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Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

View Poll Results: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?
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Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:01 am
  #31  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Originally Posted by MataHari
no need to scream....
I just wonder what you expected Dubai to be....what kind of expections you had of your life here and how it's happend that it isn't what you had hoped for.
Of course everybody is different....
I don't know. I was taken in by the promise of a great life and the chance to save some money towards a nice house/retirement fund/good education for the kids. It hasn't turned out that way, for one reason or another (cost of living is MUCH more than I anticipated) and I think the bad things have become more amplified. I'm not particularly happy at work, either, so it's not just one or two things. Multiple factors have caused it.

But, you live and learn. I wouldn't want to change what's happened. I only intended to stay 2 years initially. It's been interesting to be here, and like you say, seeing different (AAAGGGHH) stuff around the world is what life's about, as far as I can see.
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:01 am
  #32  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

yep...plonk as it's know down here....ectuelly fairy dust rings a certain bell in my head...not sure...

Originally Posted by Fairydust
Thats rather profound - been on the pop already
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:01 am
  #33  
hmmmm...nice
 
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Originally Posted by lornorder
HEY littlejimmy...i'm on yer side too mate- you've been through a bit of the 'eupohora', now hitting the skids and making some mental adjustments...soon you'll be back on the balance beam mate, just you wait and see...
It's not about taking sides....I am interested in seeing what people are expecting when they come out here....I think that's a big clue as to how 'succesful' they are as expats.
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:03 am
  #34  
Its all good
 
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Originally Posted by lornorder
....ectuelly fairy dust rings a certain bell in my head...not sure...


what??????????
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:03 am
  #35  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Originally Posted by MataHari
It's not about taking sides....I am interested in seeing what people are expecting when they come out here....I think that's a big clue as to how 'succesful' they are as expats.
Oh, so I'm a failed expat now, eh?

Maybe I need to lower my expectations. Or maybe my company should have given me a more realistic picture of what it costs to live here...
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:03 am
  #36  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell, ha, ha, ha

Originally Posted by littlejimmy
I don't know. (AAAGGGHH) .
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:05 am
  #37  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Originally Posted by lornorder
q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell,q.s.'s can't spell, ha, ha, ha
Eh? Where's the spelling mistake? You really don't want to get into a pedantry fight with me!

QSs, not QS's. The latter is the possessive by virtue of the apostrophe.
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:11 am
  #38  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

quite right my QS is definitely not possessive...see your 'self esteem' is already on the rise again

..seriously i know what you are going through, , i've been through it a couple of times (reaching for the plonk)

Originally Posted by littlejimmy
Eh? Where's the spelling mistake? You really don't want to get into a pedantry fight with me!

QSs, not QS's. The latter is the possessive by virtue of the apostrophe.
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:15 am
  #39  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

better go in case i upset anyone have a great day.
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:16 am
  #40  
hmmmm...nice
 
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Originally Posted by littlejimmy
Oh, so I'm a failed expat now, eh?

Maybe I need to lower my expectations. Or maybe my company should have given me a more realistic picture of what it costs to live here...
Only you can be the judge of that, not anybody else.
I do think (again) that unrealistic expections are an important factor (not only in this instance, but in general).
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:40 am
  #41  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Originally Posted by MataHari
Been here over 2 years and I still like it very much....it's not 'doing my head in' at all....we have all we could wish for here. It's not as if we were living in paridise back home, and it's not paridise here...
There's good and bad things everywhere but so far so good. Maybe everything was better 5 or 10 years ago, but that's of no concern to us, we only know the here and now.
I'm with MH on this...been here just over a year and a half and still love it. Yep, there are things here that totally do my head in, but then there were at home, and the good for me at the moment far outweighs the bad...

MM, xx
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:48 am
  #42  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

It wore off after about a month, but the cold hard cash keeps me sane.

Can't see me being here this time next year though.
 
Old Mar 21st 2007, 9:51 am
  #43  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Originally Posted by Madam Medusa
I'm with MH on this...been here just over a year and a half and still love it. Yep, there are things here that totally do my head in, but then there were at home, and the good for me at the moment far outweighs the bad...

MM, xx
Out of interest, and I'm not being patronising.

How much day to day interaction do you and MH have with 'everyday Dubai'

From my experience, the people who don't work, who get to enjoy the sunshine, the beaches, the parks, the coffee shops, the hired help etc seem to be far more positive than the work 11 hours a day, cover for other people's incompetence, see colleagues get paid half of your salary, no holiday, stuck in traffic for four hours a day, watch people drive like idiots people like me.
 
Old Mar 21st 2007, 10:05 am
  #44  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Originally Posted by W10
Out of interest, and I'm not being patronising.

How much day to day interaction do you and MH have with 'everyday Dubai'

From my experience, the people who don't work, who get to enjoy the sunshine, the beaches, the parks, the coffee shops, the hired help etc seem to be far more positive than the work 11 hours a day, cover for other people's incompetence, see colleagues get paid half of your salary, no holiday, stuck in traffic for four hours a day, watch people drive like idiots people like me.
yep, W10, I think you've probably got a good point there. I'm a consultant, so work when I want, so I do have loads of free time (but then I've got 2 young kids to look after too) and I guess that not having the London commute alone is enough to make me love somewhere! The sun defo helps my appreciation of the place. In saying that, my hubbie has all the cr*p to deal with that you describe, but he loves it here as well...

MM, xx
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Old Mar 21st 2007, 10:24 am
  #45  
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Default Re: Dubai: How long did it take for the novelty to wear off?

Originally Posted by W10
Out of interest, and I'm not being patronising.

How much day to day interaction do you and MH have with 'everyday Dubai'

From my experience, the people who don't work, who get to enjoy the sunshine, the beaches, the parks, the coffee shops, the hired help etc seem to be far more positive than the work 11 hours a day, cover for other people's incompetence, see colleagues get paid half of your salary, no holiday, stuck in traffic for four hours a day, watch people drive like idiots people like me.
Excellent point, W10. My wife (who doesn't work) doesn't feel the same as me, she has a good lifestyle and has made a few friends already, so she is less inclined to move so soon. We'll see what she thinks after being cooped up inside for 4 months.

MH, I may indeed have had high expectations, but nothing I saw before coming here did very much to persaude me otherwise. I still don't think it was too much to expect to be able to put a little money away and have a decent standard of life. Hindsight, as they say, is a wonderful thing.
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