Early morning office conversations
R: Can you believe they are going to raise the prices of fuel AGAIN? And that they’re raising the prices of electricity by 36%?
I: A person who makes 700 JDs these days is like a person making 300 JDs two years ago. Damn it, how are we supposed to live?
K: I think we should all go and try to get a job in America. Or at least get married to an American to get the passport. It’s impossible to stay here. Yeah, America it is.
I: Yeah, we should start applying!
K: That’s what they’re trying to do anyway… to get us to immigrate abroad.
bambam
March 13, 2008 @ 2:08 pm
tho i would suggest anywhere in the world but the US … its not fairing too well on that end either
Iman
March 13, 2008 @ 3:25 pm
interesting…
this is a conversation taking place on the way home from a very late dinner late last night:
I: that was a very good dinner … and all that came out to $230 dollars including tip!
M: Yeah
I: Kinda bad when you think that’s probably someone’s monthly salary in Jordan
m7md
March 13, 2008 @ 3:53 pm
yea, they are gonna leave the richy rich guys stay, with a group of ppl to serve them, the rest of the ppl will leave eventually :P
Bardees
March 13, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
I really can’t believe they are going to do that again,i also read that water bills are next !! omg! have mercy!!
Biesan
March 13, 2008 @ 5:16 pm
Actually it’s not really better here in the US. The other day on the local news they had intws with people who were complaining about the high gas prices and how everyone is trying to find alternative ways to commute. In addition to that even food prices are higher…actually everything. It really is a recession:(
khalid jarrar
March 13, 2008 @ 5:58 pm
yeah believe me, you dont wanna move to the US, they are not doing great at all themselves. and you will suffer from loads of not nice incidents with rednecks, and will most probably face racism, its just not a good idea, i am telling you. move to UAE, that would be a sensible alternative.
Sami
March 13, 2008 @ 6:29 pm
U.S. not a good choice! It started to get ugly here too! … everything is becoming more expensive and salaries are the only thing that doesn’t go up!… Europe should be the destination, the Euro is making some noise now…
Iman
March 13, 2008 @ 6:41 pm
Khalid,
It’s not as bad as you make it seem here in the US… been living here almost all my life and haven’t experienced the type of racism you’re talking about ..
anyway…
Like anywhere else, you have to work hard to earn a living; it’s just that places like the US give you more opportunity to maximize on your potential …
Contrary to what many think, money does NOT grow on trees … honestly. we work long and hard hours to make a living to the point where we really are bunt- out! ! interesting enough, I just read an article last week addressing worker burnout … the U.N international labor organization reports that US employees put in an average of 1,804 hours in 2006! so busy and so burnt-out that they hardly take time off or just skip vacation all together… US employees stockpiled approximately 574 MILLION unused vacation days in 2006!
True, the current economy situation (thanks to Bush!) is not that great and prices are going up ( for example, pita bread - I think 15 come in a bag? - which was $2.50 a few weeks ago is now $4.00 - because wheat prices have gone up)… but you still have the opportunity to grow and make a decent living for yourself and your family…
So even though this conversation may have been a light hearted one, my suggestion would be to look for a job here rather than look for a guy here …because chances are he’s not going to have that much time for “K” and such!
Hareega
March 13, 2008 @ 11:14 pm
Khalid Jarrar, if you’re an Arab living in the US for some time you might encounter someone who’s racist or hear some racials comments every once in a while. Most people also do not think very highly of Arabs in general. However one should focus on some points:
1- People belonging to any minority group say the same
2- These incidents are usually minor, and happen only to very few people. Most Arabs in the US do not face major problems with discrimination on their personal levels.
3- you’ll face discrimination anywhere you go.
4- The law doesn’t discriminate against you. You can sue anyone (or threaten to sue them) for discrimination and you can really win if you face clear discrimination.
5- Inside Jordan itself you might face discrimination.
Alurduni Alhurr
March 14, 2008 @ 2:31 am
Moving to the US is not the answer, we have lots of problem in the US, from high inflation to an increase in unemployment to high crime rate ,inflated housing prices ,cutting off of almost all safety nets such as health care, eduction and medical care for the elderly ,its a mess right now and nobody has any answer to the humongous problems that we are facing.
Since Jordanian government adopted the so called “free” market economy, thing has gone out of control and Iam afraid its going to get ugly ,if the people do not force the government to change course.
Sandra
March 14, 2008 @ 5:51 am
what’s with this silly assumption that america is the destination? what do guys aspire….most of them end up as taxi or car service drivers…
Hani Obaid
March 14, 2008 @ 10:04 am
Look at the bright side, in Egypt they’re protesting because they can’t get bread, bread for crying out loud, not fuel, not electricity, just the most basic food possible.
About discrimination in the US. i agree with Hareega, it’s there but it is minimal in the cities. If you go to small towns and such, it’s not just you they discriminate against, it’s any outsiders! That’s probably a general rule, the smaller the town, the tougher the conditions, and the harsher it’s people’s attitude will be.
