Homesickness
Aug 26th 2011, 5:45 pm
#107
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2011
Location: Windscale....
Posts: 5,712
Re: Homesickness
Norsk, you have obviously spent too much time amongst the degenerate British humour!
Aug 26th 2011, 7:31 pm
#109
Forum Regular
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 162
Re: Homesickness
Just for The Dean, who seems to doubt my word:
One I left out of the Land Rover thread:
I'm out of here. Nice knowing ya'll.
One I left out of the Land Rover thread:
I'm out of here. Nice knowing ya'll.
Last edited by irich; Aug 26th 2011 at 7:34 pm.
Aug 27th 2011, 8:14 am
#110
Concierge
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 29,625
Re: Homesickness
toys and pram come to mind, we all know the KSA attacks were real 
Sep 21st 2011, 8:26 am
#112
Just Joined
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 6
Re: Homesickness
My first two years in the middle east were based in Saudi - Dubai is a walk in the park compared to that. But its still hard! Im even missing saudi at the moment.
Ive just moved to Dubai, and ive got no friends......in Saudi i had a shit life, but still had loads of friends by the end.
Got to look at the positive - its sunny! All the time! Thats a major bonus from where i come from!
Time out Dubai has lists of loads of clubs/sporting and non sporting that you can join! Once ive finished moving into my new house im going to start going out places.....other wise you'll go mad!
You really need to make a huge effort otherwise you wont last! Ask people from work out for dinner/drinks! Suck up the cost for the moment and then it will be worth it in the long run!
Good luck and keep your chin up! x
Ive just moved to Dubai, and ive got no friends......in Saudi i had a shit life, but still had loads of friends by the end.
Got to look at the positive - its sunny! All the time! Thats a major bonus from where i come from!
Time out Dubai has lists of loads of clubs/sporting and non sporting that you can join! Once ive finished moving into my new house im going to start going out places.....other wise you'll go mad!
You really need to make a huge effort otherwise you wont last! Ask people from work out for dinner/drinks! Suck up the cost for the moment and then it will be worth it in the long run!
Good luck and keep your chin up! x
Sep 25th 2011, 6:48 pm
#113
Perky but sarky
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Limboland
Posts: 608
Re: Homesickness
I'm hardly ever on here now cos I feel I have nothing good to say...
I miss home so badly. I went back for five weeks over the summer and cried all the way back here. I have cried pretty much every day since. I was there during the riots and I still think London is the best city in the world.
There are things I love about this place: sunshine, beaches, brilliant friends, the desert, the school my kids go to.
There are things I hate: the driving, the sheer utter unprofessionalism (in my area anyway) and people lying to me on a daily basis. my friends keep telling me "that's just Dubai" but I find it intolerable. The lying and the incredible selfishness of the business world completely does my head in.
All the advice is true - find some great friends. They will keep you sane. Sit on a beach at sunset and enjoy what is here. keep your own moral standards and don't succumb to the selfish side of the UAE. And when your shit bucket is full, leave.
I miss home so badly. I went back for five weeks over the summer and cried all the way back here. I have cried pretty much every day since. I was there during the riots and I still think London is the best city in the world.
There are things I love about this place: sunshine, beaches, brilliant friends, the desert, the school my kids go to.
There are things I hate: the driving, the sheer utter unprofessionalism (in my area anyway) and people lying to me on a daily basis. my friends keep telling me "that's just Dubai" but I find it intolerable. The lying and the incredible selfishness of the business world completely does my head in.
All the advice is true - find some great friends. They will keep you sane. Sit on a beach at sunset and enjoy what is here. keep your own moral standards and don't succumb to the selfish side of the UAE. And when your shit bucket is full, leave.
Sep 25th 2011, 7:14 pm
#114
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2011
Location: Windscale....
Posts: 5,712
Re: Homesickness
I'm hardly ever on here now cos I feel I have nothing good to say...
I miss home so badly. I went back for five weeks over the summer and cried all the way back here. I have cried pretty much every day since. I was there during the riots and I still think London is the best city in the world.
There are things I love about this place: sunshine, beaches, brilliant friends, the desert, the school my kids go to.
There are things I hate: the driving, the sheer utter unprofessionalism (in my area anyway) and people lying to me on a daily basis. my friends keep telling me "that's just Dubai" but I find it intolerable. The lying and the incredible selfishness of the business world completely does my head in.
All the advice is true - find some great friends. They will keep you sane. Sit on a beach at sunset and enjoy what is here. keep your own moral standards and don't succumb to the selfish side of the UAE. And when your shit bucket is full, leave.
