Live and living in the Middle East coming from Ireland
It’s the third time in as many weeks that I’ve heard of couples returning from Dubai after only a few weeks with dreams and hopes shattered. Picture the scene, Declan’s career as a civil engineer has slowed to a slugs pace and Derbhall’s once glittering Marketing position is now no more than a three-day-a-week office…
It comes round to the time of year again when summer must end and the trip back to Abu Dhabi to serve another term is nigh. Ninety per cent of expat wives in Abu Dhabi and around the Middle East travel to their native countries to escape the too-hot Arabian summer months. For many it’s…
It’s standard practice worldwide that children of school going age are invited to every single birthday party in the class on the least suitable day imaginable. Friday and Saturday are the weekend days in the Middle East with Sunday to Thursday being the normal working / school week. So when your self-absorbed tweenie arrives home…
It’s that time of year when western expats living in Abu Dhabi are making the decision on whether they should stay or go. June sees a natural end in the expat year as schools finish and 90% of wives and children escape the excessive summer heat and depart Abu Dhabi for greener pastures during the…
For the “school year people”, like myself, that exit the UAE the instant the last school bell rings in June and don’t return until the day before school starts, it can feel like punching time. Similar to working in a job where you feel under-utilized and under-stimulated, you can seek small solace in the fact…
Queuing for the night flight from Heathrow to Dubai with three kids, four hand luggage items, I get a growing sinking feeling about the availability of the inadequate bassinette. Far from considering myself a seasoned traveler however, I have had of recent years intensive and extensive experience in travelling with children both old and young…
After a long wet summer in Ireland I can confirm that the only cure for homesickness is a trip home. Setting off from Abu Dhabi, the rose tinted glasses in hand, one looks at the summer with brimming enthusiasm looking forward to all the jovial family get-togethers, adventurous family days out in activity parks and…
It’s the time of year again when everyone is more than happy to get caught in traffic in Clarenbridge, completely understanding about hiked up hotel room rates and only too delighted to pay an extortion price for a hot little number and a pair a control knickers that may be just the ticket to win…
Happy to leave the glare of the Middle Eastern sun for the summer period, I appreciated the refreshing drizzle which was the backdrop to our decent onto Irish soil, or landing strip as the case may be. The damp mist, the fresh temperatures and the cool Atlantic breeze which serves to give everything that vividness…
Back in the glory days in Ireland when the Celtic tiger breathed life into Ireland and inflated not only economic growth but also our expectations and quality of life, we enjoyed custom made designer kitchens, Canadian hardwood floors and Italian leather sofas. Everyone suddenly became experts on the differences between porcelain floor tiles and carrera…
thereluctantemigrant 