Moving abroad has made me realise how bloody dire the UK is

[MattHancocksPrivateNurse]

We moved abroad 4 months ago and after the normal wobbles and adjustments I am now shocked at how different (and much better!) life is. We have considerably more spending money despite paying for private school and healthcare (which are much much better than the UK). It’s safer, considerably cleaner, better public services and much better food quality.

already I can’t see us ever going back and already want to explore somewhere new eventually! But if anyone is feeling low and despondent about the uk which we really were and gets an opportunity (or has a transferable job) I would 100000% recommend looking into it.

i wish we had done it 10 years ago tbh. AIBU to never come back bar the odd visit to see family and friends?!

Congratulations. You've discovered that life is lovely when you're a wealthy Western expat with private healthcare, private schooling and the freedom to leave whenever you fancy.

The smugness would be embarrassing enough without the staggering lack of self-awareness.

Maybe they mean Gibraltar? 🤷🏻‍♀️ or maybe they meant EU not UK? 🤷🏻‍♀️ who knows

I so wanted to visit Oman but after watching a documentary about Nigerian women going to work in households. I have changed my mind.
Watching adults standing watching and laughing while their kids punched and kicked "the help" absolutely sickened me. Rape is pretty commonplace too.
Guess you and yours will be just tickety boo though as you obviously have ££££

Grim. I’m unimpressed with England since moving back home but I wouldn’t move to the ME if you paid me.

Yeah I'm sick of the UK bashing threads, like you say it's not perfect but nowhere is...

Funny because my cousin and his wife have come back from Oman to the UK because their work life balance was non existent. Depending on which company you work for, the expectation of out of hours unpaid work is much higher, he likened it to working in the US.

He also hated the hypocrisy and the insularity of the expat life.

I hope things work out and you continue to be happy.
It sounds like your residence there is solely dependent on your husband’s job. Only you know how secure your relationship is, and how much you can depend upon him.
If he was to turn against you for any reason your rights are limited and you might not be able to take your children with you if you no longer have the right to live there.
Maybe I have never had the right relationship ( although head with my, sadly now late, DH for 29 years), but it’s not a situation I could accept.

So you are living in a bubble. No welfare. No illegal migration. Little crime. High salaries.
Thats what a lot of people want here, but it’s considered to be very racist and just not form.
Of course it’s good, but it’s not real.
Please tell me you won’t return when you reach retirement age and expect to become part of the Welfare State again.
You see, I have lived abroad and that flashy lifestyle had its moments, but in the end it’s shallow.
And I don’t know anyone who lived there in retirement age…..

It’s not bitterness to point out the country you’re waxing lyrical about does not offer equal rights for women or the lgbt community.

I loved Oman when I was there though going back several years....in fact to the disgust of many on here, I've always enjoyed my life in the Middle East. I've never been on an enormous salary though definitely more than I can make in the same job here but I have had the benefits of health insurance and a housing allowance.
Many if my hay friends stayed within the region for many years.... not because they had to but because they were in relationships and had careers... the same as anyone else.
I do hope to get back to Oman one day, where there are some fantastic beaches, unspoilt countryside, and people (locals) who are the friendliest in the region.

That's nice. I assume you'll find the local version of Mumsnet and stop coming back to gloat.

Bye bye.

I mean this sounds like our life in rural UK. Except not everyone is from different parts of the world but it’s certainly safe and lovely!

Ultimately, life is good cause your husband has a good job
I’m not sure sure life will be so good in Oman if it was on a minimum wage job

Please god let’s hope so.

Fabulous health care system and costs nothing to the user. I speak from experience having used it for almost 50 years now. In fact I’ve used it since it was on its infancy. I use both the government system as I’m entitled to it and private hospitals when I don’t want to go on a waiting list.

There’s no such thing as not being able to see a GP as every area has its in community health center where you just turn up and wait your turn in the queue to be seen. It takes about an hour and within the facility there’s a dentist and xray unit. On top of that each community has a polyclinic running specialist clinics and if the health center cannot sort you out you are referred either to the polyclinic or to hospital outpatients.

The Op can use the health centres for free vaccinations but other than that they have one Medicare in the private sector. However if the private hospital can’t treat them their insurance means they can use the government system.

Private hospitals are staffed by expat employees and any Omani working in them as a Dr has to have reached the level of Consultant before taking up part time work in the private sector, and only in the afternoon once their government work is finished for the day.

A few years ago I developed a huge ovarian cyst. I went to the health centre, was immediately sent to the local polyclinic where gynaecologists found the problem snd within an hour had phone the gynae team at the Royal Hospital. I was seen there the next day and two days later underwent what is called a staging laparotomy following some tests. I had a very rare and very aggressive cancer. 5 years later I’m still here and as fit as a fiddle.

Had my situation not been treatable here I’d have been sent abroad at government expense for whatever treatment I needed. It’s more cost effective to treat patients that way if they have a rare illness but the day will come when it doesn’t need to happen. Nothing happens that often now.

Oman isn’t even 60 years old yet and unless a person has been at the birth of a country they have absolutely no idea what it entails for it to grow up.

“I’ve been spat out, sworn at and treated like crap at work so it feels so nice comparatively!”

I’m sorry to hear that OP. I can quite see why you had enough.

Were you Teaching? Police? Health Care?

There are no laws specifically against domestic violence or marital rape. Legally women are expected to obey their husband. Sharia lw applies for family law.

This thread reminds me of Brits saying how wonderful seventies apartheid South Africa is.

I can see some places being better but it’s ridiculous to think Oman is better. As a woman I wouldn’t want to be anywhere I’m a second class citizen nor would I want my children growing up in that environment… what about freedom? Sexuality? Fair trials in law? You know none of that is great over there?!

You couldnt pay me to live in the ME. I live in a lovely town West coast Scotland, near the coast and love it. I'm 30 minutes from Glasgow and an hour from Loch Lomond. It's not "dire " at all.

So when it comes to leaving the UK for the ME it’s acceptable to call out the rape, living standards, the way they treat women, say you wouldn’t want your daughters living there, it’s no place if you are gay, backwards country etc but when people explain they don’t want anyone from the ME turning up on boats here because they live by the very same standards being called out in this thread they are called racist.

It's just beautiful up there. Loch Lomond is a treat.

They have Sharia Law. I couldn't live under that

Dream on FFS 🤣🤣

Maybe those leaving are doing so because they don’t like those things either?
There aren’t any refugees from Oman, by the way.

Yes, very similar. "The Africans are treated so well, and they're very happy".