I miss home so badly. I went back for five weeks over the summer and cried all the way back here. I have cried pretty much every day since. I was there during the riots and I still think London is the best city in the world.
There are things I love about this place: sunshine, beaches, brilliant friends, the desert, the school my kids go to.
There are things I hate: the driving, the sheer utter unprofessionalism (in my area anyway) and people lying to me on a daily basis. my friends keep telling me "that's just Dubai" but I find it intolerable. The lying and the incredible selfishness of the business world completely does my head in.
All the advice is true - find some great friends. They will keep you sane. Sit on a beach at sunset and enjoy what is here. keep your own moral standards and don't succumb to the selfish side of the UAE. And when your shit bucket is full, leave.
I have seen both sides of this, and , bizarrely, I would take Kuwait over Qatar every time.
I wish you well, but, sadly, it is an individual decision on whether you will survive. I could give you lots of advice, but, my advice is only on how I survived, and to be honest, you really don't want my advice.
Stay well, and find your own way of surviving, but I wish you well, no matter.
Remember: Keep smiling- it sometimes confuses them!
O.J.
Sep 26th 2011, 4:15 am
#115
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: May 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 5,965
Re: Homesickness
aww Lullabelle,- big hug!
I always find it hard coming back here from anywhere and it takes anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to get back into it, I really struggled after going home for a wedding and then coming back and I was only home for a week so I can't imagine 5 weeks. Having said that I'm now quite enjoying myself here now. I know I'd be barking mad to head back to blighty at the moment. I do find I need to get out of Dubai about once a month to keep me sane and luckily I can manage that with work trips and personal weekends away etc.
Chin up love
xxx
I always find it hard coming back here from anywhere and it takes anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to get back into it, I really struggled after going home for a wedding and then coming back and I was only home for a week so I can't imagine 5 weeks. Having said that I'm now quite enjoying myself here now. I know I'd be barking mad to head back to blighty at the moment. I do find I need to get out of Dubai about once a month to keep me sane and luckily I can manage that with work trips and personal weekends away etc.
Chin up love
xxx
Sep 26th 2011, 4:54 am
#116
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 4,017
Re: Homesickness
This part of the world will eventually wear most of us down and grind us insane.
Ive just spent 10 days in the U.K and visited Dorset , Kent and London , with all it's faults the U.K is light years ahead of places in the Gulf , Dubai included. Living here is a stay of execution for most of us as we'll all return to base at some point , very few will never go back.
I've been doing this for nearly 20 years and it doesn't get any easier , it wears you down and tires you out but i still do it because it's what i do . There's no right answer , i think you'll know when your times up and it's time for a new chapter. I move from project to project so that kind of helps to keep it fresh and interesting but my Wife finds it very hard moving places and starting again with new friends and a new life.
It can also be quite an addictive lifestyle as you usually have more choices in this part of the world and more ability and confidence to carry them out and sometimes the thought of giving that up becomes a concern for some of us.
For all the beaches , brunches , bars and 4x4's there's also loneliness , anger , frustration and disgust .
We're prostitutes to the expat life people.....
Ive just spent 10 days in the U.K and visited Dorset , Kent and London , with all it's faults the U.K is light years ahead of places in the Gulf , Dubai included. Living here is a stay of execution for most of us as we'll all return to base at some point , very few will never go back.
I've been doing this for nearly 20 years and it doesn't get any easier , it wears you down and tires you out but i still do it because it's what i do . There's no right answer , i think you'll know when your times up and it's time for a new chapter. I move from project to project so that kind of helps to keep it fresh and interesting but my Wife finds it very hard moving places and starting again with new friends and a new life.
It can also be quite an addictive lifestyle as you usually have more choices in this part of the world and more ability and confidence to carry them out and sometimes the thought of giving that up becomes a concern for some of us.
For all the beaches , brunches , bars and 4x4's there's also loneliness , anger , frustration and disgust .
We're prostitutes to the expat life people.....
Sep 26th 2011, 9:43 am
#117
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2007
Location: Doha, Qatar
Posts: 2,675
Re: Homesickness
This part of the world will eventually wear most of us down and grind us insane.
Ive just spent 10 days in the U.K and visited Dorset , Kent and London , with all it's faults the U.K is light years ahead of places in the Gulf , Dubai included. Living here is a stay of execution for most of us as we'll all return to base at some point , very few will never go back.
I've been doing this for nearly 20 years and it doesn't get any easier , it wears you down and tires you out but i still do it because it's what i do . There's no right answer , i think you'll know when your times up and it's time for a new chapter. I move from project to project so that kind of helps to keep it fresh and interesting but my Wife finds it very hard moving places and starting again with new friends and a new life.
