I’ve a mate who’s lived in various parts of UAE for about 8-9 years. Left when the arse fell out of it here. He’s married and had 2 kids there to date, they have a live in Nanny and all that stuff and they’ll come home with a ball of money. He’s happy enough there and there’s good access to places where we wouldn’t routinely visit but it’s nearly time for them to come home. I think it suits certain people and I wouldn’t be adverse to it but Mrs. Fran would’ve no interest.
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You’d know the secure lads around here straight off the bat.
Thanks Fran.
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Ya, and that doesn’t drive me enough.
Says something about online networking and doing a few skype calls with coaches etc
A mate of mine got married in Israel (which would of course still be the biggest armed cunts around there). Sirens went off and all had to get out of there…wedding was moved to another hotel. You’d want your head examined to go there
I suppose it goes without saying but hooking into the expat community is very important there for a lot people. The same fella couldn’t kick a football straight when he was back home but over there he joined the local GAA club just for the social aspect.
But if you’re open minded enough I think you could get a lot out of it.
Know a guy from Cork who lived in Israel working for one of the big semi conductor companies. He married a bird out there and they have a kid. Said the place is bat shit crazy and they ended up moving back to Ireland. The wife is nuts though and there’s a fair chance she’ll stab him some night when he’s passed out after a few cans and flee back to Israel with the child.
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He sounds like a dick
Fucking superb 
Well he is a mate of mine
Bahrain wouldn’t be the worst of the Middle East places but not the most forward thinking either. You can still get locked up for sex out of wedlock in Dubai ffs and that’s the best of them. Living in a place like that wouldn’t have any draw for me.
That said a good friend of my missus taught in dubai for two years and loved it. As fran said she got to hit a lot of places in Asia on weeks off and that kind of thing.
well i have kev israel and a stint in qatar oil contracting that wasnt really living per se 28ONOFF rotate
i lived in israel for 4 years- now this might suprise many people but its probably the most sane part of it
i think it depends where ure living , if ure at oil or contracting ull be with expts most of the time if in arab countries
arabs, look ive written enough here on them no im not blinkered because im married to one at least she’s christian ( they do exist in israel - Leb and syria)
a westerner i believe cannot live amounsgt arab moslems we can be as PC as we want but by fuck they are impossible,
the worst part of them is the pride and saving face culture, they are very primiative socially, i have said here that democracy can never work in an arab country and it cannot for the simple reason they cannot take part in reasoned debate, everything is personalised and they are hyper sensitive, they are a horrible agressive bunch,
the poor mouthing of their situation is also annoying, the worst i ever met were the palestinians, i understand and appreciate their issues and why they’d have a chip on their shoulders but ive never met a lazier, bitterer , angrier , nastier group, id played soccer with a few and i hated their guts, sneaking, dishonest, lying, thieving bastards who refuse to better themselves
arab culture also is very ego inflated , again this comes from the saving face aspect, they cant engage in discussion and they have zero sense of humour or ambiguity, a very frustrating bunch, again its all about getting one over your neighbour, they’d cut your hand off for the last bottle of milk in a shop, the cant form a queue, autism amougsnt arabs is an everyday occorunce as all sit in aroom shouting…
kev, they’re not for you man, i had decent arabic 3 years ago, ive lost it now
kev, if you were doing that gig in bahrain i guarantee you its either security work or youre living in a westerners compound, u will have 0 dealings with the locals id imagine and will be paid in dollars, a form of relo per se, like ull never be able to buy a house in an arab country id imagine as the laws are fucked up…
ull socialise in a closed group, itl drive you mad
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A fair few inter county footballers can’t kick a ball straight so don’t be too hard on your buddy .
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S&C in some big school
I know a good few from Galway in Dubai, add i know a girl from kerry who lives in Saudi. They all seem to just live in an unrealistic expat bubble, great money and they are always at the races, drinking in hotels or around the GAA club etc, but zero contact with locals or the world outside their mini fantasy lands. Sounds like hell to me.
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surely an expat school with a fee paying all western clientele
look u could have a great time, but ull again only deal with westerners on relo expt lifestyles, dont expect to see any culture of experience too much different , u wont be bar hopping with the locals in doha anyway
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israel is the only middle eastern country ( also lebanon… well …) where you can actually live amoungst the locals
that saying, u couldnt live in an israeli arab moslem city like saknin, u could live in haifa that is mixed, ( u wont make money tho on local wages) and if you lived in the west bank ud eventually by killed or kidnapped by hamas or something
there is no way u could just rock up in saudi and rent a gaff and live amoungst the locals, simply no way
To be honest they want some form of commitment to finalizing whatnot in interviews/skype chats etc before giving me exact details. Prestigious school with an exceptional salary, first year rent free (i think onsite ir nearby).
Didn’t mention cultural stuff. Just that soccer is big.
A friend of mine has been in Abu Dhabi a few years. He went there to earn good money for the most part and also likes to travel and has used it as a base to see some of the region. His accommodation is paid for by work, a room in a big house with other westerners. The money he earns is also tax free. Still and all after three years there he hasn’t a bob saved up. There is nothing there to do socially. Every weekend a bus of them go up to Dubai for two nights and he’d tag along often enough. You’ve to drink in hotels or casinos only. He said he’d drop 400-500 on the weekend between hotel and eating/drinking money. I suppose if you went over there and lived like a hermit you’d earn good dough in two years. He’s miserable over there as well. The initial novelty has worn off and the reality is its a bubble where you mix with other ex pats and no-one else. The women go around in hibjabs or whatever the full body black veils are called. He’s invited me over anytime but fuck that I know I would despise it and fear I would do something wrong and get locked up.
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If you lived in the middle east for a few years and came back to Ireland with a wad of money, would there be taxation implications when you repatriated the dosh?
Depends on residency/ordinary residence days rules. In a clean example, if you leave Ireland, at 31 Dec, do not spend longer than 30 days per annum in Ireland in the period you are absent, the money you bring home from salaried employment is non taxable.
Obv, most people leave during the year. If you are non resident (less than 183 days in that year) and non resident the following year, your employment income is again non taxable. Income outside of employment income is still subject to Irish income tax.
Can get a little more complex than that but that’s the general jist of it.
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