Offer for employment in Dubai

[Brawler]

I'd go but I don't have a family. What does the family think.

 

[dmw]

Sag? What is Dubai like with other religions?
Reason why I asked is because when I lived in Saudi, it was a big no being anything other than Muslim.
The religious police used to raid the Filipinos when they were doing Prayers and Mass. Also religious items like Bible and Cross got you into a lot of trouble.

 

[hellfire]

Sag? What is Dubai like with other religions?
Reason why I asked is because when I lived in Saudi, it was a big no being anything other than Muslim.
The religious police used to raid the Filipinos when they were doing Prayers and Mass. Also religious items like Bible and Cross got you into a lot of trouble.

It's not Saudi. If that answers your question. Although I doubt you'll find a synagogue in the UAE

 

[marco79]

I've heard you can't get into the UAE on an Israeli passport, but there are ways around that. And you won't find a synagogue. Other religions are catered for. I here there are other churches / places of worship. You have to attend those churches on Fridays as opposed to Sundays though.

I have discussed this opportunity with my wife & kids and they don't have any problems with going to Dubai for 18 months. I am doing as much research as possible. Going through expat forums and yesterday we watched a documentary on Dubai with some expats commenting.

I am waiting for feedback from the company with regards to housing, schooling, home trips, medical insurance, etc. I should have a clearer picture of what is on offer by tomorrow.

The way we see it is we have a minimum package which we could accept, and anything more would be a bonus.

 

[saguran]

Thanks, Saguran, for confirming all the reasons why I would never go back to that dump, not for any amount of money.

lol, like what?

saguran dude you are a legend. I'd buy you a bells but you are too far

Haha, pleasure!

And he won't be able to drink it just anywhere :-D

:erm:

Sag? What is Dubai like with other religions?
Reason why I asked is because when I lived in Saudi, it was a big no being anything other than Muslim.
The religious police used to raid the Filipinos when they were doing Prayers and Mass. Also religious items like Bible and Cross got you into a lot of trouble.

lol how dit I forget this one

Like somebody else said, Dubai is very open compared to rest of the Middle East. Obviously, if you are a Christian, you won't be able to do church on a Sunday, since you will have to work, but most of the Christians here do it on a Friday. You are not allowed to build a church, but Christian organisations hire hotels for church on Fridays. The same goes for Hindu, Jews etc. So, you can't have your own building, but you can practice it. For me, as an atheist, this was luckily not a problem

If your are a Muslim, obviously you'll have no issue. There are maaaannnnyy mosques

All in all, you won't actually realise that your are in an Islam country, except when you hear the call for pray.

 

[MrGray]

In short, some people can live in different places, countries and cultures, others find it difficult to adjust. It really depends on the person and their flexibility, for lack of a better word.

I don't think not wanting to live in a repressive environment where you're a second class citizen and can be deported at the drop of a hat is a "flexibility/adjustment" issue.

 

[saguran]

I don't think not wanting to live in a repressive environment where you're a second class citizen and can be deported at the drop of a hat is a "flexibility/adjustment" issue.

Ugh, repressive? Where do you get this?

You did not answer my previous question either.

Why do you see yourself as a second class citizen? Technically, you are never a citizen there

Have you lived there before?

 

[MrGray]

Ugh, repressive? Where do you get this?

You said it yourself:

Unfortunately, racism will be everywhere.

You have to be married to live together.

You can use Skype, just can't download the exe, so use a VPN to download it.

So, yes, you're fine if you're a "westerner" (I assume you mean Caucasian) and they happen to approve of your sleeping arrangements, and only use the Internet for approved purposes.

Why do you see yourself as a second class citizen? Technically, you are never a citizen there

Which is exactly the point isn't it? There are people who have worked and lived there for decades but since they can never be citizens they can still be tossed out at a whim.

Have you lived there before?

For long enough to know that the place is nothing more than a facade built on oil money, cheap exploited labour and religious bigotry.

