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Famm

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
11,041
794
Do you like to drink? I'd be wary of going if alcohol is a big part of your life. From what I've read youcanget your party on as an ex-pat there to some degree but you open yourself up to potentially getting in hot water if you let your behavior piss off the wrong person. If that's not an issue for you then its an opportunity to do some traveling that you'll never get to do otherwise, especially on your salary. I like the idea of just banking money over there to take short trips out to Europe and shit. Will you have time off to do that in this position?

Do you have to pay taxes and stuff or is it all straight income? If they are putting you up and its not in some sweaty shitbox with a bunch of paki slave laborers then that's certainly a perk to be considered as well. Its not like its forever even if you have to do a whole year.
 

Sylas

<Gold Donor>
3,781
4,330
I've been to dubai more times than I can count. They have alcohol and hookers and everything else any modern 1st world nation has. It's NY with slightly more brown people. A long time ago someone with a brain sat down with Matt Damon's character from that shitty Syrianna movie and said "hey look, oil money is great now but you should totally invest it in infrastructure and modernization because in 100 years or less either oil isn't going to mean shit, or you're going to run out of it" and they took that shit to heart. Yes it's a major business center, yes it's super commercial and yes they build all that cool as shit architecture, manmade islands, etc to have a thriving friendly tourism that is business and western friendly. You rarely see burka's or Allah Akbar types there.

There is no reason not to go unless you are like a foxnews guy who believes that all muslims are inherently evil. They like money more than they like traditions. Really the only taboo thing is not to wear their headdresses (kufiya and other variations). Especially don't wear the red and white checkered one, which is reserved for muslims who have made the pilgrimage to mecca. Other than that they have bars full of fucking gorgeous models you can drink with every night. They aren't so super progressive with the women's rights meaning many of those models are probably also hookers there under not so voluntary circumstances, but hey, them's the breaks.

That's only dubai mind you, an hour outside the city (it's all desert) and you are in no man's land. It's still not as bad as say Bahrain or Oman, but shits still uh, kinda iffy. If you do decide to brave the wilds, go to Ferrari World that shit is a blast.

also one thing to note is, as the most progressive and modern arab nation (a title until recently was held by turkey), UAE, dubai especially, has an influx of "undesirables" from other arab/muslim nations. So don't be surprised if you see gay Pakistanis or tranny persians there. it's not super common but it's common enough.
 

iannis

Musty Nester
31,351
17,657
If you get kidnapped make sure to yell "HODJ WAS RIGHT" on your beheading tape. Just keep yelling it so they can't edit it out.
 

chthonic-anemos

bitchute.com/video/EvyOjOORbg5l/
8,606
27,290
also one thing to note is, as the most progressive and modern arab nation (a title until recently was held by turkey), UAE, dubai especially, has an influx of "undesirables" from other arab/muslim nations. So don't be surprised if you see gay Pakistanis or tranny persians there. it's not super common but it's common enough.
tumblr_m6510u1pA31ql07zs.gif
 

The Edge

Lord Nagafen Raider
763
262
Do you like to drink? I'd be wary of going if alcohol is a big part of your life. From what I've read youcanget your party on as an ex-pat there to some degree but you open yourself up to potentially getting in hot water if you let your behavior piss off the wrong person. If that's not an issue for you then its an opportunity to do some traveling that you'll never get to do otherwise, especially on your salary. I like the idea of just banking money over there to take short trips out to Europe and shit. Will you have time off to do that in this position?

Do you have to pay taxes and stuff or is it all straight income? If they are putting you up and its not in some sweaty shitbox with a bunch of paki slave laborers then that's certainly a perk to be considered as well. Its not like its forever even if you have to do a whole year.
I'm not much of a drinker, so I'm not worried about that. I'll get 30+ paid vacation days per year, with a free ticket there and free ticket home. From what I've heard, it's apartment living, but it's modern. Size depends on if you're bringing a family over, which means I'll probably get a small one. There's no income tax, not sure about anything else.
 

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
<Medals Crew>
47,665
222,281
Keep in mind that you have to pay income tax to the US after a certain amount is made, regardless of if you live in the country or not. You might want to check that out. Yes, I'm serious, and yes, I know people who live abroad and have to pay American income tax on their already taxed income.
 

hodj

Vox Populi Jihadi
<Silver Donator>
31,672
18,377
If you get kidnapped make sure to yell "HODJ WAS RIGHT" on your beheading tape. Just keep yelling it so they can't edit it out.
I'm not saying don't go because evil Muslims might behead you. I'm saying don't go because 20k isn't enough to warrant that sort of trip to that sort of country, and by that sort of country I mean hot as fuck, oppressed as shit, and filled with religious assholes.

