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Rt
Joined: 02 Jan 2011
Posts: 14
Location: India
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 Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:05 am Post subject: What makes Kuwait not so great? |
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I've been reading some of the threads here & clearly, Kuwait is where the big bucks are. But people keep saying it isn't a great place to live in. Why so? Things are too restricted there? high cost of living? Lack of options for things to do after work?
Also, I'm an Indian hopeing to work abroad after CELTA. What are my chances, as a nonnative speaker? Any Indians teaching out there? |
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Rt
Joined: 02 Jan 2011
Posts: 14
Location: India
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| Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:07 am Post subject: |
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| Oh and pardon my typos pleaseI try to keep them at minimum but my keyboard's acting funny too |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:59 pm Post subject: |
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Actually I'd say that the UAE, Saudi, and probably Qatar pay better than Kuwait. Compared to the UAE or Oman (and probably Qatar), Kuwait is more like Cairo... or Bombay. It is dirty, noisy, and it seems that no project is ever quite completed and cleaned up. Their bureaucracy is spread all over town, but still manages to be rude to everyone, (including their fellow Kuwaitis) and it can take weeks to get done what takes a day in the UAE or Oman.
With a new CELTA and little experience, you may have a difficult time getting a decent job in the Gulf, coming from India.
VS |
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Rt
Joined: 02 Jan 2011
Posts: 14
Location: India
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| Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:47 am Post subject: |
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Thank you VS. Kuwait doesn't sound very different from Bombay!  |
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pat blake
Joined: 21 Nov 2006
Posts: 31
Location: Kuwait
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| Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:36 am Post subject: |
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| The pay at Kuwait University is fairly competitive these days, but I can't speak for other private universities. However, they have not been advertising outside of Kuwait lately. As for living in Kuwait, it can be ok if you have a network of friends. It probably has fewer "social activities" than some countries in the Gulf. Whatever Veiled Sentiments said I would agree with mostly, but some people have been able to make a decent if not stupendously active life here. |
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kaw
Joined: 31 Mar 2003
Posts: 302
Location: somewhere hot and sunny
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| Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 6:01 pm Post subject: |
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VS - usually your words of wisdom are exactly that but this time I have to disagree with you. Kuwait is nowhere near the likeness to Cairo/Bombay you mentioned (the cars are a lot newer and flashier for starters).
Kuwait isn't a bad place to be. Admittedly it isn't as nice as Oman and hasn't got the nightlife of Dubai/Bahrain or as much to do as the UAE but........ it isn't particularly dirty, there are some good restaurants, possibilities to get out and do things other than shopping....
As long as you can get away every so often it is a very easy place to be that does - for some scary reason - grow on you.
As for working here as a newly qualified teacher VS is right, your options would be very limited. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 2:27 am Post subject: |
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No problem Kaw... I don't insist that you agree with me. 
It is just MHO, but I was shocked when I arrived in Kuwait after living in Oman and the UAE (and visiting Bahrain) at how tatty huge swathes of Kuwait City are and how much it reminded me of Cairo. Naturally the extreme oil wealth of Kuwait means that they have new flashy cars... which only made it more surprising to me what a dump it was in so many areas. There are nice areas too, of course, but not where I worked and lived.
Enjoying any job in the Gulf (or anywhere) is about the people you work with and spend your time with more than the place itself. I'm glad that you are enjoying your time there. Just as Pat B, my ex-neighbor from when I was in Kuwait still likes the place.
VS |
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middeastgirl
Joined: 31 May 2010
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 2:31 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
| , Kuwait is more like Cairo... or Bombay. |
Completely ridiculous comparison. Kuwait is nothing like either of those places. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:52 am Post subject: |
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Everyone has a right to their opinion. I can accept yours without insulting you... perhaps you should try it.
VS |
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middeastgirl
Joined: 31 May 2010
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
Everyone has a right to their opinion. I can accept yours without insulting you... perhaps you should try it.
