". . . Do yourself a favour, no one's going to help you, you just have to help yourself, that's all."
Especially in asia where labor laws are non existent, the expat lifestyle at any outfit anywhere can never be taken for granted. Contracts are just pacifiers, and expats are mere "guests" in a foreign country.
But gullible contractors with lofty expectations "trust" their contract and their foreign employer. They import high maintenance wives, kids and dogs; sign apt leases, buy furniture and put their kids in expensive private schools, as if there were some semblance of assured permanence.
I see guys blowing their hard earned cash on maintaining an elevated lifestyle, including frequent family travels to popular vacation hot spots, even as the world economy is spiraling down.
Many expats who work for a large established carrier somehow feel secure and insulated from the harsh global nightmare. And when suddenly the trap door opens: Boom. It's a personal cataclysmic event. No income. No immediate job prospects. Insufficient savings. No rights. Family upheaval in a foreign land.
It has been said before: Unless one is independently wealthy, any expat job is ok only if one is homeless, divorced with no kids.
