Chris_m

I'll leave when it stops being fun.

I earn 4x my salary here, Someone pays my rent and feeds me 3x a day i can't get that back in the uk.

Recently i was working 10am till 3am. Which ok wasn't great but cash was flowing so i was happy. After 3months of that i went an bought myself an 09 plate pathfinder.

Now back to a 6yr day and chilling out, My parents were here for 5weeks over xmas an New years. And are now looking to move here. I have my sister here already so i have no imediate need to return to the uk if it all comes off.

I know alot of people aren't happy here but when you sit down and weigth it all up. The only thing that keeps us here is the money. For me when that stops then i'll look to move. Until then long may it continue

Chris

Boomhauer

So you really think Britain is worse than KSA or any other GCC country? I mean I understand the bit about jobs, clean and safer streets, no taxes, nice apartments etc...but in the grand scheme of things, unless you didn't mind living in a society where civil liberties and human rights are an alien concept, Britian does come out light years ahead.

In KSA, one is just living in a prison which is somewhat tolerable if in a compound but is only bearable because of the wages and knowing that one day you will leave the place and go somewhere civilised.

Kim67

We planned on two years and we stayed two years and two months. We wouldn't have stayed any longer because of air quality and education standards. Not a really healthy place to bring up kids. It's amazing to come home to clear blue skies after living in a dust bowl.

tayls123

not KSA per say but perhaps one of the more lenient gulf states. i myself hammer this place for being a shithole where arabs get to do what they want...but is it really that much worse than england where council scum kick the shit out of a 6 month old baby and it dies only for everyone to blame the 'system'? my point is no where (in my opinion) is actually that much better than anywhere else...so just get your head down, do your time and try to enjoy it to the best of your ability...but for me PERSONALLY (not trying to tell anyone else what to do)...i don't think going back to the UK permanently is an option anymore. its not somewhere where i want to live. sure i miss things about it but after 2 weeks holiday every 6 months...im happy to leave...

commander

Over 6 years now and lived in Dubai and AD. We are happy. I have a good job and really enjoy my work. Sports are great, daughter is happy, wife loves it..

Why fix something that aint broke..

We have been here long enough to know it can all change in an instant so while the sun shines make hay.

Blue Cat

he doesn't know how to download I haven't watched any OSN crap apart from Sky News for about 5 years

gottheTshirt

Bliss would be living on subsistence as a sheep farmer in the English Lake District with my own micro brewery in the shed. But, unfortunately my parents forced me to have an education, gain a degree then I went off and got married, had kids etc. and bliss has never been an option. Of the realistic alternatives of working in UK, with all the crap, communicating, tax etc or working overseas knowing that whatever job I do will turn out to be complete f***k up (Cause in the GCC they always are, especially so in KSA or Qatar), the choice is overseas. I pine to be on the mountains in winter with a real ale waiting, in a real pub with a log fire. But reality is either commuting by train, running 20 minutes late, with no seats, with hundreds of sweaty bodies talking complete crap into mobile phones or alternatively sitting in a traffic jam on the M6.

Check Please

Once you're gone five years, you can't go back. You can't go back to that grey, gloomy depressing place. It takes five years away to really see what it is

Ronnie Biggs

Depends where you're from in the UK really.... Grimsby/Darlington/Barnsley/Middlesboro etc and I take your point. I miss home from time to time and I don't think of it as a grim, depressing place (unless I read the Daily Mail.)

co durham boy

Rubbish

gottheTshirt

Over the 35 years I have met very few who have been able to return permanently to UK after a continuous stint of 5 years. In fact when I think about it I don't know any !!. I am not sure it is the grey, gloomy depression; more likely the grass is always greener in the next pasture and income tax is a bit of a disincentive.

Check Please

I desperately missed home for about four to five years..After that when returning for visits I found that it wasn't the same place that I had left or maybe for the first time saw it for what it really was. At that point I officially became a Nomad..

I have friends and family that live in the same homes they grew up in. I find that somewhat strange.

Victor Meldrew

Done almost 10 years, plan 1 more.

Despite the obvious cash advantages (like others my salary in real terms is over twice the UK equivalent), there are other things to consider.

If you have family and a good circle of real friends as opposed to superficial friends then it is easier to be here.

It also depends on your stage in life. If in your early 20's or 30's then of course it is a more engaging lifestlye here (Dubai). In your 50's or older a different perspective becomes apparent.

Every year in ME is a year away from UK.

Each person's opinion on this subject is right for them. There is no one correct answer to this question.

Check Please

No, there is no one correct answer but i'm here to tell you from experience that when you go home permanently it wont be the same..You'll find yourself in a room staring at the walls and wondering just what in the hell you were thinking by returning -

because once you're gone, ya can't go back, when youre outta the blue and into the black.

Victor Meldrew

Like I said, it's not one size fits all.

I have been back for total 3 months each year and I know when I go back it won't be as you describe. I'm not saying it will be Utopia but it won't be the misery you describe either.