I hear you brother..... am there too. Living the dream.

Totally Happy. Been in Dubai for more than a few years now and do not miss the commute back and forth up the US east coast to get to work and then spend the four days of duty to end up with one day home a week, not to mention the less than grand hotels/motels the old carrier provided... and the list could go on and on....

You have to remember that most of the guys that are happy simply cant be bothered posting on PPRUNE nowdays - after getting personally abused by sad people several times you just give up trying to put an alternative view to their doom and gloom.

If you are unhappy you are going to be more motivated to whinge about it on an internet forum - if you are happy then you are more likely to be out enjoying life.

It's human nature whatever country you are in.

kempilot
 

Why not move to where you are based rather than move across the world?

Kill two birds with one stone. Stop commuting and be at home more often.

halas

Moving from N-America to the ME was the best move ever, pilots here are respected, well fed, well treated, it is like going from the bottom to the top of the food chain!
No more 14 hrs duty days
No more 11 segments/day
No more blowing -40C and icy runways
No more ****ty/greasy foods
No more Fking deduction for federal tax, Pension plan, Union, Group benefit plan etc...
WY (Oman) is a great please to be!

cheers

Kem,
Couple of differences. After the "thrill" wears off of the big planes, etc. you will feel very similar about the company as you do at Useless. The difference will be, you will go home to a somewhat normal lifestyle. Here you will fly 90 hard hours a month, mostly on the backside of the clock, no duty rigs, no union or organizational protection, and flying 10 plus hours with no augmented crew. Don't count on commuting, don't count on numbers of days off in a row to allow anything but recovering from turnarounds to the subcontinent. You are flying in a "normal" ATC enviornment, ie, radar contact, even if you are flying international at Useless. You have jumpseat priviledges througout the country for commuting.

You will see your extended family very infrequently. You will get very little US sports coverage (if that means anything to you), you will spend a number of hours online trying to keep up with what's going on back there. A lot of the normal daily things in life that you take for granted will suddenly disappear. You will be dealing with 115F heat for half the year. The cost of living is higher here than in MCO.

If you have no choice, please come here by all means. It's an ok job. But if you are living a normal life, with a normal family (is anybody's), able to commute with not too much trouble.......think twice, three times before making the call. Here at EK the upgrade is probably minimum of five years now.

Mensaboy !!
It's one of the most realistic and honest post I have ever read on pprune about being here, in the sandpit.
Well done and spot on !
Thanks

I agree with most of what mensaboy has said.

The question for my family and for me is not, weather or not we love this place. I've worked for a nicer airline before and for two worse ones, as far as "enjoying it" goes.
But there isn't really much choice now, anyway. This place here is definitely much better than working for some sh!tty LoCo-carrier back home, or living in China, or being a bush pilot in Africa. Salary- as well as life-quality wise.

Once the first year is over, you start getting used to it. Thinking positive is not the same as self-deception, and for us it works pretty well.

Happy at Qr!:ok:

Now I'm really happy!!!:):)

I'm in Qr, and Fatpilot's not!:ok::ok:

Cheers:E

hahaha
Bravo, Capt. Oryx!

kempilot:
"The unfortunate thing is that I am only home 3 days per week."

This is far better than what you can expect in most airlines in the ME.

Fatpilot

People like you come a dime a dozen. Your belief that anywhere considered to be Third World is a s..t hole speaks volumes about who you THINK you are.

Very disrespectful of others. 'Nuff said.

BTW I am from a Third World country called Jamaica.

Fatpilot if u claim that Middle East is a thirld world place, what the hell are you doing here then. Why dont you go back to your first world...If it was that great, you wouldnt have travelled thousand of miles to get here. So stop this prejudice and inappropiate wording of yours...

Im happy QR, the problem is living in Doha. Its for family wimps or Arabic speakers, not single guys who speak english

Sorry for you fub, but I am a married wimp LOL. So if I get hired then I will be fine in Doha. :ok: Good to know:}

Wow, A340UAE, you are ME about 4 years ago. Hope you keep that same attitude, good for you. Sadly, I fear things will wear you down over time.

I'm quite happy here in Bahrain, lived in Abu Dhabi for a spell, can easily see how living in Dubai could be a bit stressful, here on the other hand is relatively relaxed, and if the glitz and glamour (tongue in cheek) of Dubai is needed, then a short weekender cures that...

Thanks guys.

My level of happyness was so extremely high that I left..as many others did.. Incompatible with unilaterality ...not to keen on being treated like a slave with no rights, fed up with ridicoulous kindergarden like management ( what management?) practices..hating the ******* sandy hot humid damn place. But I pretty much believe that if you come from some ****** up country like the US or worst...... you might take it as improvement..But just wait... the same **** you got there is coming to you soon with the only difference that in the ME you can just shut up!
Enjoy!!!

SMArse

Curious, if the US is a ****** up country (your definition) what country is not ****** up and where is the crossover point?

Not a flame, just curious.:)