How's the local life treating you all? Know anyone leaving Dubai, still getting it all to work for you?

All is well for me... ish, work is slow, and I suspect a potentially difficult conversation for me this week. So let's see.

I certainly won't hang around if it involves me having to deflate my expat bubble a bit

From the Qatar end I haven't heard of potentially difficult conversations. I know 2-3 people who know it can happen but it hasn't happened yet as their companies are still figuring out how/where they can be kept on other projects.

The big cull at my company was last year. We recently had the head honchos from the US at the office but they confirmed we're ok this year. Overhead is low enough, projects are sufficient for our numbers, we're invited to bid on tenders later this year. It helps that the company is booming in the US so there's less pressure over the slight loss we're still making. But there's no recruitment either. Nor does the #1 client seem to be showing any indication of paying the hugely outstanding amounts owed to us.

I suspect what's true for my company is similar for much of Qatar, even other sectors. The big culls are over, but there's no expansion or hiring beyond necessary replacements, so there's no influx of new people. Rents are still dropping.

But and this is a big but, it's Qatar and with the embargo this picture could change very quickly any day.

I hope you hang around a bit longer mate.

We're busy to a point, Expo keeps us ticking over and in my very small team we cover 3 of the five global hubs so we can be kept busy elsewhere too.

Just back in Dubai though, it's ****ing slow. Minimal new work coming, RFPs are like gold dust from what I see on reports. Very strange.

Africa will save me. May have to move to Kenya or Egypt though. Would take Egypt first, oddly.

Africa is going to keep us going . Two large projects in East Africa will definitely help us.

The local construction market is saturated as always. It's the usual smoke and mirrors and dangling of non existent carrots.

The company I joined seemed to be expanding, but we're specialists and seem to be picking work up. Not sure how long-term this is going to be.

Now that I've moved to the flat on the Palm, I've noticed a couple of things. Firstly, the number of empty car-parking spaces in my building. It looks to be half-empty/full, depending on your outlook. Secondly, the Galleria along the Golden Mile....there are loads of empty shop units, all with "new unit coming soon" plastered all over them...and peeling off. Looks like they've been empty for ages...if not since they built the place.

Get a villa out in Karen and a fleet of maids and spend your days basking in the glow of the African sunset with a chilled G&T.

But don't forget the security guards.

It's high time Dubai learned you can't build 90% of your commercial space as luxury space when 90% of the population is either working or middle class.

And that you can replicate the exact same damn shops and restaurant in every mall and shopping centre and no one will notice

Karen to the office is around 2 hours on a bad day. I do like Karen though. Great place to chill with a tusker.

Karen or Maddi are probably my basic options.

There will be some voluntary exits from our place due to shrinking balance sheets and an expectation that profits will tank - there seems to be a general exodus from Kuwait from the western expat pool (apparently the Indian pool is reducing too).







Good luck with your discussion

Well, the good news is that I think they will fire my boss as a token first, and from there see where we go. And getting rid of me will take a while due to how we operate so not all bad. I'm not losing sleep just yet.

What kind of notice period do you have? Or will they just buy it out and security march you from the building

It's never fun getting the chop but at least you have a chance now to scout around for some other opportunity, in case the axe does fall.

That's the downside to the UAE, I always have the feeling that everything could go tits up without warning

It seems alarmingly regular that bad news is surfacing. Daily now it seems.

What other bad news are surfacing? Or are you referring to hearing of more mates being made redundant?