Andy, welcome back.
thank you, I'm hijacking Arabic Mike's channel for the second time
that's right
yeah, you might have seen Andy previously in a video we shot
it was almost exactly a year ago in Dubai that we shot that last video
'Meet the Guy with the Emirates Tattoo'
let's see it
but you didn't get to see it last time
we didn't get to see it
I was wearing a kandora, so here it is
It's actually there... look at that!
It's real
it is real
it's not fake is it?
it's not going to come off?
not fake, I didn't go to the gym enough
so I should have pumped up before I didn't realise
yeah, it would have grown a little bit that way
so Andy... you're an expat right? Living in Qatar
Yep
Which is where are... well where are we now?
welcome to Doha this is the amazing skyline
capital of Qatar, it's incredible, very picturesque and...
but yeah, I don't actually lived here in Doha, I live out in the desert about one hour north
Okay
in a college... I'm teaching, so for me, this is like a holiday to come to Doha
to come to Doha... so people watching this might be considering moving to Qater
they might live in in the UK, they might live in the United States, Canada, Australia or whatever
maybe even India or South Asia, East Asia... because one thing I can say with certainty about Qatar
having just been a few days, is that there are a lot of expats here
tons
so where you from?
tell us a little bit about yourself and tell us your story about how you ended up working in Qatar
I'm from Glasgow in Scotland's, can you tell from my thick Scottish accent Scottish accent?
I can tell from your Scottish accent, yeah
I'm half English
right...
I won't say which one is my better half, I've been an expat for a decade now
right
I've lived and worked in five countries
Okay
Australia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and...
this is my fifth country
wow, so in terms of the Middle East you worked in Saudi, UAE, and Qatar
you've seen quite a lot of the Gulf?
yeah, It's a great region
I enjoy working here, I mean, there's so many benefits if you're thinking about coming to work
for me the number one thing... the weather
it's always sunny here... it's always warm
really? That's interesting because I actually agree with you
yeah?
and so many people see the weather as a negative
you will have heard it
about... you will have heard from natives, 'oh the weather's so hot, so hot'
but I like that
we love it
and you're from Scotland, which is a cold country
so we must be like reptiles or something
what happened... well speak for yourself
I think what it is, is like... no one's ever really satisfied with the weather they've got
so when you're asking or talking to Arabs, if you make friends, they'll tell you they love the rain
Yeah
they love cold weather, and they're sick of the sunshine and there's a complete opposite for Brits and Scots
we you know... we chase the sun... we want to get a tan
we love it
but we hate the rain
yeah
so... no one's really fully kind of satisfied with the weather
but for me, for this time of the year... we're entering winter... it's perfect
guys, this is winter, we're in t-shirts
It's about 30 degrees, the sun's beating down... it's gorgeous
and this is what you can definitely expect in terms of weather wise
so... I mean... so the weather's amazing... going back to kind of what to expect when you move to Qatar...
what are some things which are different about being a teacher in Scotland
and being a teacher in Qatar... just broad-brush summarise it... you know
you don't pay any tax here... so...that's a winner... winner winner chicken dinner
so you save all your money
I mean I wasn't a teacher in the UK, I have worked there, of course
I've paid my taxes, but I don't pay any now, so that's for me the biggest draw
it's a big draw, isn't it? And I mean, the weather here is great... the quality of life here is good
but I mean, would you agree that the overall pull factor to countries like Qatar, Saudi, UAE, Kuwait...
is the money is the money... it that fair to say?
