bingoed01

Might be in the ME soon & thought I'd try and find out all the chat first up !

I'm a 24yr old female who loves to travel, meet people, have fun & be in the sun.
P.E teacher in Scotland (Edinburgh) and thinking of teaching somewhere else now .....somewhere HOT! Had enough of the Scottish Rain.
Been recommended to a Sharjah school......but not sure .......

If you are already there or anywhere near there please say hi back.

Bob

welcome to BE and good luck with your plans

auzdafluff

I have a friend who works at the Australian school there. She spends most of her time in Dubai though. It'll probably be the same for most teachers.

BTW. It does get hot here, but it also gets very, very humid. If you hate the rain because of getting soaked all the time, you won't enjoy Sharjah/Dubai (or the Gulf in general) during the summer months. The combination of 45ºC+ heat and 90% humidity means you'll be soaked through with sweat if you're outside for anything more than 30 seconds (I'm not joking).

Oh, and feel free to PM me with the offer you get. I'll be able to tell you how it stacks up against the average teacher's package in Sharjah.

scrubbedexpat141

Go for it, but try Dubai / Abu Dhabi before Sharjah.

My mrs is a 24yr old PE Teacher and starts a job out here (Dubai) on Tuesday so there are jobs there and if you've got a Degree and PGCE then you'll find it even easier.

Money isn't amazing but apartment came free so she will be fine.

Blue Cat

there is a thread in the Middle East section about a group of teachers coming out to teach at the new GEMS school, started by JoeyG I think, check that out

Sandboy

why do you say that Scamp ? Your weeks of experience have taught you what about Sharjah exactly ?

I preferred working in Sharjah to Dubai, don't put the lass off

scrubbedexpat141

I've been into Sharjah a couple of times and thought it was a shithole.

I think if you asked 100 people most would suggst Dubai over Sharjah, so "don't put the lass off".

mentalist

The problems in Sharjah include unreliable power supply, horrendous gridlocked traffic, no Metro service, generally alcohol-free culture, apparent 85% TWN male population, relatively few western hangouts...the list goes on.

Bahtatboy

So is working in Sharjah and living in Dubai a realistic option?

mentalist

Living in Al Qusais or even Mirdif might be okay as the travelling wouldn't be such an issue.

Ethos83

Sharjah is a shitty place. Sure, fine, talk about some of the residential areas and mention that the corniche is pretty and that there's the Blue Souk, but they don't deter from the simple fact that Sharjah is shitty. Traffic is awful, air quality is awful and the amenities are far and few when compared to Dubai.

Spugsy

From gorgeous Edinburgh to small Saudi Sharjah which has nothing but shite shops, sand everywhere and not much English being spoken.

I'd go with Scamp on this one, talk about a culture shock.

bingoed01

Thanks for the replies , from what I have read on other forums i don't have the best of feelings on SHARJAH, but I have to decide today.I had decided to take the offer before I started some discussions , now i'm not so sure. Having never been to ME maybe Dubai would have been better but I'm well travelled and quite adaptable......I can always return if it doesn't work out. Thanks everyone.

Spugsy

And let's not forget how strict it is as well.

Meow

Sharjah is no one's first choice, but there are many variables. You can make it workable in a decent school if you can get out. Just bear in mind as others are saying that it is not as Westernised as Dubai and is prone to appalling traffic jams and power cuts, especially in the summer months when you really need the aircon.

Good luck whatever you decide to do. Do come back and tell us.