Job Discussion Forums

dazzer64 · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 10

Ok, I know you are chuckling at this one, stay with me.

Since my wife has a dust allergy and we want to move to a Gulf country, where would it be unwise to go and where would it be survivable?

Yes, you are laughing now, I get it.

My wife is a Turkish/Canadian national and we have been in the ME for six years. I have lived in Oman, UAE, Bahrain and in Saudi so I KNOW how it is. But am I missing a city that would be ok?? Something on the coast for example, like Jeddah? I have been searching and not sure what place - drawing a blank.

What better place to ask then this community. You have it covered.

When I was in Jubail recently I frightened wifey with tales of dust storms. Where in Saudi would the atmosphere not cause her to cough up a lung and feel ill all the time?

She will probably wear a mask and use air purifiers in the house. As for work, who knows.

She is moderate in her suffering, but cleaner is better.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

I'd say that dust is unavoidable... being surrounded by desert makes it rather inevitable. The infamous dust storms happen in all of the Gulf and are a part of spring weather - but, as you know, they don't happen all that often. Theoretically, the coastal cities should be better than interior cities just because of the humidity.

VS

millie18 · Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 185

I'd say Qatar is not worth considering as the colour of the sky there is best described as beige for 11 months of the year.

Gulezar · Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 483

I would imagine that Jubail is still pumping the beautiful orange pollution into the desert skies from the petrochemical plants; ghastly, poisonous stuff.

How about Dhofar University in Salalah, Sultanate of Oman?

bulgogiboy · Joined: 23 Feb 2005 Posts: 803

justcolleen · Joined: 07 Jan 2004 Posts: 654 Location: Egypt, baby!

I can't speak for the rest of the region, but here in Egypt it seems we had a sand storm once a week, most often on a Tuesday, throughout most of the winter.

Of course, now that there's not much of a government, the dust situation has been exacerbated because of the non-stop construction of apartments as there's nobody enforcing building regulations.

Worse than normal this year, I'd say.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

justcolleen · Joined: 07 Jan 2004 Posts: 654 Location: Egypt, baby!

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Have you read Sims' book? (AUC Press) There is no housing crisis (in Cairo) in reality because there are so many empty buildings and flats ... thousands and thousands and thousands of completed flats sit empty (many of them even within the original city/close in suburbs). But, of course, almost none of them are being built where the people want to live - and most are too expensive for the large lower income group. And the system of flat disbursal is pretty much culturally unacceptable. (a lottery system that doesn't allow families to live near each other) All the fault of the government policies too. It is like they don't even understand their own people.

VS

justcolleen · Joined: 07 Jan 2004 Posts: 654 Location: Egypt, baby!

No, I haven't read it, however I do agree that the system isn't exactly user-friendly.

That's okay, though, because the closer Egypt gets to a fixed government, the more likely it is those heaps of bricks in the air will sell - cheaply and quickly.

There's an article in the Cairo Observer about this topic; you might find it interesting.

http://cairobserver.com