Job Discussion Forums

smokesignals · Joined: 06 Mar 2014 Posts: 22

Does anyone have any current info on Nizwa CAS please? How are the working conditions there - are teachers generally happy with their lot?

In addition, does anyone know the cost of renting a private villa in Nizwa, and surrounding areas?

CVN-76 · Joined: 28 Mar 2014 Posts: 171

It's like a merry-go-round, year after year. Can't these places like Nizwa keep their teachers long enough to NOT require an influx of new blood each hiring season? Some of the highest salaries in TESOL are in the Middle East, yet so is the highest turnover rate. That doesn't jibe, so it should tell you somethng.

smokesignals · Joined: 06 Mar 2014 Posts: 22

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

All of the above probably. As to cars, the Gulf is like the US, a car is crucial unless you like being a prisoner in your home or like to depend on undependable taxis. That is true in Muscat or Abu Dhabi or Doha or Kuwait...

VS

Sleepwalker · Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 454 Location: Reading the screen

It may be true in small towns but many of us manage well in Salalah, Muscat and Kuwait using taxis. If you don't want to drive, choose your location well.

Tazz · Joined: 26 Sep 2013 Posts: 512 Location: Jakarta

Get a pad close to the college-make sure you have enough home entertainment options to keep you occupied during non-working hours-which are many! Living in the Omani hinterlands I see very little point in having a car-to take you where? To and from work-and to the supermarket? Always transport options for these needs.....

Pikgitina · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 420 Location: KSA

Whatever will be · Joined: 05 Feb 2014 Posts: 303

Agree with both of the above postings.

During the week, walking to work and a supermarket can be done if near both. Salaries are not so grand that one can afford the running of a car _and_ save a good deal of money.

On the odd weekend, when you might want to go to a Wadi or through the desert (Wahiba Sands), visit a fort or such like it would be best to rent a 4-wheel drive for a day or two and take along a couple of people (co-worker/ friends) to share the cost.

Sleepwalker · Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 454 Location: Reading the screen

For trips, speak to your taxi drivers - there is always an enterprising driver who will gather a group together for a trip. I've seen most of the country this way.

Whatever will be · Joined: 05 Feb 2014 Posts: 303

There are taxis every morning from the clock tower in As Seeb/ Muscat that go to Nizwa for RO 3 per person. Only issue: you need to wait until full (4 people), which might be a while.

Baiza buses along Sultan Qaboos Highway will take you to the clock tower and back for 300 -500 baiza, depending on how far you want to travel up the SQ HWY.

Alternatively, you can buy 2, 3, or all 4 seats (6, 6, or 12 RO).

Other taxis go from there to Ibri, Ibra, Sur, Sohar, etc. with similar deals.

There are also buses from the clock tower in As Seeb that go to Salalah.

Another collection point for buses & taxis is at Ruwi.

CVN-76 · Joined: 28 Mar 2014 Posts: 171

Getting around won't be a problem. Taxis are a plenty. However, there is one death road that I know of--As Seeb to Ibra. I've seen cabs torn in half on that route after hitting light poles. Are there any other death roads in Oman?

A cab I was once riding in hit 180 km/hr on the death road, so I know the cab drivers drive like maniacs there. Be sure to tell the driver to slooowwww downnnnn if you need to.

Whatever will be · Joined: 05 Feb 2014 Posts: 303

CVN- 76

1.) Time is money and the sooner the taxi gets you to your destination, the sooner they can pick up another fare.
2.) If it's a shared taxi, usually the other passengers will want to go fast
3.) Omanis are slow at everything, except when they are behind a motor. Then, they have the need for speed

Worst time to go on the road is during Ramadan as drivers are dizzy from hunger and thirst, especially near the end of the day/ sunset.

One death in every 10 road accidents in Sultanate

http://www.timesofoman.com/news/Article-27955.aspx

Muscat: Twelve per cent of the road accidents in the Sultanate turn out to be fatal, an average of one death in every 10 road accidents, according to the recent statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The annual statistics covered the period till the end of November 2013. During this period, 6,600 road accidents were recorded resulting in 823 fatalities and 9,081 injuries, compared to 7,529 accidents which resulted in 1,059 fatalities and 10,737 injuries during the period from January to November 2012.

When compared to the 2012 figures, road accidents in Oman recorded an annual decrease of 12.3 per cent, while the death toll from accidents also recorded a decrease of 22.3 per cent.

Statistics also reveal that most of the dead were men, with 702 deaths (85.3 per cent), compared to 121 women (14.7 per cent).