Middle East...Deal or no Deal?
 

I have viewed with interest the various threads regarding the Middle East, especially the Muscat mutterings. I am interested in working in the Middle East but is it worth it and what is the nationality of all these people who are making all the negative comments. What are the school costs, accomodation costs and general living costs at either Bahrain, Muscat or Abu Dhabi in comparison to the salary. Thanks ever so muchly :ok:

Waddaumean....
 

well now that you have found the forum...try using the search function.:rolleyes:

Rather that than have everybody go through it all again because you can't be bothered reading it all:ugh:

:= No, not trying to stir things up at all, I am only asking for information, why? are you in the middle east at the moment and are one of those people that is p:mad:d off?

Diving duck, just for your info I have read all the threads, including yours on the Middle East and only find a lot of anger and p:mad:d off people. That is why I am asking is it worth it?:ugh:

WMPU

Best advice is do your homework well before coming.

I've been in the Middle East over 16 years now and have seen a ton of people come and go for any number of reasons, some good, some bad, some frivolous. I'm assuming you're an ATCO and would know that we're pretty good at finding fault with things and complaining when necessary. Some are better than others at that and they often inhabit these kinds of fora. There's always an element of truth in the things that are said but it often doesn't convey the reality on the ground.

If you're going to come to this part of the world, whatever you do, don't just have money on your mind and don't think that your contract is anything more than a vague agreement between you and your future employer. If you can make that mental adjustment, you'll thrive here. If not, it could be excruciating for you.

Best of luck to you.

ATCO1962 and Vercingetorix
 

Thank you both for your comments. Of course money is important but I am looking more for something different, rather than fiscal gain. However I have heard stories about people struggling with mortgages in the UK because of the salary etc, my own one is not big anyway so that is not an issue. I will endeavour to find out more, through these forums and the internet, negative comments are welcomed as well as positive ones. :)

Bat39 and Vercingtorix
 

Ok thanks for that information. Some of my colleagues are are ex-ME but they left many years ago so the information they have is pretty basic, however it is encouraging to hear that there are positive things about the ME. My wife is a primary teacher, are there options for her or would she just become a lady of leisure??;)

Go to muscat and make a negative profit :}

What does PRO stand for?

Sorry to throw in a grenade here but is Muscat REALLY that bad????

wmpu
 

Don't know who Black Hawk Drowning is or what he is crapping on about but Muscat is what you make it, decent wages(eventually), decent people and a beutiful scenic country. I think BHD was trying to say Kiwis cant handle the traffic here:confused: .Thats just nonsense, there are a bunch of Kiwis here and they are well able for it, they are also well able to negotiate and have been the main impetus in obtaining us a little pay-rise recently.

I think Batt39's suggestion is best, if you are really interested be sure to visit each place before, you will quickly get a sense if it would be right for you.

Heaps of jobs for qualified teachers here also, not always very well paid for ex-pat wives though

EIEIO

Thanks for all the positive information guys, I am not naive enough to believe it will be a bed of roses wherever I decide to look, at but it all helps in the decision making process.:ok:

so what did he say?
 

It's a bit annoying that Blackhawk has a habit of lobbing various comments into threads and then removes them.... come on mate, if you don't have the guts to backup what you say then don't post in the first place.
Do I assume that he thinks I left Muscat because I 'wasn't up to it'? I actually left because the contract was unaffordable for me to stay given the cost of rent and schooling. That's the bottom line.
I enjoyed the work, the people (expat's and locals alike) they are great people!! Muscat is the pick of places to live in the ME in my opinion and it's just a shame that DGCAM is unwilling or unable to offer a contract that 'meets the market' for experienced ATC's, the latest payrise not withstanding.
WMPU... follow the good advice that's offered here... come over and have a look yourself before committing to anything. But more importantly you need to come with an open mind and the right attitude... if you do that you'll have a ball I'm sure.
cheers
Pete

good luck
 

first,what i do to what i write is no ones biz but myself,so give or take i dont give a toss on what other think.
2nd,i wasnt talking about any one as a person ,the idea i was trying to pass on here is that its tuff over here in Muscat and i find that majority of people from over the tip of the world(i wouldnt dare to mention the country"s name) do struggle with stuff,knowing the back ground of their airspace.
finaly,i know why u left,and totaly understand why u did that,good for u:D
so i know that its sometimes its hard for me to express myself,but the comments i made was purley for the guy who started this thread,and the message was (if ur from that country "i wouldnt dare to say it name") matbe its not worth it to come here,not because of money only,but also because of traffic too.if i did hurt someone (sorry):oh:

gidday blackhawk
 

Mate I have no problem at all with you posting your opinions I just wondered why you then felt the need to remove them.
With respect to the traffic... yeah, it gets busy but the 'system' isn't particularly helpful either but I won't go on about that..... suffice to say that alot more support for operations could be offered that wouldn't cost alot but would make a huge difference, something as simple as having some displayed information (airspace and route maps) and radios that work properly would have been helpful.
So you guys aren't missing me then?:}
cheers

Koora Bro
 

How's the dark side now? Check your PMs.

vercing...
 

Sorry mate, totally no idea on what you just said. My mistake, the post was intended for zkpjm. Unless you're the same guy.:confused: Im new here but have been lurking for years...

pare

The dark side..
 

The Dark Side is well... dark ....although there are glimpses of a bright light at the end of the tunnel...:confused:
I'm enjoying BAH so far Pare... good people, a structured training programme and even radios that work!!!! Cool eh?

ZK...
 

OK so your radio's work, how bout your lines cause nobody seems to answer them.... :E

Rumour has it Muscat are finally stumping up an extra 500 OR per month, but when are they going to start paying it??????????? :confused::confused::confused: