LACCATCO, you can go thru that thread and be none the wiser for it
, lots of personalities over ere...same as most ACC's
I've have only been here for a short while and so far it has been interesting to say the least...I'll break it down into Work, Pay, Housing, Schools, and Lifestyle
Work: coming form oz the work here is much more rewarding. you will know you've been at work and as my colleagues said after last nights chaotic holding you will be controlling in your dreams. The traffic is mental and lots of it there is no flow management through out the region, the procedures are driven by the dysfunctional politics of the region...ie they are fugged!
Having said that it is the hardest thing I have done professionally and I enjoy a challenge. Roster wise it is 6on (MM[7hr shifts]AA[8hr shifts]NN[9hr shifts]) 3off over 10days and every third cycle you do 6on 1off over 8days. I've had a good run with the roster but some of the guys do find the short break hard if they've been hammered by traffic over their 6 days.
Pay: package for an area ATCO 396,000AED, after housing, health and paying for one kid in high school I take home 23,500AED per month. I spend about 1500AED a week on living expenses ; food, phone, internet, taxis, booze and going out.
Housing: the Serco accomodation ranges from average to awful. Us guys with dependants do better than the single guys accomodation.
Schools: if you've got kids in high school get organised before you get here, I had a bit of a run around but got there in the end. Abu Dhabi is a growing city and the demand for expat education is begining to outstrip supply, although it is nowhere near as bad as Dubai so I'm told. Just a word of warning a 13 year Asian girl from my daughter's school was recently abducted an held for ransom by her father's ex business partners. She was returned unharmed a week later.
Lifestyle: so far I love it. Some things will get on your goat like the discrimination and the horrendous drivers on the road, again not as bad as Dubai. I go out regularly to pubs, restraunts and clubs and they are pretty good and reasonably priced. I joined 'The (British) Club' and use the gym, pool, beaches and bars regularly. My daughter has made some good friends,(one even got kidnapped!). As far as personal safety goes it is safer here than back home in oz but its not as safe as I was initially led to believe, you just have to use a bit of 'common dog'. Don't get into a dispute with locals cause you'll never win, becareful when you go out drinking especially getting home late.
Like I said its early days for me, I miss home..you know trees, hills and the footy etc....but I haven't missed a night of sleep since I've been here (apart from night shifts and all night drinking sessions with your training ATCO
!)