It can also be quite an addictive lifestyle as you usually have more choices in this part of the world and more ability and confidence to carry them out and sometimes the thought of giving that up becomes a concern for some of us.
For all the beaches , brunches , bars and 4x4's there's also loneliness , anger , frustration and disgust .
We're prostitutes to the expat life people.....
Ive just spent 10 days in the U.K and visited Dorset , Kent and London , with all it's faults the U.K is light years ahead of places in the Gulf , Dubai included. Living here is a stay of execution for most of us as we'll all return to base at some point , very few will never go back.
I've been doing this for nearly 20 years and it doesn't get any easier , it wears you down and tires you out but i still do it because it's what i do . There's no right answer , i think you'll know when your times up and it's time for a new chapter. I move from project to project so that kind of helps to keep it fresh and interesting but my Wife finds it very hard moving places and starting again with new friends and a new life.
It can also be quite an addictive lifestyle as you usually have more choices in this part of the world and more ability and confidence to carry them out and sometimes the thought of giving that up becomes a concern for some of us.
For all the beaches , brunches , bars and 4x4's there's also loneliness , anger , frustration and disgust .
We're prostitutes to the expat life people.....
Sep 28th 2011, 7:17 pm
#118
Perky but sarky
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Limboland
Posts: 608
Re: Homesickness
God I sounded really miserable there. Co Durham Boy you frighten me - you say what's in my head. You're like my conscience. Or something.
You know what really pisses me off? I'm so fed up of hearing people say "poor you" when I suggest I really am thinking of leaving (again.) I don't consider myself a victim. I'm thinking of leaving because I can't see a way through the mess. I can't see how i can last another year of people bullshitting me on a regular basis. I never lie (in business. I'm ALWAYS lying to my kids... Santa, tooth fairy, how people from finland are actually elves etc) I find it very difficult to work with people who do. I can't carry on being civil to people who stab me in the back and THEN TELL ME ABOUT IT like its a badge of honour. My lovely brother who works from home in the uk making 3d graphics is owed over 20 grand from companies in Qatar, Abu Dhabi & Dubai. No one pays him for MONTHS. Luckily he has clients like BT and Sky who pay him religiously every month otherwise he'd be ****ed. I've tried to make it work. I'm in the wrong industry I think. I should have been a Cake Boss. Or a Yoga Teacher. Instead i work in the bloody meeja where stealing someone's creative brief is apparently FINE.
God I'm ranty tonight. I blame the spiced rum and coke. That's another bloody thing... I'm so used to the ridiculous prices here that when I was in France (part of the 5 week mega trip) i tried to give my mum 15 euros for a bottle of wine at the local night festival. I thought that wasn't enough. I was apologising for not having more money for my round...
She looked at me like I was bonkers. She had no idea what i was blabbering on about as the wine was 3 euros a bottle. For decent rose. I don't think I've
got over that... yet Ive been going to France for years. How come I forgot?
I hate being so negative. My son's teacher loves it here and I applaud her for that. She has a much better time of it than teachers back in the UK I think. For certain people it just works. And I'm probably a bit jealous of you lot. For me, its like pushing a ball of crap up a big sandy hill.
You know what really pisses me off? I'm so fed up of hearing people say "poor you" when I suggest I really am thinking of leaving (again.) I don't consider myself a victim. I'm thinking of leaving because I can't see a way through the mess. I can't see how i can last another year of people bullshitting me on a regular basis. I never lie (in business. I'm ALWAYS lying to my kids... Santa, tooth fairy, how people from finland are actually elves etc) I find it very difficult to work with people who do. I can't carry on being civil to people who stab me in the back and THEN TELL ME ABOUT IT like its a badge of honour. My lovely brother who works from home in the uk making 3d graphics is owed over 20 grand from companies in Qatar, Abu Dhabi & Dubai. No one pays him for MONTHS. Luckily he has clients like BT and Sky who pay him religiously every month otherwise he'd be ****ed. I've tried to make it work. I'm in the wrong industry I think. I should have been a Cake Boss. Or a Yoga Teacher. Instead i work in the bloody meeja where stealing someone's creative brief is apparently FINE.
God I'm ranty tonight. I blame the spiced rum and coke. That's another bloody thing... I'm so used to the ridiculous prices here that when I was in France (part of the 5 week mega trip) i tried to give my mum 15 euros for a bottle of wine at the local night festival. I thought that wasn't enough. I was apologising for not having more money for my round...
