DXBtoDOH

The best (belated) Christmas gift came in the form of today's sudden discovery I need to be in the UAE all next week for work

mission

where you gonna be staying?

DXBtoDOH

Dunno yet. Company will sort it out. Based on past history probably one of the hotels along Sheikh Zayed. If they get me into the Marriott I'm happy because I love that bar up at the top.

jam25mack

Hummer H3..... please tell me you didn't pay much for it.....

mission

do you mean The Vault?

DXBtoDOH

Yep. Still waiting on the hotel though. Come on you lazy gits in the US I want the damn booking so I can print it out before leaving the office today.

mission

The Vault is a very 'couple-ly' bar - way too sedate for my liking

Andyupnorth

Well done Calum !! Hats off to you.

Calum123

I paid 32000 QAR for it. Hummer H3T only 2400 made. Very well kept by its previous owner who was a car enthusiast, why do you ask anyway? I think I paid a very fair price for the car I got as you see the normal h3's go for more with higher miles etc

Calum123

Anyway I thought I would update you all on how its going...

Some advice for people who have been offered jobs and for the guys who warned me about the role i was doing... I can already hear the "I told you so" replies coming.

Everything for the most part is still fantastic. Still really loving Qatar as a whole, met loads of new friends and had loads of great experiences with many more to come I'm sure
. Its really not as bad as everyone makes out. April 5th brings the opening of Festival City and then a new months down the line a Snow Dome, which I cannot wait for.

You will remember I got offered a job before coming out here in September ( I was coming with the wife regardless). But anyhow the company offered me the world and unfortunately didn't follow through on any of it. I worked at said company for 6 months trying to be as optimistic about the situation as I could. Telling myself it would get better in time, well in actually fact it got worse. There was absolutely no support from head office in Dubai, it was as if the Qatar office didn't exists. The way they did business really didn't sit right with me either. for anyone who is interested I worked for a Wealth Management company, who I won't name on here because I don't want to tarnish the reputation of anyones business as this is all just my opinion. From speaking to other people in the office they all seemed to enjoy what they did and for the life of me I couldn't understand why, the management ran the place like a work house!

I got told on numerous occasions that this is how these companies run across the board in the Middle East. So for anyone who is considering an offer from a company like this I urge you to really do your homework beforehand and If something sounds to good to be true then it more than likely is!

To cut a long story short I was approached by a recruiter on LinkedIn just after christmas, went for an interview with the company, who are a very well recognised company and sit on the Dubai 100 SME and it truly opened my eyes to how bad the last 6 months had been. As soon as I went into the office the atmosphere was great, very professional, as you would expect. Not making people stand up on chairs and read poems for being late to work, or standing in the corner of the room facing the wall for not hitting targets. Anyway I got offered the job the following week and have just finished the on boarding process as I needed to get my university certificates attested, PCC report etc. Your now thinking "but how did you move, did your company give you an NOC?" No, I didn't need an NOC because I wasn't legally working for the company!! I only found this out when I told them of my intention of leaving, they made me believe I was able to work on my family visa, I didn't even have a work permit! I was fortunate enough to have a family visa, others in the company do visa runs and have been doing for years... very illegal

Morale of the story kids if your going to move out to the middle east be prepared to check and check again that the job is right for you and that all the correct steps have been done. I was quite naive to think that all companies out here operate like they would in the UK... I was wrong.

DXBtoDOH

Well, mate, glad it worked out for you. You're one of the lucky ones if the company is who I'm thinking of. Most employees are more likely than not back on the plane to the UK broke and with less money than they came out with.

I still think you're a wanker for having a Hummer but if that's what you need to enjoy Qatar, go for it. No need to defend yourself.

Calum123

Its probably not the one your thinking of if it starts with D, but yeah I think they are all pretty much like for like...

I'm quite glad to be out of financial services to be honest, its sad but all I hear is negative things about the industry in the middle east which really tarnishes the reputation of honest, professional advisors who are out there you've just got to look hard enough.

Il take that about the Hummer, would never have one in the UK so why not

I hope your enjoying a bit more now DXB or are you still hating Qatar life?

DXBtoDOH

I'm resigned to Qatar. Still think it's a shithole and purgatory. But sometimes you need to do what you need to do. Regular visits back to Dubai keeps me sane.

The difference between you and me is that Qatar is your first ME posting. Me? I spent four years in Dubai in 2008-2012 before returning in 2015 - transfer to Doha last December. Apples and oranges. Wholly different places.

mission

good on you on mate...sounds like you held your balls through the difficulty time and saw it through to finding a better position - Mashallaah
re the Hummer - agree with DXB...what the eff were you thinking those are hideous!

scrubbedexpat141

Ignore the naysayers. This is a great attitude when it comes to cars here.

So easy in the MIddle East to go extreme one way or the other - super debt mountain from over-indulging and living the champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget.

But also, equally pointless being here to squirrel every penny and dirham away for a rainy day. Spend too long like that and you'll miss out on loads of fun shit, loads of experiences and you'll have a pile of cash that you're scared to spend.

Extremes are bad. Somewhere in the middle is best and if that's a Hummer then why the **** not.