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| Are you happy working and living in KSA? |
| Are you generally happy in KSA? |
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55% |
[ 5 ] |
| Are you miserable and unhappy in KSA? |
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44% |
[ 4 ] |
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| Total Votes : 9 |
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Queen of Sheba
Joined: 07 May 2006
Posts: 397
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 Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 4:51 pm Post subject: |
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| trapezius wrote: |
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He must have mastered the art of 'being' in Saudi for 22+ years!!
I wonder what is his % of �happiness� and �un-happiness� of �being� in SA during these 22 yrs? |
Yup, I surely have "mastered" the art of being in this place, but that's only because I was born here, unfortunately. Still doesn't mean I am happy here!
Grew up here, finished HS, and then spent 1 year in Turkey, and 6.5 years in the US. Came back here in 2003.
Percent of happiness: 20
Percent of unhappiness: 80
That's the average. Some days are different than others, and the happiness could vary from 0% to 50%. But most of the time, between 10% and 20%. |
I find this kind of honesty refreshing. It can be hard to make sense of such enigmatic thoughts and feelings, and I think regardless of where you live, happiness is elusive. So much of it has to do with whats happening with you personally and how you spend your time. The country you live in, in my opinion, is secondary. |
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cmp45
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 1475
Location: KSA
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 4:57 pm Post subject: Happiness in KSA |
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Happy is in KSA? Yes, a good pay check, work environment and comfortable home life helps the happiness factor somewhat. I prefer to view the glass half full; rather than half empty. We choose to be here, we can choose to leave. Are people who choose to leave going to be happier somewhere else? Maybe, maybe not. Personally, I am thankful for the opprotunity to be working here. I know I won't be here for ever. The present...Now is the only time we have so may as well try to find some joy in where you are right NOW! I don't understand why one would choose to be miserable.
If your not happy..."Fake it until you make it!"
Just for you skeptics...of course I am not always happy 24/7 but I do try to keep a positive outlook on life in general. |
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tudodude
Joined: 08 Mar 2007
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:47 pm Post subject: excellent |
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plenty of juice for my poll  |
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sheikh radlinrol
Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Posts: 1222
Location: Spain
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Queen of Sheba wrote: |
The Sheikh has been uptight ever since I exiled him to Spain.
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He has indeed. It was cruel of you to banish me from the Kingdom.
But time heals, as you will know. Reading the Arab News no longer brings a lump to my throat or a tear to my eye. My taste buds have become used to fine wines aged in oak and have forgotten the wonderful concoction I used to brew on my kitchen table in KSA. One question though. How would I have answered your poll? You only gave two boxes.
I'm sure that the majority of the thousands of men and women who go to the Kingdom to work would neither say they were generally happy or unhappy, but just get on with their lives.
Un saludo de su subdito desleal.
The Uptight Sheikh |
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Van Norden
Joined: 23 Oct 2004
Posts: 409
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 7:15 am Post subject: |
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To paraphrase Freud, happiness is 'episodic', not 'static.' There's no such thing as "general happiness."
I'm living proof of that!
As for the poll, I voted for misery, but I think I'd better describe my feelings here as apathy and lethargy. It's hard to get too depressed when you're making money. If you (temporarily) value money more than life, you'll do OK in KSA.
| Cleopatra wrote: |
| It often seems to me that complaining ad infinitum about Saudi Arabia is seen as a badge of honour among many expats here... |
You might be right there. But I think it's also a cathartic thing. I know I like to 'lay it on thick,' both here and elsewhere. It makes me feel better. |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 10:39 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I'm sure that the majority of the thousands of men and women who go to the Kingdom to work would neither say they were generally happy or unhappy, but just get on with their lives. |
Which is probably pretty much how the majority of people anywhere in the world would respond to such a question. As CMP - in the best response in this thread thus far - said, the place you live is only one factor contributing to this seemingly elusive concept - happiness. Plus, it's all swings and roundabouts, as the saying goes. Sure, in many other places you might have a more active social and cultural life, but would you have a private rent-free apartment, long paid holidays, and a bus to take you to and from work everyday? I know that some people here scoff at such things, but they make a huge contribution to every day contentment.
But I continue to believe that 'happiness' is not easy to quantify or even identify. Often we only realise we were happy or unhappy in retrospect - and even then our recollections are coloured by hindsight. |
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Queen of Sheba
Joined: 07 May 2006
Posts: 397
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:01 am Post subject: |
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| While I can see the need for a third option expressing survival in Saudi Arabia, I think a valid arguement can be made that lethargic survival in any country, is a small step above depression and overall unhappiness. |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:47 am Post subject: |
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You know a person cannot appreciate �healthiness� until he experiences �illnesses�!
