British Expats - UAE, World Leader?

Quote:

Originally Posted by admon (Post 8734245)

That chip on your shoulder must reeaaally hurt.

No society is perfect, but for me (obviously a failed-in-my-own-country-misfit) (or not as while I live here I still run a business in the UK that pays for my life here), the issue is a reason to invest.

If you want me, a UK national, to invest long term in this country, give me a reason.
Give me a visa for life, give me the rights of a citizen - give me the opportunity of citizenship.
Countries all over the world do it (the Uk are leaders at it) and so long as non emirati residents are just residents, then little can change, in permanently attracting those with Western passports who ultimately have the choice of where they wish to reside in the world.

So for anyone to call those people the 'save and when its enough I'll leave' is just wrong - as ultimately they don't have the choice to make a permanent life here, even if they wanted to.

Thats not a criticism of the UAE (been here 6 years and very happy), just an observation for those wiling to criticise the western expat mentality.

I don't know why you assumed I was talking about you when i mentioned semi-skilled pinoy-chasign expat, but anyway.

Nobody wants you or me to invest here. Nobody wants to give you or me passports because of a number of reasons. Righhtly or wrongly the feeling is that it is worthwhile attracting people who are happy to live here on those terms. I actually think it is a bad idea, and that investing in people who want to stay and make a difference is a better idea. But it's not my decision.

The days when we were treated like royalty are over. Everyone knows what a chav looks like now. Every chavvy act reflects on all of us, even though we may have left our country to escape the plague of chavvery. What I suggest is that colonial attitudes are kept private, where they belong.

Thanks for alerting me to the chip on my shoulder. What about the "UAE /World LEaders" topic starter?