Television in Abu Dhabi Sucks!

Saudi Version of the Oprah Winfrey Show

Summer refuses to leave here in the Gulf and there is not much to talk about as the potentially fatal climate precludes actually doing anything interesting and fun outside. Malls and bars, that's about it until the weather moderates, so I decided to bitch about what I have been doing too much of lately, watching TV.

I grew up and spent the majority of my adult life in the U.S. which has been the epicenter of television programming since Philo T. Farnsworth, an American scientist, first transmitted a scratchy image of Felix the Cat in 1927 to his "image dissector". The rest is history.

First Televised Image, Felix the Cat

It naturally follows that the U.S. would take the lead in producing and programming television shows, for better or for worse. I became accustomed to having access to many quality channels. Just before I moved to Abu Dhabi, I had a big screen Sony TV connected to a Dish Network 500 satellite system, This allowed me access to over 400 channels, many in High Definition. Multiple HBO, ESPN, Cinemax, Showtime, and  many others were available to me at the push of a remote button. I was in Hog Heaven. I even had Tivo!

In Abu Dhabi, I first stayed at a hotel that had limited access to English speaking channels. It seem exotic at  first but I quickly lost interest. Then I moved to a flat that had a satellite feed. I went to the local version of Walmart and purchased a Chinese satellite receiver that was insanely cheap and hooked it up  I got a few English channels but it was not enough. Much to my delight, a byproduct of this was that I stumbled upon some unscrambled Italian "sex chat" channels that got very gynecological at times. It was all free.

In my new apartment there is sadly no such potential for the satellite feed. The local communications monopoly has provided a glass fiber connection and that is it. So I had to subscribe to their service.  I decided to take a premium package at around $75 per month. It included sports channels, movie channels and English speaking channels. Well, the sports channels only have cricket and soccer and the movie channels only show 20 year old movies. There is no viewing guide so one ever knows what they are watching or what comes on next on what channel. Sometimes the same exact shows are repeated several times a day. The only saving grace is that adverts are thankfully rare.

So maybe I am spoiled with American television and my expectations are too high, but I am bummed. In Abu Dhabi, I have a state-of-the-art  glass fiber system delivering stale crap programming to my state-of-the-art digital flat screen television.  One thing I miss about the U.S. is the quality of programming. Here we get the scraps and have to pay a premium for it. I have to give credit though, the picture is absolutely crystal clear. At least that is done right. I get to see shitty programs in a flawless resolution!

The Current Job Market in the U.A.E.

Many of you may be interested in employment opportunities in the Emirates as things may seem quite desperate where you currently live, which is just about everywhere nowadays. The lure of lucrative work in an exotic location, tax free income, mild Winters, palm trees and glamor/glitz can be overwhelming in these dark days.

A decade ago, this all would have been true. Fat expat salaries were made possible by demand exceeding the supply of professionals needed to build this country to what it is today. Westerners came here for a few years and made their retirement nest egg. For a country that just celebrated it's 38th anniversary last month, the transformation from a dusty trade crossroads to the modern nation it is now is nothing less than phenomenal.

But the fact is that the global economic downturn has infected the UAE too. There have been many layoffs in the last year especially in the financial and real estate sectors. Dubai has suffered the most because Abu Dhabi has revenue from its vast petroleum reserves to rely on...

I am not saying things are dire here. They just aren't this good:

And they aren't this bad:

They are somewhere in the middle.

Its a seller's market for jobs here lately so be careful if you are considering a position in Abu Dhabi, Dubai or any other of the Emirates. If you are dealing with a recruiter, be sure to read the fine print especially if you are paying a fee up front. Due Diligence is your friend! There are still some good positions to be found here, but they are scarcer and less lucrative than in the past.

Here is a link to a report from a company called Gulf Talent: Middle East Jobs Report I assume they are one of the recruitment companies in this area but I read the report and found it timely and factual. You have to sign in to get the report and I assure you I have no connection to this firm. If you want the .pdf file, email me and I will get it to you. It is somewhat a dry read but apparently they did their homework and presented an unbiased assessment of the employment situation in the region. It's worth your attention if you are considering the Big Move!