Snapshot Of Brit Expat Lifestyle

[taxexile]

Expat lifestyles inflated by Qatar's hot air

By Mark Morley

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 12/08/2008

Expatriate life in Qatar is interesting and challenging, but what of the expats themselves? Mark Morley offers a closely observed snap shot of Brits abroad.

As an expatriate living in Qatar for the past 16 months, I have traversed a learning curve as rugged and demanding as it has been fascinating.

This tiny Gulf State - a former British protectorate which gained independence in 1973 - has emerged as an unlikely geo-strategic playmaker.Qatar's visionary leadership has elevated international diplomacy to an art form but then when you have something the world sorely needs, your power will far exceed your diminutive stature.

That power is derived from hot air - gas actually, and to be precise, liquid natural gas. It has such vast quantities that Qatar is on track to becoming the world's largest exporter of LNG with patrons queuing round the block and the UK qualifying for premier customer status. The boom has helped to fund prestige projects such as the Doha's Khalifa Stadium.

As Qatar booms, its relationship with the UK blossoms - Prince Andrew, and the former prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair have all paid visits this year and the Qatari prime minister was recently greeted at No10.

Qatar now plays host to regiments of British expats, accompanied of course by the ubiquitous veterans from Australia and New Zealand.

<LI>On arrival, I was told by a long-time resident, "Don't expect Dubai." That outrider of the UAE's economic miracle is barely an hour away, a triumph of raw consumerism and bare-faced chutzpah.

Qatar itself lacks nothing by way of ambition having recently tabled a credible though ultimately unsuccessful Olympic bid. The powerful Qatar sovereign fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, prowls the world's markets eyeing opportunities for big-ticket investment opportunities to diversify its impressive portfolio.

Certainly, then, expatriate life is interesting and challenging, but what of the expats themselves?

Well, Graham Greene, that often acid observer of Brits abroad would have found enough material here to pen a trilogy, or two. I fear he may have turned his sharpened pencil more deftly than I, to reflect the notion that expats can be a damnably unpleasant lot.

As a recent arrival, I offer only a closely observed snap shot, nor am I blind to the attractions.

Solid, mid-range professionals arriving to work in Qatar, fresh from the commuter hel_l of the 06.30 Guildford to Waterloo red-eye, are instantly feted as "world-class" experts in one thing or another.

Able to swap respectable, middling careers for gratis six-bedroom villas, 4x4 leviathans, large tax-free salaries and domestic staff, the temptation to consider oneself important proves irresistible to some.

The sudden elevation elicits a variety of responses, none stranger than those of some educated, middle-class, hitherto "professional career women".

Women, who at home quite rightly demand equality in the work place, find themselves content to embrace the notion of a considerably more leisurely existence.

The whiff of burning bras is less intrusive here than the aroma of pampered flesh, tanning poolside among the colonies of ladies who lunch.

Witnessing this sudden sense of entitlement in otherwise decent folk is shocking, but, where it finds true form, is in the conduct of expat offspring. Among expat communities, tales regaling the exploits of self-styled expat brats are legendary.

These are children who, either born into an expat life or introduced to it at a young age, develop a definitive understanding of the master-servant dynamic and an even clearer grasp of their place in the matrix.

Such children regard the obedient presence of domestic staff as a normal part of life. To such children it is acceptable to publicly chastise pathetically grateful domestics in a high-handed, Dickensian manner on the basis that they owe their presence in the country to the employing family.

The low-paid compound security guards, fresh from the poorer parts of Asia, dare not intervene as children lark about late at night in the compound.

Both parties know that the guard is powerless to meaningfully chastise or enforce quiet without risking a disgruntled adolescent complaining to his bosses, and, as a result, possible deportation.

It must be a little like winning the lottery or unexpectedly being elected to high office - that instant infusion of self-importance that threatens even the best of intentions and the most earnest of hearts.

The delicious irony is that many of the longer-term British expats return from trips back to the UK expressing horror at what they characterise as the growing lack of respect in the old country.

In fairness, many expats do lead quiet, productive lives. Many do work to bridge the gap between the low-paid labourers, labelled "blue boiler suits" and the privileged white-collar crowd; some are active in outreach and charitable work.

There is little doubt that the expat life offers rewarding opportunities; I welcome some aspects, while others leave me cold. It can be seriously frustrating, operating in a land where the service sector speaks very broken English at best and completing even basic tasks can be a major operation.

It is true that these frustrations do little to inspire an egalitarian approach, but that is the point; frustrations are relative and those confronted by expats pale in comparison with those faced by the poor, illiterate, non-Anglophone workers in this country.

