying a small mansion, putting the kids through private English speaking schools and stuff? Sooooo exciting, I'm really happy for you.

I'm going to drop some hints to the DH when he comes home tonight after struggling up the North western in the cold driving rain.

D xx

Rascal

Well hello Toots, long time no speak.
Well, plans are, he is staying for 1-2 years at first (we still have th OZ bug you see, just wont go away)
But his first impressions after leaving here, WOW!
He bought Fairy Liquid! lol (not that I care what brand I use)
But I AM interested in the curries.
He sat talking to me on the phone last night as he ate one and went on to tell me how delicious it was, cruel eh?
He said the shops are FAB! Like walking back into the real world once again and yes, he dropped hints about how nice and hot it was. That hurt especially as we are suffering those ICY cold blasts at the moment. Had to use the electric heater as we would have froze in our beds last night. Still, with four times the salary he earned here, I think we can afford a bit of heat now (at last)
Prices he has found so far, about a third of what we pay in NZ , but of course with much higher salary, it makes it feel VERY cheap for us now.
His Residency will go through in about 2-4 weeks, so simple compared to what we had hear although its different to here, need to find out much more yet on that score.
The boss has just arrived back in ME after spending 15 years there, went back due to his wifes illness, she later passed away and he has returned again as he missed the ME so much. The other boss (who employed him) has been in ME since 1984 and has no desire to go back to UK, ever!

Hey if we ever get that mansion with our own pool (either in ME or OZ) will give you an invite over!
Or maybe hop over to Doha to check it out for yourself, would your hubby go? I know you would, always up for a challenge eh?
Nice to hear from you and Thanks for your good wishes, will keep you posted.
PS Deleted my Incredimail and lost most folks e-mail addy's coz I forgot to copy over to Outlook

Rascal

PS Forgot to ask, is your house built yet?

You can always sell and head off to ME for some sun, sea, and huge salaries.

NorthernLad

A fine example of p***ing on someone elses fire.

Each to there own, but I would say the great majority of people here that I know enjoy the lifestyle and recognise (even if they won't admit it) that they have a far better standard of living than back in their own countries.

Rascal

Well just had next call from him, he is now at the Corniche and all I could get was WOW, this is stunning! WOW< I aint coming back to NZ! lol


Maltester/Novita, you didn't tell me he was gonna enjoy it this much! lol

heck at this rate, he might even forget me! lol Na...

I am booking soon, just getting eldest passing his driving test first, car now insured for him and then..I am outta here.

Am looking forward to todays pixs.

Autonomy

Hi Rascal - I met this guy Autonomy on the Corniche today and he said he knew you from this site.

He let me use his account to post the latest pic from today on the Corniche...



By the way - could you stop posting all of our information on the internet - it worries me, especially if you remember why we have to leave NZ so fast and go to a tiny Islamic country with no extradition treaties... by the way, did you manage to get all the cash, drugs and guns out of the safe house?

Has junior passed his driving test yet as he really needs to make that opium drop off on the South Island... our Al Q Buddies are gettin restless, especially after your tip off about where old mad Zarqwari was hiding....

Anyway - miss you loads and remember not to give anything out on this site, not sure if it is that private really...

Miss you Loads,

Your hubby - Big Bad Al Gore.. xx

tootsie

Northern Lad that sounds very true, we were certainly hoping for a better standard of living when we headed for NZ but were very lucky to be able to keep it at the same level as we had in Britain.

Yes Rascal, you know I like a challenge. Our house isn't at the stage yet where we could put it on the market and although we are happy enough here in NZ it doesn't really offer all that we want out of life, good enough will do for now.

As you know I was thinking about the ME a while back and if the right job came up for DH in the right country I'd certainly be up for it. If he could earn four times the salary he is earning now, it would set us up for life and certainly pay for a good education for the kids and give them a step up that they will probably lack here.

But it's not just the money is it - it's the feeling that you're living in the modern world and with all the benefits that a vibrant economy brings such as decent roads, sophisticated business practices, education, world class health care and good leisure facilties. And the curries, of course

Must feel very strange to sit there in layers of clothing trying to keep warm and talk to M whilst he's enjoying the sultry warmth. Bet you can't wait to exhange those oil rads and jumpers for wall to wall air conditioners and chilled drinks.

Have you booked your flights yet and are you going direct or taking in a bit of the world on the way? A side trip to Paris or Rome perhaps? you could perhaps meet up half way for a romantic reunion and travel to Doha together.

One last thing, knowing your penchant for the sparkly stuff.....what are the diamond markets like in the ME? I know you miss buying the really good ones and you'll need a "little" treat to make up for having to stay behind on your own

p.s. Spiffed to bits for you xx

Rascal

Lol I like it.
Big egg you have there??
Wot size was the chicks bottom?

Rascal

Lol, you know the strange thing is, last year as we sat freezing in yet another cold NZ winter, we vowed that this year we would be in Dubai or somewhere hot! I thought 'yeh right' on kiwi wages?? lol No chance, those days have well gone.
Anyway, just almost overnight, hubby suggested ME, he had been talking to loads in AKl who had spent many happy years there and some were looking to go back. He came home, asked me my thoughts on it, it took me ages to decide, all of 3 seconds I think, lol, and that was it, applied for jobs, got heaps of replies which surprised us, and landed this one in Doha, had 3 other offers in Dubai but somehow Doha pushed the right buttons. So we just took the chance and thought hey, what have we to loose, its an adventure whatever.
So far, so good, never seen hubby so happy in 4 years (could that be he is there alone?? lol) Na, only joking, he cant wait to get me out.
Just heard from him tonight and he is at the Corniche eyeing up the beach babes lol, and it has just blown his mind at how gorgeous it is. Stunning is not good enough word.
He kept telling me how wonderful and hot it was, just as he likes it, and I had to keep reminding him that I am here in 8 degress, with icy cold winds blowing, 16 layers on, and he kept apologising for mentioning the weather. lol
Now I think that deserves a HUGE rock on my finger for leaving me behind for 4-5 weeks longer??
He has just seen a HUGE shopping centre, poor lad was lost for words.

tootsie

Can you get fries with that?

Rascal. I'm stowing away in your luggage.

tootsie

Couldn't have happened to two nicer people. Best of luck and I hope it will be a success, you deserve it.

Yes, a very big rock is called for I think.