Pontius... do you always make a point when you talk.. what I wrote was called providing information.... wow a neat concept?
Fish... "those who have and those who have not" . I am speaking from experience I live in the middle east... and sorry to say that seeing 2 mirage 2000 doesn't gauge the level of military activity going on in the region. Come work in Bahrain ATC where I am and you'll see almost half the traffic right now is US and UK military.
Maxalt... so true when you wrote.. "people leaving one set of problems for another set".
As for listening to expat wives opinions, who wouldn't like it? Most don't have to work and they spend their days at the beach club with the 14 other wives who do nothing all day.
Take is from me, I have worked in Europe and now here in Bahrain.. the grass is NOT greener and don't leave if you think it is.. it's never the case. Be honest with yourself, why do you want to move to the middle east? For me, it's financial freedom so I can go back to Canada, pay for a house cash and not have debts.