Experiencing life within a foreign culture is something to be encouraged. This pioneering spirit has been a vital strand of British life, one which has contributed to many good things, enriching our knowledge and contributions to the world, but sometimes at the cost of encouraging a delusional sense of our place in it.

I am sure it is the bold rather than the brilliant who find their way to this life. Of course, there are exceptions, and I speak only generally.

Yet reflecting on the behaviour of some of my fellow expats, I am puzzled; so many hitherto public-spirited types, grasp the opportunity to reinvent themselves, take on the trappings of elitism, forgetting perhaps that innovation rather than raw power is cherished in the modern world - something the British, famous for originality and, above all, courtesy and fair play, should know only too well.

daily telegraph uk

[simon43]

Sounds revolting . .

They should write a similar article about expats in Thailand

Simon

[taxexile]

It must be a little like winning the lottery or unexpectedly being elected to high office - that instant infusion of self-importance that threatens even the best of intentions and the most earnest of hearts.

.... none of this in thailand though

[sassienie]

Expat lifestyles inflated by Qatar's hot air

By Mark Morley

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 12/08/2008

Expatriate life in Qatar is interesting and challenging, but what of the expats themselves? Mark Morley offers a closely observed snap shot of Brits abroad.

As an expatriate living in Qatar for the past 16 months, I have traversed a learning curve as rugged and demanding as it has been fascinating.

This tiny Gulf State - a former British protectorate which gained independence in 1973 - has emerged as an unlikely geo-strategic playmaker.Qatar's visionary leadership has elevated international diplomacy to an art form but then when you have something the world sorely needs, your power will far exceed your diminutive stature.

That power is derived from hot air - gas actually, and to be precise, liquid natural gas. It has such vast quantities that Qatar is on track to becoming the world's largest exporter of LNG with patrons queuing round the block and the UK qualifying for premier customer status. The boom has helped to fund prestige projects such as the Doha's Khalifa Stadium.

As Qatar booms, its relationship with the UK blossoms - Prince Andrew, and the former prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair have all paid visits this year and the Qatari prime minister was recently greeted at No10.

Qatar now plays host to regiments of British expats, accompanied of course by the ubiquitous veterans from Australia and New Zealand.

<LI>On arrival, I was told by a long-time resident, "Don't expect Dubai." That outrider of the UAE's economic miracle is barely an hour away, a triumph of raw consumerism and bare-faced chutzpah.

Qatar itself lacks nothing by way of ambition having recently tabled a credible though ultimately unsuccessful Olympic bid. The powerful Qatar sovereign fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, prowls the world's markets eyeing opportunities for big-ticket investment opportunities to diversify its impressive portfolio.

Certainly, then, expatriate life is interesting and challenging, but what of the expats themselves?

Well, Graham Greene, that often acid observer of Brits abroad would have found enough material here to pen a trilogy, or two. I fear he may have turned his sharpened pencil more deftly than I, to reflect the notion that expats can be a damnably unpleasant lot.

As a recent arrival, I offer only a closely observed snap shot, nor am I blind to the attractions.

Solid, mid-range professionals arriving to work in Qatar, fresh from the commuter hel_l of the 06.30 Guildford to Waterloo red-eye, are instantly feted as "world-class" experts in one thing or another.

Able to swap respectable, middling careers for gratis six-bedroom villas, 4x4 leviathans, large tax-free salaries and domestic staff, the temptation to consider oneself important proves irresistible to some.

The sudden elevation elicits a variety of responses, none stranger than those of some educated, middle-class, hitherto "professional career women".

Women, who at home quite rightly demand equality in the work place, find themselves content to embrace the notion of a considerably more leisurely existence.

The whiff of burning bras is less intrusive here than the aroma of pampered flesh, tanning poolside among the colonies of ladies who lunch.

Witnessing this sudden sense of entitlement in otherwise decent folk is shocking, but, where it finds true form, is in the conduct of expat offspring. Among expat communities, tales regaling the exploits of self-styled expat brats are legendary.

These are children who, either born into an expat life or introduced to it at a young age, develop a definitive understanding of the master-servant dynamic and an even clearer grasp of their place in the matrix.

Such children regard the obedient presence of domestic staff as a normal part of life. To such children it is acceptable to publicly chastise pathetically grateful domestics in a high-handed, Dickensian manner on the basis that they owe their presence in the country to the employing family.

The low-paid compound security guards, fresh from the poorer parts of Asia, dare not intervene as children lark about late at night in the compound.

Both parties know that the guard is powerless to meaningfully chastise or enforce quiet without risking a disgruntled adolescent complaining to his bosses, and, as a result, possible deportation.