Perhaps you can be happy working in a place like that, and your work gives you sufficient satisfaction and/or money to counteract these things, or they just don't bother you much. Not for me, though, mate. Give me somewhere where I can have a beer when I want, eat whatever I want including bacon for breakfast and shack up with who I want and where I don't have to kowtow to some rude local who thinks they are Allah's gift to the earth.

 

[saguran]

Thanks for replying.

You said it yourself:

Like I said, racism is everywhere. So blacks and Indians aren't repressed in South Africa either?

I hardly think downloading Skype through a VPN that bad.

Also, yes, you have to be married to live together. I'm not saying it's perfect, but they aren't asking you to convert to Islam to live together either.

So, yes, you're fine if you're a "westerner" (I assume you mean Caucasian) and they happen to approve of your sleeping arrangements, and only use the Internet for approved purposes.

Yeah I'm Caucasian. But I've met Indians here that are very very high up. It's going to depend on the company you work for, qualifications etc.

I've been browsing the internet here for the better part of a year and can tell you that very little is blocked. Most of the sites the average Joe visits, is open. Skype is the one thing, but it's only blocked from being downloaded on a computer. That's it. The Apple App Store and the Google Play Store both have Skype so it's easy. Once you have it, there are no issues.

Which is exactly the point isn't it? There are people who have worked and lived there for decades but since they can never be citizens they can still be tossed out at a whim.

People don't come here to be citizens. They come here to make money. I agree, it would be cool if you could be a citizen and I know people are thrown out easily, but if you stick to their rules, of which there aren't that many, they have no reason to throw you out. The expats bring a LOT of money to Dubai.

For long enough to know that the place is nothing more than a facade built on oil money, cheap exploited labour and religious bigotry.

Perhaps you can be happy working in a place like that, and your work gives you sufficient satisfaction and/or money to counteract these things, or they just don't bother you much. Not for me, though, mate. Give me somewhere where I can have a beer when I want, eat whatever I want including bacon for breakfast and shack up with who I want and where I don't have to kowtow to some rude local who thinks they are Allah's gift to the earth.

Fair enough, so you have actually lived here. You are welcome to your opinions then. I understand your point, but I'd rather live in a place that's save and has a good infrastructure then live somewhere where I'm free to have a beer and eat bacon, but might be murdered the following night for my cellphone. Things that were important to me in SA, have subsided. I of course enjoy a beer when I get back, but the safety and proper services here, trumps a beer for me any day.

Now I'm not saying I'm going to live here forever, but for now, I'm perfectly happy.

 

[MrGray]

Like I said, racism is everywhere. So blacks and Indians aren't repressed in South Africa either?

Not the way that it's openly accepted in the UAE. The Arabs will openly call a Pakistani worker "boy". They are paid peanuts and treated like 3rd class citizens ("westerners" are 2nd class). It is like 1950's South Africa.

I hardly think downloading Skype through a VPN that bad.

No, but the reason for it is bad. They monitor everything and Skype was a problem for them.

Fair enough, so you have actually lived here. You are welcome to your opinions then. I understand your point, but I'd rather live in a place that's save and has a good infrastructure then live somewhere where I'm free to have a beer and eat bacon, but might be murdered the following night for my cellphone. Things that were important to me in SA, have subsided. I of course enjoy a beer when I get back, but the safety and proper services here, trumps a beer for me any day.

Each to his own, I guess. To me it's insecure in other ways, e.g. what happens when your contract/employment expires for whatever reason and you can't get immediate placement with another company? It means uprooting everything - this can be quite painful for people that have lived there for years and have kids in school, etc.

 

[MrGray]

The most popular UAE web page:

 

[abf]

So, basically, if you're a straight white highly-paid male, you're golden?
I'm none of the above, so when I read a news article in July last year about the Norwegian woman who was jailed after reporting being raped in Dubai, I decided to never set foot in the place.

 

[Nerfherder]

My sister was there for 3 years, mostly a similar experience to Sag.

