scrubbedexpat141

Mid life crisis should be embraced, no? A chance to do something daft or different or a lifelong thing you've always wanted but never afforded.

Doesn't have to be banging Russian brass does it?

DXBtoDOH

Fair enough. Why does it have to be labelled a midlife crisis? Must you wait until you're 45 to do something daft or silly? Just do it now.

I guess what I'm arguing against is the concept of doing something daft and silly just because you've reached a certain age bracket and you have no other compelling reason to do it.

scrubbedexpat141

Maybe you can't afford it before then? Maybe 45 or 50 the kids have gone and you have loads of spare cash and mortgage paid off?

Oh wait. That's the baby-boomer generation.

I won't be able to afford a mid-life crisis until I've retired. At 84.

jam25mack

That's good because I have had several sports bikes over the years (in the UK and here) and I'm looking to get another one relatively soon....... and as much as I hate to admit it (and probably don't act it) I'm not a kick in the arse off my 40's.

On another note, do you guys think you mature as fast over here as you would back in the UK? I've been here since my mid 20's and still enjoy a regular active social life at......ahem 37....., however, the vast majority of my friends from Uni who live and work in the UK cannot remember the last time they went out and had a decent night out. Obviously different people have different responsibilities and priorities, which is understandable but the folk I know here who are married with a kid or two are still relatively active socially.... Personally I think if you arrived here early enough in your life then Dubai slows the aging / maturing process.... Discuss.

Millhouse

But, isn't the point - that you don't. For whatever reason, young kids, high debts etc. you simply can't.

Anyway, I'm not old enough, so don't know - quite looking forward to it though.

DXBtoDOH

You and I are the same ageish.

I do agree that the UAE being the playground it is allows people to work hard and play hard. It's a combination of amenities, weather, disposable income and like-minded people. In the UK you see this among two types of people - rich Londoners who have the incomes and flexibility to pursue a range of activities outside work (and can easily live within a short commute from their office if they aren't living off a trust fund), or people in the country or provincial cities that have a passion or two and pursue it as they don't suffer from the long commutes and crippling mortgages of the SE.

There must also be something about willing to be an expat that plays a role. You're willing to leave behind the security of home for a new country and that indicates you're naturally inclined towards being more active rather than a homebody.

scrubbedexpat141

Similar to you, I moved here the week I turned 23. 6 years later I'm 100% more mature and rounded as a human being, but I'm still a total twat.

Irishbeekeeper

I read something a few days ago which stuck with me :
'We all have two lives. The second one starts when we realize we only have one.'

Now the fun part is that one can use that same statement for both sides of the arguments right?
When I was in the vicinity of 40, I think I did have a few mid-lify type moments, did some stupid things which I am not proud of, wasted money on things I really didnt need. I guess I was angry. Maybe angry with myself that there were so many things that I still hadnt done, or so many places I still had yet to visit. Maybe I was angry that now I had too many responsibilities so as much as I could afford to financially, I really couldnt afford to do any more crazy stuff which I spent the last 20 years doing without a single thought.
But that fateful birthday came and went and as wisely said earlier by D2D, has happened to millions before me and will happen to millions after me and nothing really changes except a few wrinkles so I think almost 2 years on now and I find myself calmed down a bit more. I look forward to time with the family or just alone time. I still try and go out once a week just to keep the old rebel happy but in all honesty I just do it for the heck of it. We have a saying in our language, the five fingers of the hand arent the same size i.e. every man is different with each person having his own way of handling things. I know many of my coursemates who have completely turned religious and pious now and I cant say I find any fault in that as to each his own. Who am I to judge anyone? Everyone has to go one day right?

Meow

Admittedly skimming your posts but the implication seems to be that only men have a mid life crisis. Do you think that both men and women have them, or is it mainly men?

Irishbeekeeper

Women are much more mature than men at an earlier age so I don't think women have a chance to have that crisis

Meow

Some women, probably.

I think I had my mid life crisis early, well before 40, when I turned my life upside down and moved to Dubai.

jam25mack

Women have the whole biological clock thing to deal with..... different stimulus but could be considered as similar in some ways.

Bahtatboy

Good point. I don't think I've ever met a woman and thought, "She's having a mid-life crisis", but have certainly thought it of many men (myself included). Women who act crazy tend to do it more as a continuum, men tend to have teenage and mid-life bouts.

The cause in men is, surely, simple: increased disposable income allowing the inner-boy to come out, usually in the face of realisation that in another 10 years we'll be old, and often with a bit of marital discord / disinterest / 15-year itch thrown in for good measure.

Bahtatboy

That's one of the best maxims I've ever heard. Do you know who / where it came from?

Made in Sheffield 1

For some reason, between my 29th and 30th birthdays I was so upset at being 'old'.
When I reached 40, I couldn't have cared less.

Strange.