Last week I posted about the Expat Insider survey that revealed Kuwait as the “Worst Country for Expats“. A lot of people agreed with the findings but a lot of people were also up in arms about it. But, I don’t think many people actually took the time to go through the survey and understand how Kuwait ended up at the bottom of the list. So what I’ve done is create a cheat sheet of a sort. I went through the 188 pages of the survey and picked out all the areas were Kuwait performed the worst in and I’ve listed them below. Once you see the breakdown the whole thing starts to make a lot more sense.
Quality of Life
61 Tanzania
62 Brazil
63 Saudi Arabia
64 Egypt
65 Kuwait
66 Mozambique
67 Nigeria
Health & Well-Being
54 Ireland
55 Uganda
56 Kazakhstan
57 Vietnam
58 Kenya
59 India
60 Kuwait
Safety & Security
45 Belgium
46 Mexico
47 Kuwait
48 Thailand
49 Uganda
50 Russia
51 Philippines
Leisure Options
61 Kazakhstan
62 Ireland
63 Norway
64 Qatar
65 Nigeria
66 Saudi Arabia
67 Kuwait
Personal Happiness
61 Sweden
62 Tanzania
63 Norway
64 Egypt
65 Ireland
66 Saudi Arabia
67 Kuwait
Travel & Transport
61 Kenya
62 Saudi Arabia
63 Egypt
64 Kuwait
65 Tanzania
66 Mozambique
67 Nigeria
Ease of Settling In
61 Qatar
62 Sweden
63 Norway
64 Switzerland
65 Denmark
66 Saudi Arabia
67 Kuwait
Feeling Welcome
61 Sweden
62 China
63 Norway
64 Denmark
65 Qatar
66 Kuwait
67 Saudi Arabia
Friendliness
61 Qatar
62 Sweden
63 Norway
64 Switzerland
65 Czech Republic
66 Saudi Arabia
67 Kuwait
Finding Friends
61 Saudi Arabia
62 Qatar
63 Switzerland
64 Sweden
65 Kuwait
66 Norway
67 Denmark
Job & Career
61 Brazil
62 Peru
63 Portugal
64 Kuwait
65 Cyprus
66 Italy
67 Greece
Work-Life Balance
61 Turkey
62 Qatar
63 Italy
64 Saudi Arabia
65 Singapore
66 Japan
67 Kuwait
Cost of Living
52 Australia
53 United Kingdom
54 Brazil
55 Kuwait
56 Singapore
57 Ireland
58 Finland
Availability of Housing (Bottom 10)
1 Sweden
2 Denmark
3 Switzerland
4 Ireland
5 Germany
6 Qatar
7 Luxembourg
8 Mozambique
9 Kuwait
10 Netherlands
Affordability of Housing (Bottom 10)
1 Hong Kong
2 Luxembourg
3 Ireland
4 Mozambique
5 Qatar
6 Nigeria
7 Singapore
8 Kuwait
9 Switzerland
10 United Kingdom
Quality of Environment (Bottom 10)
1 China
2 India
3 Nigeria
4 Egypt
5 Indonesia
6 Hong Kong
7 Mozambique
8 Vietnam
9 Kuwait
10 Peru
Climate and Weather (Bottom 10)
1 Ireland
2 United Kingdom
3 Belgium
4 Netherlands
5 Denmark
6 Luxembourg
7 Kuwait
8 Qatar
9 Sweden
10 Saudi Arabia
Expats In and Out of Love (Least satisfied with relationship)
1 Saudi Arabia
2 Romania
3 Tanzania
4 Kuwait
5 Kazakhstan
6 Singapore
7 Switzerland
8 Finland
9 Qatar
10 China
If you feel like going through the survey yourself, here is the [Link]
148 replies on “Why Kuwait is the “Worst Country for Expats””
Ok some of these categories make sense and others dont. I have lived in at least 4 of the countries (including Kuwait) listed in the best/worst places and honestly it doesnt make sense how some of them were at the bottom in the first place! However, yeh it makes sense why Kuwait would get a really low ranking, but Saudi Arabia anyone? lol
I think there is a lot of domino effect going on, if you can’t make friends then you won’t find leisure things to do and so you’re going to work a lot more. That’s 2 categories that can be effected by 1.
I don’t understand the general negativity surrounding KSA. During my several personal visits and on hearing from several friends and family there, they are content, happy and enjoy quite a lot.
The place is huge, meaning there’s a lot to do outdoors as well. All we have is Mutla Ridge?
Plus the few Saudis I’ve encountered and had business with are kind, humble and very helpful.
Thats true we do lack the outdoor leisure options unlike Saudi, but you can mostly enjoy KSA when you are married, not single. And from my personal experience, the country is pretty limiting when it comes to normal living. For example, try to walk on the streets in long shorts and watch out for the looks you are going to get. Yes I have met plenty of Saudis in my life time and I cannot say anything bad about the majority of them, but when I am judging KSA, its because of how the life style doesnt agree with the norm outside of the kingdom not because of the people.
