Egyptians :what do you prefer..: Living and working in Saudi Arabia, or in Europe or USA/Canada ...?/?

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hasafer

I'll go to Saudi only for hajj other than that I can't stand them , and I really don't want to spend my life at a place that doesn't respect me or appreciate my nationality , and for sure deal with their religious hypocrisy .

Sahar

can i choose el mareekh ?
i have been for a long time locking myself inside a shell, see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil...meaning i have secluded myself from the society, bought myself this beautiful dog, but for the last few weeks for reasons i have mentioned had to deal with all sorts of let's call them...situations :)
unbelievable dear zoser
i get embarrassed when my answers are long but i would really like to relate the story, it is a miniature of what is happening today in the whole of egypt, on all levels, how the majority thinks, not all, i have met some very good people and those are the ones i chose to deal with

here we go, fasten your seat belts

the rayes of el sanay3eya deals with certain shops, they give him a commission when he brings them customers to buy ceramics...and they are also supposed to give us customers a good price, jimmy told me, what he was told, that this rayes is great, i believe every word i hear until and if proven otherwise
anyways he did some good work on the bathroom's pipes, and then to pick the ceramics he told me where to go
i while walking kuki had a look around us and saw some ceramics that i liked, enquired on prices, asked friends etc...then what happens is

i find a floor that i like in a shop not taba3 the rayes, and a ceramic for the wall at one of the shops the rayes etaka 3aleih eni i go see it

when i went into the shop taba3 el rayes i found some men with beards, i said ahhh good, these are people who know god, this rayes is great as jimmy says and they aren't going to cheat me and they'll be helpful, i am in good hands
i picked the wall and the floor then jimmy said let's go see this shop a friend of mine owns to have a wider variety of choices...he will also get a discount because it's his friend..anyways..(khawatooli demaghi be7agat tanya ye gabooli ekte2ab while all i wanted was to have a nice bathroom that functions well, looks good, will last long, and isn't too expensive) anyways..i find a floor at jimmy's friend's shop that i like more and isn't that more expensive

at first i did not understand that jimmy is taking me see his friend's shop because he would take a discount, when i told him i am bying from your friend's shop he quickly added on the phone, ask for so and so and tell him i'm so and so's wife ( i still did not know it was for a discount i thought 3ashan yehtam beya ye yeshofni 3aiza eh, 3andi ghaba2 egtema3i fazee3 ;-) anyway that's what i call it, eni 3andi ghaba2 egtema3i...after i bought i told him el feloos zadet showaya 3an el mezaneya, instead of us paying 2000LE we will be paying 3000LE, he said why didn't you ask for a discount ? i told you to ask for so and so and tell him i am so and so's wife, i told him i didn't find the guy and he understood from the way i said it that i hadn't understood what he had meant in the first place...ye bakesef mot

anyways back to the story, i like a floor here and a wall there and i was thinking the rayes of the sanay3eya is great that is his shop, hafeedo ye yefedeni, mafhemtesh jimmy bey2ool eh etc etc...and i also wanted to buy both floor and wall from the same shop to save myself trouble anyways i ask the shop taba3 el rayes, can you get me this floor ? it's sherka kaza, esmo kaza, color kaza, and i saw it at shop kaza, and it costs 45.5 pounds a meter
he tells me sure i can get it for you, i tell him great, it is gawhara lava the dark color, it costs 45.5 at a shop kaza kaza for how much are you going to give it to me ? he tells me 47LE

sometimes i can pick my words and sometimes i can't, fa i tell him eh el zakawa di ? tab mana hashtereeh men el ma7al el tani, washtereeh menak leh ? pause, i tell him hein hatedehooli bekam ? fa 2ali eh....mashiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii be 45.50 zaii maykoon 3amali takhfeed ye khedma (!)
that was on the phone from home, i hang up then tell jimmy this funny story then think....this guy can't be that stupid, i mean da tager, has a shop, esta7ala he is that stupid, he must have told me a higher price for him not to give me lesser than 45.5 so that he would sell at 45.5
to know what exactly and also because i needed the rayes to tell me how many stello ceramics i had to get, and for him to check the size of the ceramic, ya3ni ta7leel men khabeer...i and rayes el sanay3eya met next day at that shop

to cut a long story short, we think we are fahlaweyeen, yetla3 fel akher en e7na fakreen bas keda, bakhassar nafsi ye akhassarak, yel balad mashya keda, ye fakreen en e7na kasbaneen

if i have the time and the question remains opened i will explain more how i discovered that, by relating the rest of the story, what happened at the shop, if