Also this list

The Top 20 Reasons Not to Move to Dubai (in no particular order!) | Smile O Smile

1. There is no standard address system making mail-to-the door delivery impossible.

2. The government blocks all web sites that it deems "offensive" to the "religious, moral, and cultural values" of the UAE. That's hard to swallow for a freedom loving American, but I get it. I do not understand, however, why all VOIP access and related web sites are blocked. I guess the government also takes offense to people inexpensively contacting their families back home. You're welcome to call using the analog service provided by the government-owned telephone monopoly, but it will cost you a whole lot more. So much so, in fact, your frequency of calls will be greatly diminished if you can afford them at all. The government says VOIP is blocked for security reasons, yet even the residents of communist China and North Korea have access to these inexpensive calls.

3. It is really hot outside. Not Florida in July hot; Hot as if you were locked in a car in Florida in July with sufficient humidity to make it feel as though you are drowning. Hot as in 120 degrees with nearly 100% humidity. Do not look to the wind for relief.

5. This country prides itself so much on its glitz and glamour that it put a picture of its 7-star hotel on the license plate. Yet, the public toilets in the king-of-bling Gold Souk district are holes in the ground with no toilet paper or soap. Hoses to rinse your nether regions, however, are provided. This results in a mass of water on the floor that you must stand in to pee. Try squatting without touching anything and keeping your pants from touching anything either. Oh yeah. It's 120 degrees in there too.

6. This country encourages businesses to hire people from other poor countries to come here and work. They have them sign contracts that are a decade long and then take their passports. Even though taking passports is supposedly illegal, the government knows it happens and does nothing to enforce the law.

7. Things are not cheaper here. I'm sick of people saying that. I read the letters to the editor page of the paper and people say to those who complain about the cost of living rising here, "Well, it's cheaper than your home country or you wouldn't be here." The only thing cheaper here is labor. Yes, you can have a maid - but a bag of washed lettuce will cost you almost $10.

8. There are traffic cameras everywhere.

12. Alcohol can only be sold in hotels and a handful of private clubs. A person must own a liquor license to consume in the privacy of their own home. To obtain a liquor license you must get signed approval from your boss, prove a certain level of salary that determines how much you are allowed to buy, and then submit several mug shots (aka passport photos) for approval. Pay the fee and the additional 30% tax on every purchase and you may drink at home.

13. Not only do you have to get your boss's approval to obtain a liquor license, but you must also get the company's approval to rent property, have a telephone, or get satellite TV.

etc.
 

Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
43,902
52,637
If this job means you'll be posting here less or not at all, I think you should take it.
 

Adebisi

Clump of Cells
<Silver Donator>
27,735
32,840
I'd go to far scarier places for less money.

I'm a fuckin' bargain.
 

Famm

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
11,041
794
Find some ex-pat forums and stuff in general and get a broad crosssection of first hand opinions on what you're in for. No one here yet seems to have actually done this thing. A lot of people do though, and I get the impression that its not for everyone but some people are really glad to have done it, and also that as an American in an educated position you have a good bit more leeway. Not like get away with smoking weed leeway, but more than the slave ass fucks from India and Indonesia. Worth due diligence since you're seriously considering it.

And there's that one point, you said alcohol/partying isn't an issue but I know you've expressed your interest in psychedelics before. My (admittedly limited and anecdotal) understanding is that drugs are zero fucking tolerance do-not-even-thinkabout it. Horror stories of people getting busted for one tiny leaf found by those micro trace detection scannner things and going through a nightmare of middle east prison hell waiting for the embassy to finally get them a passport back and free. Could be exaggerated but if puffing is a big thing for you, gotta be ready to give it up.
 

Sylas

<Gold Donor>
3,781
4,330
yeah dubai is fucking terrible for unskilled labor, it's basically slavery.

If he was asking whether or not to travel to go dig ditches the answer would be hell nah.
 

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
6,921
4,323
I vote go for it, as long as you're not doing it solely for the money. If you're genuinely interested in the city/country/culture/travel opportunities, then don't pass it up. It'll be an experience you'll remember for the rest of your life. This is doubly true if you've never spent a significant amount of time outside the U.S. I spent a couple years teaching abroad and it was an amazing experience that I will never regret, and I was only making a few hundred dollars a month.

However, you shouldn't do it for such a paltry amount of money, nor should you do it because you're distraught over some chick.
 

Famm

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
11,041
794
yeah dubai is fucking terrible for unskilled labor, it's basically slavery.

If he was asking whether or not to travel to go dig ditches the answer would be hell nah.
Well, that's not the only thing I take away from it personally. It sounds like a great place to be a vapid, status conscious, ostentatious prick who loves nothing more than impressing other similarly shallow people. That's not really Edge at all based on his posts. Unless he can bank like all of his extra $20k or parlay this into more interesting travel experiences I'm not sure he's going to like it. Dubai itself doesn't sound like a great "living abroad" experience IMO, it seems more like Vegas than any real culture.