Its a lonely souless place that you learn to cope with. Yes its strict but the 1st world life and money make up for it. Stockholm syndrome.

Its not long term, its for now. There are people who have stayed there 20+ years but they are well aware that they could be out tomorrow.

I wont go there. its the last place I would choose to go if I really needed to get out of here. I'd make the best of it if I was forced to go there.
There is crime as well, a friend of ours was abducted and almost raped. She could not report it to the police because she was in the wrong for being a single lady out on her own.

You can argue if its better or worse than being in SA, but at least we belong here.

 

[saguran]

Not the way that it's openly accepted in the UAE. The Arabs will openly call a Pakistani worker "boy". They are paid peanuts and treated like 3rd class citizens ("westerners" are 2nd class). It is like 1950's South Africa.

Each to his own, I guess. To me it's insecure in other ways, e.g. what happens when your contract/employment expires for whatever reason and you can't get immediate placement with another company? It means uprooting everything - this can be quite painful for people that have lived there for years and have kids in school, etc.

1) I agree that it's bad with the lower class workers. But, do you think this is any better than what they pay cleaners etc in South Africa? This is not only a problem in the UAE.

2) Yeah, you can get uprooted easily, which will be difficult if you have children. We don't, so for us it would be ok. For this reason, you should clearly understand the rules of UAE before you move. If you don't agree or think you are going to struggle with their rules, don't bother.

The most popular UAE web page:

For which website was this?

So, basically, if you're a straight white highly-paid male, you're golden?
I'm none of the above, so when I read a news article in July last year about the Norwegian woman who was jailed after reporting being raped in Dubai, I decided to never set foot in the place.

I work with a lot of Indian guys. They may not get a lot of money, but they can't find work in India and even if they could, with the exchange rate they are able to provide for their families.

The rape thing is dodgy for me as well, this is one of the major flaws in their laws imo. Having said that, I'm not saying the country is without crime, but it is very low. If you live in the middle class areas, this is not going to be a problem. I would not let my wife go to Deira (poorer more crowded area) for example alone either.

My sister was there for 3 years, mostly a similar experience to Sag.

Its a lonely souless place that you learn to cope with. Yes its strict but the 1st world life and money make up for it. Stockholm syndrome.

Its not long term, its for now. There are people who have stayed there 20+ years but they are well aware that they could be out tomorrow.

I wont go there. its the last place I would choose to go if I really needed to get out of here. I'd make the best of it if I was forced to go there.
There is crime as well, a friend of ours was abducted and almost raped. She could not report it to the police because she was in the wrong for being a single lady out on her own.

You can argue if its better or worse than being in SA, but at least we belong here.

Pretty much what you said. It's not long term, but it ain't all that bad. You can make a great living here for yourself if you wanted to.

 

[MrGray]

For which website was this?

Flickr... because infidel imagery!

 

[saguran]

Flickr... because infidel imagery!

Haha

Interesting, I'm in Saudi now and it's not blocked here. Will check Dubai when I go back.

 

[cguy]

There seem to be a lot of posts to the effect of "but X is the same in SA" and "but it's got a first world lifestyle". Since the OP is skilled, why not take the third option, and go to a first world country that isn't so... Dubai?

 

[OrbitalDawn]

There seem to be a lot of posts to the effect of "but X is the same in SA" and "but it's got a first world lifestyle". Since the OP is skilled, why not take the third option, and go to a first world country that isn't so... Dubai?

Not always that simple...

 

[cguy]

Not always that simple...

I agree that getting into a particular 1st world country can be tricky, but for an engineer to get into any? I just think that it's an option worth exploring.

 

[saguran]

I agree that getting into a particular 1st world country can be tricky, but for an engineer to get into any? I just think that it's an option worth exploring.

As a skilled engineer in Dubai, you have the opportunity to make a lot of money. Sure, there are other countries to go to, but it's not always that easy. I think you should jump on the first opportunity of work overseas, it's great experience for your CV as well as your life. You'll never now when you'll get another chance.