Ruby

This is a tough question zoser.
I do not have an experience living in countries like Saudi Arabia but I hear it is very hard to adapt to the life style there for someone who comes from a country like Egypt. However, middle Eastern countries like Saudi, UAE, and such are where u can earn big bucks. When it comes to USA or Canada, sure they have a totally different lifestyle which ppl tend to get attached and used to very fast, but u can't really make too much money there and if u do make money, u won't be able to save a lot, if not any. The lifestyle there just forces u to spend more than u usually earn. Unless ur working very hard for a huge company and holding a high position, or having ur own business whether in USA or Canada, u won't be going anywhere....
As for Europe, I believe there are better chances there than in US. A couple of my husband's relatives went there some yrs back and they were pennyless. Now within 10-15 yrs they are multi-millionairs and have chain restaurants and hotels. I think this has to do with hard work and sacrfice more than good luck as I know one of them used to own a van and used to sleep in it the first few yrs he was there. Honestly, I have not seen anyone who went to the states and made a fortune lol.
The best of all of this, though, is if one can be able to live and work in his own country and accomplish and provides for his family. u know especially in Egypt, the wealthy ones have it all ;)

Reikominder

Hi Zoser , I wish u enjoy the new year party ,

Look my opinion is :
SA Advantages:
- Close to Egypt.
- You can do Omraa or hej easier.
- Arabic language country.
- Good Salary.
- Many big projects there.
- Salary comparing with life there is so good.

SA Disadvantages:
- Some of people there are not so friendly.
- The country way of life is not like EU or USA ( I mean not alot of entertainment, Museums, Cinemas ..etc)
- Little bit close minded people. (no hard feelings, some of them)
- You are not treated like Saudi citizens .

Europe/USA/Canada Adv. :
- All What you want for your entertainment life is there.
- Updated.
- Canada is more quite than USA , and Canadians are more calm also.
- Cheap clothes and food in USA.
- Your Experience there means a lot in Arab countries.
- Well connected with all the World.
- If you work hard, you can be really what you dream of.

Europe/USA/Canada Disadv. :
- Far from Egypt. (Not Europe)
- Salary comparing with life is Good in USA , but not like SA or Kuwait, and for Europe u need to save a lot of money for living.
- Problems with Arabs there.
- Way of thinking of the people there (some of them) .

My opinion is living and work in Europe is the best, I like Europe more than USA or Gulf,

Canada maybe my 2nd choice, then USA , then the gulf.

Ofcourse UAE is another story,

Wish u all the success in ur career ya zoser ,

for any question , pls email me,

Kalooka

i don't like Saudi Arabia, i won't work there if i ll get paid 10 times what i earn here.

THE-GREEN-VISITOR

Each has its own advantages/disadvantages that's different from the other.

For instance, Living in Saudi Arabia (particularly) has an advantage over living in a foreign country of living with Arabs and mostly Muslims, this is not to offend Christian brothers :-) and living in a foreign country of dealing with more civilized people, when it comes to coworkers, sorry to say so, but from my experience, dealing with foreigners is, mostly, better.