The same applies for �happiness�
A person cannot appreciate �happiness� if he did not experience �sadness' and �misery�!
There is a saying: "With great happiness, comes great sadness".
The question is: Can SA money buy you �happiness� ? |
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Sheikh Inal Ovar
Joined: 04 Dec 2005
Posts: 1208
Location: Melo Drama School
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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Evidently the Buddha would have been against teaching English in Saudi for he reportedly said -
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| Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others |
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running dog
Joined: 20 Oct 2005
Posts: 37
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Like many another, I first came to the kingdom when I literally had nowhere else to go. Two marriages on the rocks, a string of kids to support, and a debt level that would have seen me doing little "errands" for the boys in Atlantic city if I could have found any of the local mobsters stupid enough to put me on their payroll. Benefit of hindsight or not, misplaced nostalgia or not, no longer having to put up with the petty inconveniences of day to day life when you're there, whatever you care to mention, I'm still grateful to the Kingdom for not only saving my life but giving me the necessary period of peace and quiet to take stock of things and turn-them-around. If this only supplies ammunition to the "Saudi is for jerks who can't make it anywhere else" brigade, so be it. They're wrong about so many other things, it comes as no surprise they get this screwed up as well. There are very few lives that don't break down at least once at some point. So come in your twenties for the money if you want, come after the age of 45 if you want to escape the pressures involved in working in the "real world", but the best time to come is the middle years when you've lost your way and need time out for re-assessment. Here, the lesson endeth. |
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Van Norden
Joined: 23 Oct 2004
Posts: 409
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| Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:55 am Post subject: |
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| Is happiness really the ultimate goal? Should it even be a goal? Discuss. (100 words or less) |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:13 am Post subject: |
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| Van Norden wrote: |
| Is happiness really the ultimate goal? Should it even be a goal? Discuss. (100 words or less) |
Dear Van
007 will discuss happiness in 07 words:
Happiness is what you think about things.
07 words by 007, less than 100 words. OK, teacher Van, what's my mark?  |
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Queen of Sheba
Joined: 07 May 2006
Posts: 397
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| Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 12:32 pm Post subject: |
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| running dog wrote: |
| Like many another, I first came to the kingdom when I literally had nowhere else to go. Two marriages on the rocks, a string of kids to support, and a debt level that would have seen me doing little "errands" for the boys in Atlantic city if I could have found any of the local mobsters stupid enough to put me on their payroll. Benefit of hindsight or not, misplaced nostalgia or not, no longer having to put up with the petty inconveniences of day to day life when you're there, whatever you care to mention, I'm still grateful to the Kingdom for not only saving my life but giving me the necessary period of peace and quiet to take stock of things and turn-them-around. If this only supplies ammunition to the "Saudi is for jerks who can't make it anywhere else" brigade, so be it. They're wrong about so many other things, it comes as no surprise they get this screwed up as well. There are very few lives that don't break down at least once at some point. So come in your twenties for the money if you want, come after the age of 45 if you want to escape the pressures involved in working in the "real world", but the best time to come is the middle years when you've lost your way and need time out for re-assessment. Here, the lesson endeth. |
This is a very wise statement regarding the direction that one may take when faced with oneself and self sufficiency in KSA. I agree with you about the nearly mystical qualities that Saudi Arabia possesses when it comes to a sort of forced self evaluation of life. However, this is a difficult process and not everyone seems to be up for it. |
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bje
Joined: 19 Jun 2005
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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| I echo Q of S's sentiments. Thanks for your post, running dog; it was refreshingly sincere and thoughtful. |
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globalnomad2
Joined: 23 Jul 2005
Posts: 562
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 4:52 pm Post subject: |
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Saudi Arabia was a decided downturn in my life, after teaching at US and local universities in Malaysia and Japan. Fortunately, I upgraded again to the UAE soon after. And what an upgrade it is! The KSA is the nadir of existence. True, because there's nothing to do there other than getting your exercise by outrunning the muttawahs, and trying to arrive at supermarkets during the few precious moments when they're not closed for prayer, many people accomplish some personal goals and and gain new skills. As did I. Big deal. Later, back in the real world, my personal goals and accomplishments became much more worthwhile, more meaningful, more competent. Why? Because the real world is not a sterile, segregated, theocratic prison. Because inspiration and stimulation come from all types of human beings, not just from one gender into which the theocracy segregated us.
My wife had to get out before I did. She is sensible and normal. |
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