Moving to Middle East .. .. advice required

Setanta12

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A sibling is moving across to the Middle East.

He's not sure which country exactly - he says likely Saudi Arabia or the UAE states. (He's also in finance.)

He's aware of tax-free nature of remuneration etc etc but not of cost-of-living, and his girlfriend will join him mid-year next year when qualified.

Pros & Cons?
 
Personally don't know anything about living there, but I think it was yesterday Iread about an awful lot of people coming home from such places because of a downturn in their economies, etc.
 
Also they would need to be careful about living together as it is illegal in many countries.
 
However bad UAE is Saudi is far worse.

Is sibling ready for a massive cultural shock. He should be. Ex pats
live in their own bubble though.
 
It's one of the most repressive and despotic countries in the world.
Small moves recently to reduce the levels of slavery that women live under are window dressing.
As long as you are happy to live in a compound and have a lack of human empathy bordering on the sociopathic then it's a grand place to work but if you have any compassion for your fellow man (and more particularly women) then you will find it a very hard place to live.
In my personal experience I found the men I met there (no women allowed to work so I didn't meet any) to be racist, misogynistic (that word doesn't to them justice), extremist, homophobic bigots. In their interaction with me they were professional and friendly, it just wasn't in their world view to be anything other than the product of their upbringing.
 
OP,

I would get the advice of a tax accountant. Friends of ours went to the middle east ..I remember there was something about income vs capital but not sure of the details.
 
It's one of the most repressive and despotic countries in the world.
Small moves recently to reduce the levels of slavery that women live under are window dressing.
As long as you are happy to live in a compound and have a lack of human empathy bordering on the sociopathic then it's a grand place to work but if you have any compassion for your fellow man (and more particularly women) then you will find it a very hard place to live.
.

Nail on head there Purple. And speaking of human empathy the sight of literally slave workers from places like Nepal (men) etc is shocking. Mentally as a woman it's a place I refuse to go. One of my parents worked in these countries and it was crazy. But it does suit some people to make a quick pile of cash.
 
I have never worked in Saudi but I would always ask myself before I took a new job in a new country what is the worst thing that could happen.

Say you started working in Saudi and had a disagreement with your Saudi boss and got fired could you easily get another job. If the job included accommodation where would that leave you?

If you were in a traffic accident or fell foul of a local due to an argument and it ended up involving a Saudi police officer might you end up in jail?

Personally such a country would be too risky a place in the event that things didnt work out. And non muslims are probably low on the pecking order there if its a contentious issue between a local and an irish person.
 
Saudi v Qatar v Dubai ?
Income tax rates in 2018 v 2019?
Purchasing power locally?
Accommodation locally?
 
Dubai is better. Modern, full of expats. They are trying to be as welcoming to foreigners as possible. They are much more modern than Saudi. Loads of people even go there on holiday which you would not do to Saudi. You can have a very nice life there. And you won't find such a stark difference to the West as they've built it to be like the West. Shopping malls etc. It had a famous gold market when I was there.
 
It's one of the most repressive and despotic countries in the world.
Small moves recently to reduce the levels of slavery that women live under are window dressing.
As long as you are happy to live in a compound and have a lack of human empathy bordering on the sociopathic then it's a grand place to work but if you have any compassion for your fellow man (and more particularly women) then you will find it a very hard place to live.
In my personal experience I found the men I met there (no women allowed to work so I didn't meet any) to be racist, misogynistic (that word doesn't to them justice), extremist, homophobic bigots. In their interaction with me they were professional and friendly, it just wasn't in their world view to be anything other than the product of their upbringing.

This will be true wether you live there or not.
 
I have never worked in Saudi but I would always ask myself before I took a new job in a new country what is the worst thing that could happen.

Say you started working in Saudi and had a disagreement with your Saudi boss and got fired could you easily get another job. If the job included accommodation where would that leave you?

If you were in a traffic accident or fell foul of a local due to an argument and it ended up involving a Saudi police officer might you end up in jail?

Personally such a country would be too risky a place in the event that things didnt work out. And non muslims are probably low on the pecking order there if its a contentious issue between a local and an irish person.

The worst thing that could happen is that after one of the above you were unable to get an exit visa.
 
i work in saudi and can assure you it’s fine, I work with women and men and don’t feel any empathy for the women I work with as they seem Like your average office worker. Saudi women are very strong and very well educated. I do have empathy for the subcontinent workers, but they are there by choice.
 
I do have empathy for the subcontinent workers, but they are there by choice.
What's a "subcontinent worker"? And do you really think it's a choice and not a necessity to sell yourself into slavery for years so that your family doesn't starve?
Saudi women are very strong and very well educated.
Most women who work do so in the education sector. They have their own schools and universities controlled by their own ministry (the ministry is controlled by men). The first women lawyers in Saudi were only licenced a few years ago (I think there were only a few of them). If you are suggesting that women have anything approaching equality in social, educational or legal settings then you can't be taken seriously.
They are less equal and have fewer rights than their great grandmothers who lived before the ruling extremist cult took over the country in a horrific bloody war sponsored by the British in which one in every three people there was killed or lost a limb.
 
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