al dente

I have just done ALL of these on an effing school run. It amazes me how the red mist can descend, so, frightened of my reaction, i try and do a good driving deed, then have another surge of anger. Repeat until it eventually I'm home. 6 incidents today, and for all you doubters, none were women in 4x4s and of course 2 were taxis.

lullabelle

I haven't posted in a looooong time.

I'm another one who is happy being back in the UK. It took a while to feel settled. I experienced a kind of reverse culture shock and actually felt dissatisfied about a lot of things for some time. And I'm not talking about lavish lifestyle, cars etc because that wasn't my life in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. It was a very weird feeling. I didn't want to go back to the Middle East (I was offered a good job in Doha but just couldn't...) but at the same time couldn't settle at home. Not getting back into my own house for six months probably didn't help.
A year or so down the line and its hugely different. I have my own business which is just starting to take off and is making me very, very happy. I have less money, bog standard car, my house is needing several grand spent on it... but more time and more joy. Less stress. I have a dog and go for longs walks in the country every day which makes me feel so happy and full of well being. I just drink in the green, the lush intensity, the different habitats. The creativity of my work mates is another bonus - i found it hard to be as creative in Dubai or Abu Dhabi and I did feel that I lived in a bubble where I wasn't exposed to enough subcultures, whether that be fashion, film, tv, music or just different people. The heat, the dust, the hidous commute, the politics of work made my head full of sludge. This summer was rather magical as the weather was great and seemed to bring out the best in everything. I holidayed in France and on the north Norfolk coast and had easily as good a time as in other more exotic locations. The British seaside can be enchanting, quirky and very eccentric and I still reckon eating really good fish and chips watching the sun set after a blowy day on the beach is very close to heaven. I enjoy driving again. Fewer people are trying to kill me...
On the other hand I miss tliving on a beach, swimming in the sea every day, the weather between November and March and the fantastic food (really good noodle soups, dosas and pani puri. I have to go to green street in London for a fix and its a bit off my beaten track). I miss friends there. I can see why some people would return and long to go back as your standard of living can be higher and things are so clean and shiny. For me that comes at a price. my friend, who is still there sums his feelings up by saying "there's no tax but they take 40 percent of your soul." It rings true to me. I honestly wouldn't return to live as so much got me down - the casual racism, inequality, insecurity and daily irritations just wore at me.
Finally, my kids are better back here. Their lifestyle is healthier. Despite the UK weather, we are outside a lot more. London is half an hour away and the entertainment offererd there is fantastic on so many levels. Being close to family is important to them. Their friends aren't going anywhere and their schooling is better (all that money for a so called private education and there were holes. I guess something has got to give way for the fours hours of Arabic a week)

I still work for a few Dubai companies so there are links. And I have a real fondness for some things - which I admit sits oddly with my utter contempt for other things. But I guess that's normal for a place which is so schizophrenic anyway.

scrubbedexpat141

I am just regularly amazed at people acting like dicks and then getting angry when you try to point it out. Still, red mist is a big issue and trying to keep calm is the harder bit!

Ronnie Biggs

I reported a taxi once for dangerous driving - probably pointless but if people don't report them then how are they ever going to know what they're doing is crazy....

I still think the driving here is a 100 times better than it was in 2008 though. Not saying much but it's heading in the right direction....

Ronnie Biggs

Laugh and smile - it winds them up even more and you don't risk three months + deportation.

scrubbedexpat141

Oh I don't get flappy and shouty and pointy and sweary and two-fingers-uppy.

I generally go with the smile and a long, spaghetti Western stare and drag combo on the cigarette.

flares

You should add 'driving in Saudi' to your bucket list Scamp. Trumps UAE.

Bahtatboy

With retirement (or, more probably, semi-retirement) in sight in a few years, I don't intend to leave the ME (or wherever pays me enough) until the cash bucket is full, for which I have a fairly specific amount in mind. The shit bucket gets close to overflowing at times, but then I do one of two things to reduce it: reflect on the cost/benefit analysis of doing what I do (which at the moments weighs heavily on the benefit side), or go drill some holes in the bucket at a suitable outlet.

I do fear missing living/working abroad, and therefore plan semi-retirement with, hopefully, a couple of month-long assignments per year somewhere exotic. But I intend to be based in God's own country, coz its nice there. Apart from Japan, I can't for the moment imagine retiring anywhere else, but perhaps that's partly because I haven't experienced somewhere yet that I'd like. Any suggestions?

scrubbedexpat141

No thanks, if and when I have to go (which may be early next year if my unqualified arse can get a visa) then it'll be a day trip or at worst an overnighter.

Yeah, UK to retire to, somewhere like Cornwall or Devon so I can be an old surfer and develop a real accent so words like Wadebridge sound awesome.

Jingsamichty

The best line ever about working in Dubai.

OriginalSunshine

Come to Oman. 3* die at the scene of the accidents - every. single. day. of. the. year.

*Children don't count. Nor do those that die later.

Inselaffen

Saved some in my last short stay but went through that in 5 years in Singapore. Happy to be back and planning on making some decent savings this time.

soukie

This really is good advice - this is how I survive the ME !

OleJanx

It's one of the odd things, but after a while, you find you want to be anywhere else but where you are. The first time I left Qatar, I couldn't wait to be back in England. I left at the end of August, straight into a deppressing English Autumn and Winter, convinced six months later that I had made a bad, bad mistake. After that, I took up jobs, sometimes with dodgy employers, but no matter where I ended up, I always wanted to be somewhere else, was restless until I'd moved on, and then was looking for the next port of call. Itchy feet doesn't even begin to describe my wanderlust...

The Dean

Great points!