Sports production editor in Abu Dhabi

The National, the English-language daily in Abu Dhabi, UAE, is looking for a sports production editor to join our staff of 20. The successful candidate will have at least five years of professional newspaper experience, including a familiarity with building pages, proofing them and posting to the website. A familiarity with the British suite of sports, particularly soccer and cricket, is helpful.

Contact Paul Oberjuerge, sports editor, at poberjuerge@thenational.ae and place the words "production editor" in the subject line.

 

Must be OK with living in an authoritarian society.

 

How many people would take this over the 15K job in Colorado?

 

Depends on what Abu Dhabi pays. I am from Colorado and only have been through the Abu Dhabi airport but I know a lot of people who have visited. I would far prefer Abu Dhabi,, which is a very modern city, to Sterling for a couple years.

 

I am the one leaving this position. Feel free to post questions here.

I moved to Abu Dhabi two years ago and don't regret it in the slightest. It's been a great experience. I'm only leaving because of an even better opportunity elsewhere. The pay and benefits are as good as most anything you'll find in the States, if not better, and the people in the office (mostly Brits, Americans, Canadians, Australians, Indians and Emiratis) are great.

This is a good opportunity for anyone who wants to broaden their skill set and/or experience life abroad. I know I've become a much better copy editor, designer and podcaster since coming to Abu Dhabi. If you have the interest and don't have anything massive keeping you where you are, I highly recommend this post.

 

It's not the free-wheeling circus of representative democracy Americans are used to, no. Then again, neither is it Saudi Arabia. As long as you don't go out looking for confrontation, life in Abu Dhabi is fairly sedate. Pork products are not hard to find, and all it takes is one bit of paperwork and you can buy all the alcohol you like.

As far as this particular job is concerned, about the only headache the local government will give you is making sure to give all the sheikhs their full names and titles when they pop up in horse racing stories.

If openly advocating the overthrow of the government or stumbling around drunk in public is your idea of a good time, then maybe this job isn't for you. Otherwise, it's a pretty decent place to live. It certainly isn't a theocratic hellscape where all non-Muslims live in fear of being beaten, dismembered or worse.

 

How's the Ashley Madison action there?

 

Another vote of confidence here in Paul Oberjuerge, with whom I shared a workspace from time to time at Olympic events.
If I was a wee bit younger man and a bit more flexible in where I could live - not married, that is - I'd take a long look at this.

 

Yeah, the "job" is simply as good or better than any production-type job you'll find in the U.S.

But real estate there? Think $400,000 for a 680SqFf studio on the beach, $300,000 for a 1050 SqFt 2-bedroom elsewhere.

 

If you're of a mind to buy, yeah, it's probably not the best market. Rents are on the high side, too, but coming down as supply slowly catches up to demand. I paid $1,500 a month for a conveniently-located (10-minute walk to work) studio apartment when I first arrived in Abu Dhabi, and the rent has gone up 5 percent each year. That neighborhood is being built up rapidly, though, and there are more affordable options. If you're after a two- or three-bedroom unit, you'll likely be more spoiled for choice.

Housing is probably the biggest headache for new arrivals. Unless you can stump up a year's rent up front, what the company does is secure a one-year lease for you and then take that amount out of your paycheck in 12 monthly installments (an interest-free loan, essentially). It's a big help during what can be a stressful time.