It must be a little like winning the lottery or unexpectedly being elected to high office - that instant infusion of self-importance that threatens even the best of intentions and the most earnest of hearts.

The delicious irony is that many of the longer-term British expats return from trips back to the UK expressing horror at what they characterise as the growing lack of respect in the old country.

In fairness, many expats do lead quiet, productive lives. Many do work to bridge the gap between the low-paid labourers, labelled "blue boiler suits" and the privileged white-collar crowd; some are active in outreach and charitable work.

There is little doubt that the expat life offers rewarding opportunities; I welcome some aspects, while others leave me cold. It can be seriously frustrating, operating in a land where the service sector speaks very broken English at best and completing even basic tasks can be a major operation.

It is true that these frustrations do little to inspire an egalitarian approach, but that is the point; frustrations are relative and those confronted by expats pale in comparison with those faced by the poor, illiterate, non-Anglophone workers in this country.

Experiencing life within a foreign culture is something to be encouraged. This pioneering spirit has been a vital strand of British life, one which has contributed to many good things, enriching our knowledge and contributions to the world, but sometimes at the cost of encouraging a delusional sense of our place in it.

I am sure it is the bold rather than the brilliant who find their way to this life. Of course, there are exceptions, and I speak only generally.

Yet reflecting on the behaviour of some of my fellow expats, I am puzzled; so many hitherto public-spirited types, grasp the opportunity to reinvent themselves, take on the trappings of elitism, forgetting perhaps that innovation rather than raw power is cherished in the modern world - something the British, famous for originality and, above all, courtesy and fair play, should know only too well.

daily telegraph uk

Who the hel_l cares.

Why is this thread on ThaiVisa?

[Spee]

Expat lifestyles inflated by Qatar's hot air

By Mark Morley

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 12/08/2008

Expatriate life in Qatar is interesting and challenging, but what of the expats themselves? Mark Morley offers a closely observed snap shot of Brits abroad.

daily telegraph uk

Sounds like a severe case of highly opinionated white middle class guilt to me, bordering upon communist thinking.

What he fails to mention is how difficult it can be to work on an expatriate assignment. People may or may not be SME's (subject matter experts) but to get jobs like these they do have to demonstrate competency and they do have to accept the limitations of the assignment. For example, they can't meet their mates after work for a pint at the corner pub. They don't have access to many of the conveniences of UK-based counterparts.

He also fails to mention that tax-free income is offered by the employer to attract talent. It is not something demanded by the employee or the employee's native country. If a UK business would offer to pay an employee's social program taxes, I'm sure they would be able to attract quite a bit larger spectrum of applicants (then again the UK government would want to tax that as personal income too).

As for the jaded comments about security guards in a gated compound, he fails to address the relevant facts. First off, these workers are also imported because there isn't a sufficient work pool upon which to draw. Second, there are few places in the world where a security officer makes as much or more than a so-called white collar professional.

People like me who are willing to take these expatriate assignments do so because it is usually a good deal and the work/income tradeoffs are acceptable when compared to working out in the middle of nowhere. There is a limited workforce who will make these kinds of commitments. And what's wrong with any worker trying to seek out the best deal that they can find? The author talks about it as if it is some bad and evil thing.

[Mossfinn]

Why is this thread on ThaiVisa?

So I can have a bash at why you quoted the whole post for two lines of response, don't worry you are not alone.

[PhilHarries]

Who the hel_l cares.

Why is this thread on ThaiVisa?

Why? Simple if you took half the time it took to write this inane comment to actually read and absorb the piece.

Many of the traits observed in expats in the article could also be said of some expats in Thailand. Okay their not exactly in the same league in terms of finacial reward nor lifestyle but the same traits exist in the Thailand expat community. Particularly the looking down on service/domestic workers and in Thailand this often extends to the hosts themselves.

btw spot on Mossfinn

[cloudhopper]

Thanks for the interesting color piece Taxexile.

[grantbkk]

Who the hel_l cares.

Why is this thread on ThaiVisa?

Why? Simple if you took half the time it took to write this inane comment to actually read and absorb the piece.

Many of the traits observed in expats in the article could also be said of some expats in Thailand. Okay their not exactly in the same league in terms of finacial reward nor lifestyle but the same traits exist in the Thailand expat community. Particularly the looking down on service/domestic workers and in Thailand this often extends to the hosts themselves.

btw spot on Mossfinn

Very insightful and well thought out response by Sassienie. It actually proves the author's view of the expat in a way. And, whatever Phil said goes for me too.