co durham boy

Horses for courses mate , what works for some doesn't for others . I always err on the side of caution in The Middle East and for all the years i have been working here i know the whole place could be a week away from disaster .

Remember most of us will be repatriated at some point , only a very small percentage will never go back .

We've all got to leave paradise sometime and get back to the real world eventually

lanarkwitch

Actually I can't wait to get back to Ireland...unfortunately it might take another 10 years before theres a job there for me though...

tayls123

i tried that, went back for a few years...came back again. i grew up here so going back again isnt an option for me. im not built for the shitty uk weather anymore. plus theres zero jobs where i used to live, and even less jobs where my mum and dad live.

and if it all goes tits up here, i'll be the last one out the door...maybe head off to singapore or that direction...

UKCityGent

Well we could never let the tea-boys go first - heaven forbid i would have to use a kettle

co durham boy

Fair play mate , we all tick differently that's for sure . I never rule anything out though .

tayls123

havent learned to use your opposable thumbs yet? take it you've only just started to learn how to walk upright

The Dean

I did try to use my thumbs to walk upright once...... not a great success, frankly........

The question itself: until I retire, but then after spending most of the last 20 years out here, I don't see myself ever retiring (enjoy what I do too much).

Of course I won't be allowed the luxury of seeing out my declining years here.... think about it: why do you never see elderly people in the malls etc? Is there a rule that, once they reach 65, they are clubbed to death and buried out in the desert?

auzdafluff

I've currently got my fingers crossed about a job I was approached about. If it comes off, it's in an area that I can really leverage my current skills and experience, while gaining new experience in that area. Once I have that down for a couple of years, I could move to almost any major business hub.

That said, I'm acutely aware of how much shit most of the big Western markets are in (Australia included) so I have a feeling I'm going to be staying out here where it's (economically) safe, at least until the UK/US/Australia etc get better.

I'd actually love to move back to Sydney, as I still have tons of family there – plus it was were I was born – and I haven't been back since I left as a kid in 1993. But again, until the economy picks up, that's not going to happen.

gottheTshirt

Why? I took my first overseas job for one year in 1977 (Nigeria), then saving for my first house, then funding kids through university now saving for retirement; but spend a couple of weeks back in UK and see the poor sods commuting every day mainly to none jobs. You can stick that. God I am glad I did not spend my working life doing that !. The world is not limited to the GCC and UK.
If you are pissed off with the boring easy life in the GCC then try Africa, Yemen (spend every day half doped on ghat and enjoy the scenery), China, Sudan, libya (now that is a country that can be described as shite).

How long do I intend to stay in the ME - until I feel I need to complain - life is too short and their are too many places to go.

co durham boy

Fair play to you but most people will return to base that's just a plain fact . I worked out the other day that i have visited around 35 countries on this planet and worked in 12 .

From the khazi of Aden to the acid trip town of Port Moresby through to the coolness of Hong Kong and all the way back to Ruwais and the Valium induced city of Doha and beyond.

What i've gathered is there is no Utopia and that you drive yourself mental looking for it and you always get disappointed in something in everywhere you go.

tayls123

i know there's no utopia, and i'm not questioning your choice...im just interested to know, what makes the UK so appealing as opposed to the far east, central europe, US etc etc..

Millhouse

scones

tayls123

what kind of scones we talking about here? cherry?

co durham boy

Morris Dancers..... You don't get them in Chang Mai or Gdansk

You can never beat a bit of Maypole Tomfoolery

UKCityGent

Bognor Regis ?