samy n

i prefer canada

dreamy

i prefare to live and work in egypt ( alexnadria)
whatever was the temptaion ( more money or any thing else)
but i can not breath any air rather than alexandria air
see this pics and you will know why
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/326589734_68ae04b6f2.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/141/326591656_a3f5150fc7.jpg?v=0
http://l.yimg.com/www.flickr.com/images/spaceball.gif
http://www.arcspace.com/architects/snoehetta/alexandria_f/Alexandria-2-.jpg

lord-k

Canada ... i love it

Kazarolla

well, i choose Canada
it is very peaceful and nice country

Isadora

Canada ya zosar , it is a calm peaceful country , the US has became more racist anti Arabs or Muslims in general after the collapse of the two towers , and I don't blame them for this as much as I blame the Islamic world.
as for KSA I was born there , and I will NEVER EVER go there , I will NEVER EVER wear a veil on my head or a burka on my face by force .. by whipping me with a STICK as they do there!
you already know that I have spoilt many marriage projects cause of this piece of cloth called the "veil", I will show you my last IM saved conversation with my last ex who spend nearlly his entire life in Saudia and came to practise their sick culture on me!...
They don't respect the women there , it is a very masculine society , which I cannot stand , even I cannot stand living in this Egyptian masculine society and counting down the days to leave this country which I feel very opressed in !
I bought my freedom by deciding never to live in a wahabi salafi country even if i earned here only 150 L.E per month!
I will send you some videos shot there on your mail to prove my words , I won't put them here otherwise we will engage in a cat fight with them!

You know now that I am very pissed off and very upset as those Islamists ruined my graduation prom by a worthless fatwa about the music ..etc from a fanatic sheikh called "Wagdi Ghoneim", they day which I have been waiting for 6 years, and now I am intending to fight them more !
I will send you a link of this fatwa audio and written posted on the forum of our faculty later......

warpedhybrid

am not egyptian but based on conversations i think the response of an individual is related to the timing of their arrival in the other country (some examples would be before/after the euro/pre/post 9-11) and the overall market (how strict/simple getting business loans were + whether the worker got lucky in choosing a future real etate hot spot). also,whether they arrived legally + if they didn't/did have the time to legalize themselves before immigration began proceedings has a big effect on which region they prefer. i wonder where ppl go to make something out of nothing w/ all the stricter immigration laws in place today..?

i think the immigrants who came to the usa pre-9/11 (around the 80's-early 90's have more latitude w/ business opportunities + success than current arrivals)

and the egyptians who arrived in europe to create their own businesses before the euro are prob. in a good position financially as well...i have no clue how someone would make it otherwise in the nl or germany otherwise from what i know.

dr-suffer

i dun believe saudia is nice place to work in, i know many ppl who work there all think it is a place u have to work only to gain money for family not suitable place for residency they have no respect to personal freedom i would rather work in england after passing MRCP exam.... hope so ISA:)

Gigi (i wish i could)

no in egypt

maybe work but for a few time unless i didnt meet any half isreleans

@hasafer i begin to like ur answers :))

i wish i get out of this planet & work on Mars ........

Just kidding,

Really i wanna live & work HERE in EGYPT ...... i really wanna do something good to my country

GOOFY-LOOK GOFY-LOCK GOFY-MIND

KSA

7atem

Depends which part of SA you'll be in.. I worked there in the nineties, but I hear now they are much better and the country is getting a bit more open. Jeddah is a nice place and close to the masha3er.

Adam

Its interesting that no one has really mentioned religion.....(as usual sadly) it should be noted that a muslim is permitted to live in a non muslim society for only very specific reasons..and money isint one of them. It is permissible to live in "the west" to get an education and then return, or to be doing something that involves dawa. Now of course dawa can be made in various ways. But moving to the west to open a store or get a regular job? hmmmmn...my comment about being light skinned is that I burn easily...ive already had melanoma and other skin cancers.
I prefer Yemen, Mahgreb or KSA but im very light skinned and its difficult for me....so I make sure that whatever I do here in the USA is at least has a good amount of dawa...insha'Allah

wow thats alot of thumbs down for speaking the truth...but i guess im used to it. Ligtht skinned people are treated much better than dark skinned people in KSA as in most of the rest of the world...subhanAllah .,....u know they even pay white people from USA and Europe to give live and study in KSA

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