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Hi all,

I am in the process of getting a job in Dubai. I recently worked in Saudi Arabia for a year. I did visit Dubai for a week - but how much different is it to work in Dubai from Saudi? Obviously there is more freedom, but just wanted your thoughts or if people who have worked in Saudi and then gone to Dubai would like to add anything?

Thanks!

welcome to dubai...
was in saudi for abt 5 years..
now in dubai..
man is it different....???
it IS totally a different world...
to sum it all up.. its a cosmo place.. most happennin place around this side of the globe...
am sure u r not gonna leave this place.. BUT if u r thinkin of saving money... .. just forget ittttttttttttt
cheers

samindubai wrote:welcome to dubai...
was in saudi for abt 5 years..
now in dubai..
man is it different....???
it IS totally a different world...
to sum it all up.. its a cosmo place.. most happennin place around this side of the globe...
am sure u r not gonna leave this place.. BUT if u r thinkin of saving money... .. just forget ittttttttttttt
cheers

Not necessarily. I've saved money. OK it's not cheap to live here, but if you limit eating / drinking in 5 star hotels to no more than 6 nights a week, keep away from the Gold Souk except in shopfest and go to work occasionally, it can be done. Eat Shwarma, spend drinking time doing the happy hour crawl, you're all set. Just don't ever, ever get married and have kids. Game Over.

lol
yea.. DONT ever get married... forget abt kids.....
just keep swinging.......... and keep the ball rolling....

I am thinking of going to work in Saudi - what is it like there? Are there big chain grocery stores, malls, etc.? What can you do for fun there?

Thanks, welcome to Dubai

Depends on your lifestyle. On a good day you won't spend your last hour on this planet on CNN nightly news wearing an Orange jumpsuit with a bunch of Arabic guys reciting the Koran behind you. The shops open all the time.....then close again, then open again, then close again........you get the picture. If you're leaving Dubai for this, hope you're at least adding a zero on your salary. Two zeros wouldn't make me live there. Personal choice. "Your money or your life" as Adam Ant once said

u can try stayin alive for FUN there...

Thanks for the reply, Logic. Is it really that hostile there? Your post made it sound like avoiding death is a daily affair - is this true?

Yeah, like most people that go there, I am going for better money.

Thanks!

Mr. Logic wrote:Depends on your lifestyle. On a good day you won't spend your last hour on this planet on CNN nightly news wearing an Orange jumpsuit with a bunch of Arabic guys reciting the Koran behind you. The shops open all the time.....then close again, then open again, then close again........you get the picture. If you're leaving Dubai for this, hope you're at least adding a zero on your salary. Two zeros wouldn't make me live there. Personal choice. "Your money or your life" as Adam Ant once said

i lived in Saudi (Dhahran/Khobar) almost my whole life and never had a problem. i never ended up 'on CNN in an orange jumsuit'....I am christian but have good knowlege of the culture there, and am respectful. Saudis are not lunatics as most would have you believe. most of them are very hospitable and accepting (at least the educated ones) the non-educated ones live in tents in the desert. of course there are less freedoms in Saudi than in Dubai and much less to do, but I really believe Saudi is no less safe than anywhere else.......it just gets a bad reputation from the exaggerated media views

we never know what we are missing....