VS |
I'm not insulting you. It's your comparison. Comparing tiny Kuwait to mega-cesspools like Mumbai and Cairo is really silly. There are a few areas of Kuwait that are dirty and unappealing, but nothing like Cairo or Mumbai. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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OK... so apparently you can't... obviously you don't understand that calling someone "ridiculous" or "silly" is an immature and rude way of disagreeing.
It is my opinion... just as valid as yours... personally, I considered large parts of Kuwait pretty much a cesspool. I lasted exactly a week living on the Kuwait University campus where I had to wake every morning to the putrid stench of their new docks next door which blocked the natural flow of water. Oops... didn't plan that very carefully. It was bad enough to cause me to wake up choking and gagging followed by a run to the bathroom in case I really did puke. So, I moved to dumpy Salmiya which reminded me of dumpy Zamalek. I'd pick Cairo any day. At least it has massive poverty as an excuse, Kuwait has none.
VS |
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middeastgirl
Joined: 31 May 2010
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:36 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
OK... so apparently you can't... obviously you don't understand that calling someone "ridiculous" or "silly" is an immature and rude way of disagreeing.
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Kuwait is absolutely nothing like either of those two places. I'm sure I could find a back alley in Paris that resembles Mumbai, or Cairo. Doesn't mean the Cities are comparable. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 3:27 am Post subject: |
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Well... I've live in two and visited the other... and I disagree with you. And as I said,
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| Compared to the UAE or Oman (and probably Qatar), Kuwait is more like Cairo... or Bombay |
The place is all yours... enjoy... you can have it. It is the one place in the Gulf where I wouldn't have returned to work for 4 times what I was making. Don't miss the lovely walks on the beach in Salmiya... but watch out for the rotting goats and sheep that wash up regularly and are never hauled away.
VS |
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middeastgirl
Joined: 31 May 2010
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 4:33 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
It is the one place in the Gulf where I wouldn't have returned to work for 4 times what I was making.
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And we're all thankful for that. I'm sure Kuwait University is.
| veiledsentiments wrote: |
. but watch out for the rotting goats and sheep that wash up regularly and are never hauled away.
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I've been to every beach in Kuwait, many times and I've never seen a rotting goat, or sheep. Perhaps they were a figment of your imagination, or an early sign of Alzheimer's. |
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usa_in_gulf
Joined: 10 Aug 2009
Posts: 133
Location: Gulf
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| Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
Everyone has a right to their opinion. I can accept yours without insulting you... perhaps you should try it.
VS |
How did this person insult you???? I certainly don't see it!!
Comparing Kuwait with Cairo is ridiculous--in my opinion--and in my over twenty years of living in Kuwait...NEVER have I seen a rotting goat on the beach...
| Quote: |
| Their bureaucracy is spread all over town, but still manages to be rude to everyone, (including their fellow Kuwaitis) |
I have to completely disagree with you on this one! Foreign workers in the Kuwaiti government can be very rude...but not the Kuwaitis!! It's just the opposite!! Going into any office--you are offered tea--small talk etc... Kuwaitis are the ones that will go out of their way to help Western foreigners.
But then again, all human beings have a tendency to react to how they are treated/approached/or spoken to...so it stand to reason that if someone is rude..the response they will get will be rude also....
And unlike Oman--where Omani nationals routinely "rip off" foreigners with taxi fares, rent, car fares, etc... Kuwait nationals never do that!! Again, just the opposite...to get the lowest price on anything--car rental, apartment rental, etc... talk to the Kuwaiti owner--not true in Oman...and certainly not true in Egypt!!
Kuwait is not perfect...and neither is Oman (where the red tape DOES NOT move smoothly as stated by people on this board), UAE, etc.....
And as someone pointed out, life can be very nice in Kuwait...especially if you have Kuwaiti friends......which sadly...I suspect...some people do not bother to make............ |
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