Sports Production Journalist -- The National, Abu Dhabi

You have to walk home? ... Fuck it, I'm out.

 

If you've been there, I'm sure it doesn't register. But most women reading this thread - or men, who are contemplating taking their wives with them - should know it's going to happen.
Maybe a better number is 10 or 15 or 25 or something. There's not a number that determines whether you can handle it.
You're either wired for it, or you're not.
My wife and I spent a week or so in the Middle East. That aspect was annoying, for both of us. But we'd been told what to expect by former expats, moved past it quickly, and had an otherwise great trip.
It shouldn't deter anybody from pursuing this job, so long as they know it's part of the deal. Like I said earlier, it's a fantastic opportunity if you meet some specific criteria.

 

Bordering on threadjack here, but here's my brother's take on the treatment of women in public in Abu Dhabi:

 

Three vital questions:

A. What are the salaries there?

*. What kind of housing is available?

2. Is beer readily available there?

 

Who are "the people on the blog who are just repeating hearsay"? One person has speculated, and that person had previously interviewed there. (And is the same person who named the potential salary figure.)

"Their country" is kind of funny, though, considering the demographic.

http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/abu-dhabi-population-up-7-8-2012-12-30-1.489183

"Abu Dhabi’s population surged by around 7.8 per cent to gain nearly 153,000 people in mid 2011 and expatriates remained a majority in the oil-rich emirate."

Per my previous post, 20 percent are native. That information was from the Wiki.

Again, if anyone wants to apply for this job, do it.

 

What I'm saying comes from having two friends who've worked for this newspaper, my own prolonged interview process, my own research during that process, and a week I spent in a Middle Eastern country that's fairly similar to the UAE.

But, I guess, if you want to go purely non-hearsay - my wife walked down the street from our hotel and got harassed. A bunch. My female friend who worked in AD had already warned my wife to expect it. It's just gonna happen, but it's not that big a deal once you get your arms around the fact that it's non-threatening. I don't want to keep rehashing this point. It's a thing that will happen often, but if you're of a certain disposition, it's not that big a deal.

I mentioned potential salaries earlier - think 75-80, tax free, with insurance premiums 100 percent covered and more vacation than you know what to do with.

Again, housing is ridiculous. I think it's gone down some in the last few years, but a nice place close to the office was going for about two grand a month when I was looking. You can google around and find the craigslist-like sites that have housing listings.

Drinking is a small problem. You basically need to get a license. If you're a non-Muslim foreigner, it's not that big of a deal. Again, do some googling for the specifics, but you can buy a limited number of bottles per transaction for at-home consumption, and you can only drink publicly in hotel bars.

They're building a Louvre in town, if that eases any concerns about the cultural opportunities.

Also, for further info, Robert had a blog about living there: http://abudhabido.blogspot.com/

I'll say it again - a really fantastic opportunity if you're of the right disposition.

 

Thanks, Giggity. And they give bonuses, too?

Can't do it right now, but down the road I could.

 

Heck, it's not just UAE or the Middle East. If you're a woman (especially an attractive/young one) and you go to certain neighborhoods in major European cities that have a predominantly Muslim population, be prepared.

 

i'm a woman who works at the paper. i would be happy to answer any questions about the way women in the uae are treated and/or about the newspaper.

you can pm me if you'd like

 

Question, what does "three years of professional daily newspaper experience" mean?

Does this mean major metro daily newspaper experience?

Also, is the job still open?

 

That means you worked at a professional daily newspaper for three years. It does not say a word about the size of the city said professional daily newspaper was in. You probably will be facing competition from cities, though.

 

Just never heard professional daily newspaper experience specified in a job add before.