I wish I was here for some loftier purpose, but in the end, it's just about the money
we come here for money, we come to save
for our future or to build a home or to, you know, for many different reasons
but the money is so attractive here
it can give you a really good head start in life, and if you come in your 20s or 30s...
you can save up some money that is gonna set you up quite well because it's not easy, you know
I don't want to sound like...
it's impossible to save up and be successful in the UK, because it's not I don't think... but
it's not the easiest thing now with you know, high house prices etc....
and this is across the whole world... the Western world, certainly
it's not the easiest thing to save up but coming here
you can kind of fast forward a little bit, get some money in the bank to maybe then think about
buying a house or having some savings if that's what you're looking to do, right?
exactly... yeah, and a lot of the packages that you get, if you do come to work here
they pay for your accommodation
they give you, depending on your job, they will give you a car, they'll give you allowance
free food as a good drive with my job
so you really end up keeping... I'll be honest, about 95% of my salary... I keep it... it's incredible
yeah, there aren't many other places or jobs or countries where you can live like
there are so few parts of the world where you can get such generous benefits
you know your financial advisor might say, 'save 10 percent... save 10 percent of everything you earn'...
...save 90%
pretty much... pretty much, yeah
but... it's never enough though. Is it?
no, you know humans are greedy people always want more and...
I don't know how long... maybe I can take this question before the foreword...
how long would I stay in the Middle East? As long as the the package is like this
you know, the weather's not gonna change... I could probably stay here for a good few more years
yeah
definitely
is there anything else which is a big, I guess culture shock
having come from the UK say for example to moving here
I mean rewind 10 years ago
just reminded us again where you went first... you went to Thailand first or Australia first?
well I did I did a gap you in Australia when I was a lot younger
I worked at McDonald's
really?
so there was not much culture shock
they pay well at Mcdonalds... relatively
yeah, and you also get free food there as well
free food... well that's a bonus
but when I moved to Thailand, that's when I began teaching and that was about a decade ago and
seven years there, a couple of years in United Arab Emirates, a year and a bit in a bit in Saudi
and now I'm here
so cultural differences...yeah...
so having moved from Thailand to Saudi for example
what's the first thing that's kind of...it feels like a while back and it might be quite difficult to kind of
put yourself back in that position many years ago
but... can you remember any things which really struck you as someone who just got off the plane in Saudi...
there to live... there to work...this isn't a short, you know, business trip... two or three days
you're not going there for a week on holiday, you're there to start a new life
you're there to start a new job and you might be there for three... four or five years
so how did that feel when you first arrived
I had experiences in Yemen
in places like Iraq and Syria, before the war, so coming to the Middle East for me wasn't a big culture shock
but I know a lot of guys really struggle when they first arrive in places like... especially like Saudi Arabia
because
what they will perceive, is a huge lack of freedoms
so the things that you are used to, your freedoms such as freedom of speech
freedom of thoughts... sometimes you really can't say what you're thinking
lack of alcohol, for example, another thing... lack of pork, you can't eat pork
in the Middle East
it's Haram... it's forbidden... things like that, you have to kind of sacrifice
in order to thrive in the Middle East you need to be able to
adjust
adjust but you kind of put something... you put part of yourself in a box for a while while you're here
and you just have to be careful and be guarded and not say anything stupid
be tolerant and be very respectful and be patient
another thing with the Gulf countries is... religion as a big deal
sure... a huge deal
obviously Islam is the main religion and I find that the people... the Muslims here are very pious
and so you must respect that, we have to, you know, be considerate
things like Friday prayers... yeah, it's Friday
so this is the the blessed day of the week for them, I guess like Sunday was for Europeans back in the day
you know, little things like that, you have to pay attention to it... be careful, be respectful and...
that can be a challenge for some people... some people find it hard to hold their tongue, you know
and you really have to zip it, you know?
If you don't know Andy... YouTube channel, 'WeCanFly777'
Andy makes the best flying vlogs on YouTube
there's no doubt about it... when he flies which he does a lot
yeah
he takes his camera, his GoPro with him, when you watch his vlog
you feel like you're on the plane with him
you see the food he eats, the movies he watches, what's out the window the whole experience
you meet the staff and if you're someone who likes flying in Airlines, then check out channel, 'WeCanFly777'
you won't regret it
yeah, you'll love it, thank you... thank you for the plug
that's alright
how much does that cost me that like ten riyals for that?
yeah 10 riyals
okay
