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Old 27th Feb 2014, 19:39
  #28 (permalink)  
adolf hucker
 
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Well now. Aren't some people easily pleased? A Cayenne and a bit of sunshine seems little reward for tolerating the raging bullish!t inherent in being an educated westerner living in a poor facsimile of a civilised society. In my brief sojourn in the ME the happiest (smuggest?) people seemed to be those who couldn't quite believe the 'lifestyle' they had attained (SUV, maid, brunches, swimming pool, assorted tat) and were happy to be compliant in the face of some ludicrous affronts to the dignity and self-respect of anyone not of local origin.

If you are happy to live a pampered and easy life, don't enjoy anything remotely connected with culture or countryside and prepared to be treated as a second class citizen, then give it a go. Even more so if you enjoy being in the company of other like-minded shallow materialists. Most of the guys I worked with gave the distinct impression of being trapped. Some were honest enough to admit it, the others went to great lengths to persuade themselves how much better off they were for having taken the leap.

I'm glad to have had the experience of a couple of years of EK / Dubai froth but am happy and relieved to now be doing more interesting flying in civilisation. Personally, I would prefer to live in a country with a bit of rain now and again (that's why there is stuff like grass and trees) and which does not rely on institutionalised servitude to bolster my lifestyle.

Whether it's worth giving up a viable career to try the ME is high stakes stuff. If you do decide to give it a go, don't forget to take your blinkers or you might accidentally see outside your little ex-pat bubble and see something distasteful.
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