Hani Obaid
March 14, 2008 @ 10:06 am
To answer Sandra, in case you didn’t know, someone who washes dishes and makes minimum wage in the US can easily make more than a computer engineer with several degrees in Jordan. As Iman mentioned, there are people who make $300 a month!
G
March 14, 2008 @ 11:32 am
Canada FTW. with the lower US dollar everything here is getting cheaper, and people are not racist. Vancouver is constantly voted the best city to live in, why would anyone go to the US???
Amer
March 14, 2008 @ 6:35 pm
It is not valid to compare the prices an item or the standards of living between the states and Jordan. The same things might be going up in price, like gas, but still, they are extremely different on every level.
The U.S. has federal minimum wage requirements. Your employer cannot, legally, pay you less than your state’s minimum wage. The average minimum wage in a U.S. state is $6.75/hour (although some states have it closer to $8 now). For a regular 40-hour week, that’s $270 a week (already more than some Jordanian teachers’ monthly salaries). That is $1080/month as a legal minimum.
Corporate jobs are usually triple that minimum wage if your company is pretty crappy, or 5 times minimum wage is it’s a good company. I’m a recent college graduate and I make $4200/month in my first job.
BUT expenses here are different too. The big word in the U.S. is credit. We run on credit. Houses are mortgages, big electronics can be swiped on your store cards or credit cards, and cars are auto loans in repayment. That makes the average American have less expenses for one-time purchases (as opposed to a Jordanian cutting a check or paying cash for a car once), and much more in recurring monthly expenses (mortgage or rent, car/boat/motorcycle loans/store cards/credit cards).
So you talk to an American and they’re complaining about their $400 car payment, $300 credit card payment, and $2000 mortgage payment out of their higher salary. You talk to a Jordanian and they’re complaining about water being 30 JDs more out of theit 400 JD salary. Either way, you can’t say I make more than you do because with that, I OWE more than you do.
Standards-wise, I do agree. In the States we believe that a new car every 2 years is normal, having a condo and a house is normal, having 3 big-screen TVs on credit is normal, and purchasing something priced at $5000 for $10/month is normal. In Jordan, half of that is outrageous.
If Americans thought and lived the way Jordanians do, yes, I agree, they would have $3000 left over every month to splurge, but they don’t live the same, so both situations have complaints.
Hala
March 14, 2008 @ 10:01 pm
I am with Iman and Hareega, America it is. I have been here for almost 5 years and I did not face any problems of any kind. On the contrary, people here are nice and polite in general.
Here is the thing, if you get educated then you will definitely be doing great. Even if you are not doing as good as you want to, it still is better than Jordan and UAE and you will not be complaining as much ;)
And seriously Khalid, UAE? Man UAE is overrated!
za3tar
March 16, 2008 @ 3:56 am
hmm … if you insisted to leave, i actually think that the UAE would be a more sensible option. After all, you’ll be in a western-like booming economy (actually arguably even better than many other western economies), but you won’t be far from your home and the Arab culture.
Don Cox
March 16, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
Food prices are going up everywhere this year. This will really hit the poor people in the less developed countries. The hard winter will make this worse.
In a recession or depression, prices tend to go down, because people are earning less, so demand goes down. Traders have to reduce prices to stay in business. Growth is low or negative.
There can also be Stagflation, where growth stops but inflation keeps going.
nasimjo
March 17, 2008 @ 10:04 am
The US will be having a bad economical crisis starting the next couple of years … believe me, Here will gonna be alot better than the US !!!
& say nasim told you so!
hmm ,,, try europe, its alot more expensive than here, but food and basics are ordinary, and life is more human! at least when it comes to working hours!
I finish their weekly working hours in a couple of days here!
nasimjo
March 17, 2008 @ 10:06 am
btw … if u have any US dollars under that balata … sell them :)
Francis
March 18, 2008 @ 3:09 am
So which one of you fine ladies want to marry a liberal American that loves Arab music, culture and above all - Arab food!
-S
PS: If you can cook, I will fly to Jordan and meet your parents and marry you like a good boy.
If you cannot cook, I will still come to Jordan, but you might have to elope with me. hahaha.
Verbal Alchemy
March 18, 2008 @ 2:58 pm
second time i get the anti spam word as ya3!
back to sub, Khalid please la tefti, i was born and raised here (dubai) and even I find its rediculous here, its overmarketed and overrated as hala said. very few segments of this society are living well, and yes, they r either the locals or the foreigners! the majority r struck by inflation, paying 60 sometimes 70% of their salaries on rent/mortgage, and sit in horrible traffic for over 2 hours a day! A DAY ppl!!
the american dream is a dream, the arab dream of dubai, is just a mirage.
omar
March 22, 2008 @ 2:28 am
the wisdom of “K”
I’d immigrate to Turkey, would love to live in Istanbul! woop!