Paracletus

A word of advice. You hardly ever end up remaining friends with the first people you meet anywhere. Just consider them more of a springboard. But I've found that expats tend to be very welcoming if they are approached. Perhaps it's due to the fact there is some sympathy/understanding of the situation you're in. It might be hard to get with it initially if you haven't lived outside of your comfort zone before..but give it a few months and you should be rolling.

Spugsy

Aye, agree with all of that. You need a thick skin sometimes out here.

hearthrob13

Iam very home sick now!!!!!

Hello.Kitty

Absolutely! When I moved back to uni from France I really had very little in common with my British peers - I spoke differently (pure Radio 4!), acted differently (didn't see the point in binge drinking) and had a very different outlook on life (had travelled)... fortunately, Mr Kitty was in a very similar situation and looking at our long-standing friends, we're all a bunch of misfits!

The feeling of being rootless has messed with a lot of expat children's minds - I can definitely trace certain issues directly to it.

irich

Ironical. You're the one that started with the personal insults, asshole.

Paracletus

Being 'rootless' has never actually bothered me. My brother tries to get me to show more allegiance to the queen or whatever, but I can't be arsed. Wish I could just get myself some international travel documents and give up any allegiance/passport to any country. Not sure how that would work with work visa's though...

OleJanx

Sounds as if a United Nations passport would suit you.

Spugsy

The point still stands.

Ronnie Biggs

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ironical

Paracletus

Had one for awhile..not sure why..neither of my folks worked for them but we some how all got them issued. They were pretty rad. But then we attained some sort of pseudo diplomatic status..I always hated the diplobrats...especially the the Yankee ones on their compounds with their commissary and fresh milk and softball games. The $1 dollar packs of fags were ok though, as they were of import quality and not the local psychedelic kind.

Still pleased I never have to say my parents worked in the embassy or were in the military..it always seems to confuse people even further as to my moving around so much at a young age.

irich

The point is this: Being a UK Ex Pat in many countries of the world exposes the individual to hardships and risk that are not encountered at home. This includes much of the Middle East.

I recognise that is probably an alien concept to you, given that your experience seems to be confined to Dubai, but that's the truth here for many.

I generally try to assist posters here with well meaning advice and based on my experience from 10 years overseas in KSA and the Caribbean. However, I might be less than sympathetic to some posters from time to time, or god forbid, tease a member or two.

So why don't you butt out, keep your insults to yourself, and take your defender-in-shining-armour act somewhere else.

co durham boy

Don't be a tw*t , your original comments were a bit off , you came across as a bully , don't be a brave lad whilst sitting behind your keyboard , especially to a woman who is asking for a bit of advice.

I don't care if you've had 10 yrs experience in Timbuktu , i've had double that plus more .

What may be second nature to some isn't always a bed of roses to others mate , we all tick differently and just because you think you've got a few years under your belt doesn't give you the right to dictate .

It's not a pissing contest to see who's been out here the longest and if it was i'm pissing a lot further than you !

Meow

I am always mildly amused by those who claim to have had a 'more real expat experience' because they chose to live and work somewhere awful. So the UAE is no longer a hardship posting - this is not a bad thing.

Everyone is different, everyone's experience is different. Some of us are tough and hardhearted about these things, others never settle away from their homes. Just the way it is.

zamboooka

this is the best thread ever!!

irich

another asshole with the personal insults. stereo assholes, in fact.

kindly show me the post where I bullied the woman. if you mean the post where i tried to point out that life could be a lot worse (ie put her troubles in perspective) then I'd say you have misinterpreted my post.