Confused66

I have been offered an exceptional job in Bahrain yet with all the troubles in the Middle East, etc, etc am wondering whether or not to accept? Could someone please give an honest view of life in Bahrain now for expats. Am from the UK, male and single. Thanks loads.

shiftdelete

still pretty fluid situation at the mo- every expat has an opinion ranging from business as usual, to touch and go, to getting out as soon as the schools close, and all mostly slanted by their current financial well being... i.e.- have good job, getting well paid, feeling ok about the place.

Resentment continues under the surface, some of it seems to be brewing against expats especially since many of the opposition consider the jobs the expats get should be filled by locals (regardless of international expertise, soft skill set etc).

my 2c? Single, male, fantastic package- go for it BUT:
- be careful who you join- must be an expat company;
I'm hearing some disturbing stories firsthand about some expats being handled very badly by local firms;
remember: almost anything can be produced as a charge against you if someone wants to slap a travel ban on you;
locals can and do unilaterally change your contract and working hours ....someone we know has been forced to work 4am -6pm 6.5 days of the week, no holidays. if the person causes any trouble it can mean all sorts of trouble, so be very wary of local companies.

norsk

i wouldn't be worried about the situation to be honest. yes, there are some issues that should really be resolved (but will they?) and people are perhaps a bit more nervous than they were last year, but i don't think it is any more dangerous than many other places to work. and like shiftdelete says you don't have a family to worry about..

i am surprised that people are being hired in "exceptional jobs" though as from what i have heard the market is in the toilet completely. of course it's possible that your definition of exceptional is slightly different from mine...

shiftdelete

norsk, you bored too? beat you by less than 1 minute mate

Confused66

Whats Bahrain like as a place to live for an expat, particularly a single one?

norsk

i'm watching the crappy grand prix from canada..

norsk

as a single male i would expect it is pretty good to be honest. not as good as dubai perhaps, but cheaper...

just make sure you live in juffair or adliya...

Confused66

Thanks - was looking at Juffair. Are there still many expats in Bahrain? Generally is it safe?

norsk

yes loads.

yes it is safe, but there is some stuff brewing under the surface so you never know if it will kick off again. i would say it is safer than living in most parts of london..

Paracletus

Just get yourself down to Diggers. Ask around, plenty of compliments from other board members on the amazingness of this place..especially for single guys.

Packin Power

I'm gonna have to say "NO" for two various reasons

1) You can't have a full and rich life without living dangerously, but Bahrain is dangerous and boring. You usually get exciting with dangerous, but not in this case.

NO

Tockalosh

Ok assuming you are straight then there is stacks of material to bed from all nationalities, all age groups and all marital status. There are loads of places to get slaughtered and binge well. There are Mercedes, Ferrari, Masserati and Lamborgini dealers to squander the exceptional salary at, Dubai is an hours flight away as is AD, Oman is 1.5 hours flight away, Rolex are much cheaper than the UK. Boats are always available for sale
Did I mention the availability of bed warmers

If I was young and single then I cant think of anything else you would want to do with your cash/spare time, besides buying some body armour and a first class ticket out if it goes pear shaped. Juffair is a toilet in my personal opinion but each to their own and it is handy for the airport and listening to loud American Rap and Hip hop from the ever audible Yank servicemen who infest the place

Ronnie Biggs

I disagree with that, I know loads of people who have a great time in Bahrain. Personally I think it's more fun than the rest of the Gulf with the possible exception of Dubai and as a place to live (having done both) I'd go for Bahrain every day of the week as it's so much easier. I'm not sure I'd call Bahrain dangerous either, at least not for Expats.

markinbahrain

Hi Confused66, I live in Juffair, Bahrain and firstly shiftdelete is right regarding the company you will be working for, it is very important at present, are they an expat business or local? Will you be working in Manama / BFH if so Juffair is ideal it takes me 10 minutes to get to work from Juffair, as Tockalosh says Juffair is a bit plastic with the yanks, but they stay inside most of the time because they have no money, but I have all the bars and expat single women living in Juffair.
Secondly, their is never any trouble in Juffair, but if you go for something cheap in Bahrain you could end up not being able to go out of a nightime because you live in the wrong area, it took me about 3 months to get used to life here when I first came as I could not figure out where do the expats go at weekends, or what to do.
So if you need a hand with spending all them wages just give me a shout and I will help you spend it all by showing you the places to go out!!
The bottom line is, Bahrain is hard work and troublesome and a bit boring sometimes,and I personally believe their will be more trouble to come out here, but if the money is exceptional, and the UK is a bit boring for you, then give it a whirl.

markinbahrain

That is also a very good point, I have just thought....everyone has been leaving or being sacked !!
I am the only one who works in Bahrain whom has an exceptional job!!
Oi, your not taking my job are you
Will you be working in Bahrain Financial Harbour, as I can tell you if you will be working for a decent company or not.