The International Schools Review Forum

You're right. It's a bit of guesswork there. Maybe you are right about things like being able to just bank the housing allowance (though I doubt it!) and about the taxes (entirely possible--AISB is a top school for several reasons, compensation being one). But in general, if you look at Eastern Europe, the totals aren't as disparate as you are claiming. Same with Austria, though if you look at which schools offer what and the cost of living in those places, you can see why the conclusion I came to was more logical.

Again, you CAN save without too much sacrifice or difficulty in WE. If that is the preferred lifestyle, trying to tempt the OP to Bucharest with money is pointless--they may as well go to the ME.

You can't suggest trading WE for EE is the same as trading EE for the ME. While my view that WE is a hardship place seems to be a minority opinion, absolutely everyone agrees the ME is a hardship destination, and few think that about EE.

I am suggesting that if you want the WE lifestyle, then go for WE. If you want to save big bucks, go to the ME. You don't choose EE for the WE lifestyle, and you don't choose EE for big savings. The OP indicated lifestyle is the priority. Telling her to go to EE for the money is nonsense. There are a lot of good reasons to go to EE, but savings and dating? Not such useful advice.

Dating is a big reason to pick EE over WE, for sure.

I always factor in where I can speak the language. That's pretty huge for me, more important than a bit of extra money. I don't like living in an IT bubble.

joe30 wrote:
> You can't suggest trading WE for EE is the same as trading EE for the ME. While my
> view that WE is a hardship place seems to be a minority opinion, absolutely everyone
> agrees the ME is a hardship destination, and few think that about EE.

Sorry, Joe, not everyone agrees the ME is a hardship destination. I spent more than half my career there so far, many years, and consider it nowhere near hardship.
Of course, the ME is not a single country, and some countries are easier than others. Some might even be considered hardship.
But in general, my definition of hardship includes places where one's life/happiness is at substantial risk from crime or war, places where one cannot easily buy life's necessities (a sliding scale, but an important one), places where one's freedom to be out and about is severely limited. By that definition, places like the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Jordan are not even close to hardship. Saudi can go either way depending on how you feel about compound life - I've never tried Saudi personally, but I have many good friends who found it incredibly satisfying and an easy lifestyle.
So no, not "absolutely everyone agrees".

@Sid is being a bit disingenuous. Contributors learn rather quickly to rarely use terms of absolute value, but while its a minority that considers the WE a hardship, its NOT a minority that considers the ME a hardship.

@Sid

Really, I wonder how a woman would fair with your requirements such as, "places where one's freedom to be out and about is severely limited", like not being able to drive a car, freedom to not have to wear a Burka, not having to be escorted by ones husband.
"substantial risk from crime or war" like being stoned to death for being in a room with a man who isnt a family member?
"Places where one cannot easily buy life's necessities", like birth control, or seeing a doctor?
I can think of a whole majority group of human being your list would certainly apply to.

Of course you are leadership so the world only revolves around you and you get to twirl in your office chair watching cat videos, and fair really only means "fair to leadership".

Yet I have female friends who love the ME. As Sid said, it's a diverse place.

@Thames Pirate

All the ME woman at IE camp disagree with you.

PsyGuy wrote:
> @Sid
>
> Really, I wonder how a woman would fair with your requirements such as, "places where
> one's freedom to be out and about is severely limited", like not being able to drive
> a car, freedom to not have to wear a Burka, not having to be escorted by ones husband.
>
> "substantial risk from crime or war" like being stoned to death for being in a room
> with a man who isnt a family member?
> "Places where one cannot easily buy life's necessities", like birth control, or seeing
> a doctor?
> I can think of a whole majority group of human being your list would certainly apply
> to.

PG, what makes you so sure I'm not a woman? The internet is a mysterious place, and there are far more female educators than male.

Anyway, in the countries I mentioned, specifically the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, women drive, don't have to wear a niqab, hijab or even an abaya, much less a burqa, and don't have to be escorted by anyone. Saudi's rather different, but even there women wear a niqab, not a burqa. The birth control pill is available over the counter, no prescription needed. (Muslims overall are not against birth control, they just don't believe in sex outside marriage. It's different.) And there are lots of doctors and hospitals. In none of these countries are women stoned for being alone in a room with a man. There is a very short list of countries where any of these things are an issue, and that short list is not the list most IT are talking about when they consider moving to the ME.

@Sid

I never claimed you were a woman or not a woman, female leadership can be just as clueless or competent as male leadership. What makes you think Im not a woman?

So woman dont get to drive in the Kingdom, which you also mentioned in your prior post, the Kingdom is in the ME. Isnt that a "places where one's freedom to be out and about is severely limited". So Woman in the Kingdom can wear daisy dukes and a bikini on top walking in the SAMIRAD in Riyadh, no problem there with "places where one's freedom to be out and about is severely limited". So woman in the Kingdom can get the pill WITHOUT a male relative or their husband present or approval, No, not happening, not legally. Thats utter bunk woman are stoned for adultery in the Kingdom, its the prescribed punishment. Men get a couple lashes.