She looked at me like I was bonkers. She had no idea what i was blabbering on about as the wine was 3 euros a bottle. For decent rose. I don't think I've
got over that... yet Ive been going to France for years. How come I forgot?
I hate being so negative. My son's teacher loves it here and I applaud her for that. She has a much better time of it than teachers back in the UK I think. For certain people it just works. And I'm probably a bit jealous of you lot. For me, its like pushing a ball of crap up a big sandy hill.
Sep 28th 2011, 7:20 pm
#119
Perky but sarky
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Limboland
Posts: 608
Re: Homesickness
In other, totally unrelated news...
Kittycat, did you get my PM about my friends "pleasure pillow" and the possible market here??
Kittycat, did you get my PM about my friends "pleasure pillow" and the possible market here??
Sep 28th 2011, 10:13 pm
#120
Knee deep and rising
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,007
Re: Homesickness
God I sounded really miserable there. Co Durham Boy you frighten me - you say what's in my head. You're like my conscience. Or something.
You know what really pisses me off? I'm so fed up of hearing people say "poor you" when I suggest I really am thinking of leaving (again.) I don't consider myself a victim. I'm thinking of leaving because I can't see a way through the mess. I can't see how i can last another year of people bullshitting me on a regular basis. I never lie (in business. I'm ALWAYS lying to my kids... Santa, tooth fairy, how people from finland are actually elves etc) I find it very difficult to work with people who do. I can't carry on being civil to people who stab me in the back and THEN TELL ME ABOUT IT like its a badge of honour. My lovely brother who works from home in the uk making 3d graphics is owed over 20 grand from companies in Qatar, Abu Dhabi & Dubai. No one pays him for MONTHS. Luckily he has clients like BT and Sky who pay him religiously every month otherwise he'd be ****ed. I've tried to make it work. I'm in the wrong industry I think. I should have been a Cake Boss. Or a Yoga Teacher. Instead i work in the bloody meeja where stealing someone's creative brief is apparently FINE.
God I'm ranty tonight. I blame the spiced rum and coke. That's another bloody thing... I'm so used to the ridiculous prices here that when I was in France (part of the 5 week mega trip) i tried to give my mum 15 euros for a bottle of wine at the local night festival. I thought that wasn't enough. I was apologising for not having more money for my round...
She looked at me like I was bonkers. She had no idea what i was blabbering on about as the wine was 3 euros a bottle. For decent rose. I don't think I've
got over that... yet Ive been going to France for years. How come I forgot?
I hate being so negative. My son's teacher loves it here and I applaud her for that. She has a much better time of it than teachers back in the UK I think. For certain people it just works. And I'm probably a bit jealous of you lot. For me, its like pushing a ball of crap up a big sandy hill.
You know what really pisses me off? I'm so fed up of hearing people say "poor you" when I suggest I really am thinking of leaving (again.) I don't consider myself a victim. I'm thinking of leaving because I can't see a way through the mess. I can't see how i can last another year of people bullshitting me on a regular basis. I never lie (in business. I'm ALWAYS lying to my kids... Santa, tooth fairy, how people from finland are actually elves etc) I find it very difficult to work with people who do. I can't carry on being civil to people who stab me in the back and THEN TELL ME ABOUT IT like its a badge of honour. My lovely brother who works from home in the uk making 3d graphics is owed over 20 grand from companies in Qatar, Abu Dhabi & Dubai. No one pays him for MONTHS. Luckily he has clients like BT and Sky who pay him religiously every month otherwise he'd be ****ed. I've tried to make it work. I'm in the wrong industry I think. I should have been a Cake Boss. Or a Yoga Teacher. Instead i work in the bloody meeja where stealing someone's creative brief is apparently FINE.
God I'm ranty tonight. I blame the spiced rum and coke. That's another bloody thing... I'm so used to the ridiculous prices here that when I was in France (part of the 5 week mega trip) i tried to give my mum 15 euros for a bottle of wine at the local night festival. I thought that wasn't enough. I was apologising for not having more money for my round...
She looked at me like I was bonkers. She had no idea what i was blabbering on about as the wine was 3 euros a bottle. For decent rose. I don't think I've
got over that... yet Ive been going to France for years. How come I forgot?
I hate being so negative. My son's teacher loves it here and I applaud her for that. She has a much better time of it than teachers back in the UK I think. For certain people it just works. And I'm probably a bit jealous of you lot. For me, its like pushing a ball of crap up a big sandy hill.
Interesting post by the way, but it seems to me more like you are floundering with the unfamiliar local ways and customs and hating your own inability to cope rather than hating the place.
I am feeling all analytical today