Yeh thats true, but you have to admit that most of the results depend on the subjective opinion of the expat, which is a bit challenging when you are trying to produce an international metric system like this one. However, Kuwait does have a big problem when it comes to treating expats and the variety of leisure options (compared to other countries with a similar wealth and potential).
Its pretty sad to be honest, but it only means that there is room for improvement in my opinion.
Kuwait’s leisure options are amazing. I’m from south carolina: we haven’t even a fraction of what they have here and the town closes down after sunset. I can’t even go to a restaurant after 8.
Kuwait has more than the vast majority of American towns and cities. the only difference between Kuwait and most places in America is the presence of bars & nightclubs and there are plenty of house parties in kuwait to make up for that.
pray tell how are you going to find those house parties if you’re not in a group already. americans have a built in support structure, hell even kuwaitis will atleast hangout with you. most people from other nationalities don’t and are treated with disdain.
honestly if i didn’t have american friends i’d probably die of boredom in kuwait
I’ve been living in this country for more than 20+ years (with our family not to mention my dad has been her for 40+ years) and we don’t even travel much (except my dad who travels a lot due to work purposes.) I leave Kuwait like once every 2 to 3 years for only a couple of weeks or a month max. I’m 24 years old now and I think I’ve spent more time in Kuwait than average Kuwaiti of my age lol.
The thing is I think of this country as my home but the country doesn’t treat me like it’s my home 🙂
kinda depresses me if I think about it tbh.
Good on you for doing this. Many officials came out in denial mode rejecting Kuwait’s rank on the survey. Sadly, denial will not improve the state of things. Expats are easy targets by government policies and have no voice. The attitude is if you don’t like it get out…!
Using the word expat is enough to segregate outsiders from locals. I don’t hear that word much in other countries. Law applies to everybody, not a subset of the country. Remember people are payed wages, its not like expats are stealing money from the country. Its payed with time, sweat and effort. Its called wages. It has no nationality.
@Ahmad first of all let me start of by saying that I love this country to the point where I call it my home. I was not born here but I would die for this country. My wife is Kuwaiti as are my inlaws. And I would not leave Kuwait were they to tell me to. That said, I feel that we need to look at things with honest and clear eyes. I am a foreigner in this country. That I have been subjected to much discrimination is true. Not as much as I have been in the USA but still that discrimination is a big part of the Kuwaiti culture is true. As foreigners we cannot visit the government hospitals except in the afternoon unless there is an emergency and then only Sunday to Wednesday. Forget about the fact that we pay to be seen. There is also the point that we aren’t even considered as human at times. I am not saying that ALL Kuwaitis are like that but enough are to cause the foreign population to hate Kuwaitis. Don’t me wrong I agree that if any foreigner doesn’t like it here he should go elsewhere, but what will happen if they ALL leave. Will the Kuwaitis clean the streets? Will they take care of their own children?
In weather and climate they are totally wrong. Kuwait deserves to be in the absolute last spot. Saudi has many varied climates and geographies.
But where do expats live? Nobody is living up in the mountain in the middle of nowhere. I had a friend who moved to kuwait from Jeddah and he fell in love with the weather here.
Oh jeddah and it shitty hot summer… literally hell on earth.
Fun fact, pre-Islamic pagan arabs thought that the goddess’s of Arabia fled the Tihamah region during summer and spent time in mountainous Tayf instead. If the gods couldn’t handle it I can’t see how humans can.
You heretic idolatrous heathen bastard!
Thanks for the lovely info though.
As much as I hate the heat… I think it’s better than having hurricanes, getting snowstorms, torrential downpours/monsoons, and other bad weather… So I wouldn’t put it that low, I even think it should be a bit higher on the list.
I wasn’t expecting safety to be such a low ranking.
I guess it’s because women don’t feel safe in Kuwait and not because of burglaries or murders etc..
Could also be the fact that Kuwait is very geographically unsafe. ISIS is way too close for comfort. Also being sandwiched between Saudi and Iran (who are already in a proxy war).
What do you mean by women don’t feel safe in Kuwait?
What are the criteria relied upon to say such words? Not because i’m Kuwaiti but i can tell you that i find Kuwait much safer than most of the countries i have visited including Europe. At least, any one can walk in late hours of the dawn without the possibality of being assaulted by a drunk.
hmmm – I think the difference might be because you are a Kuwaiti. As an expat, involved in SEVERAL expat communities in my time in Kuwait, I can tell you, South, South east asian, and East Asian women do NOT feel safe on the streets in Kuwait. And I’ve lived in both Europe and North America for years – I can safely say I have no idea what you’re talking when you say those countries aren’t as safe as Kuwait.
I have no idea too what you are talking when you say ONLY asian expats face this problem of unsafty. The only explanation for your words that this problem emerged from expats and as a resault Kuwait has nothing to do with this.
Asian expat women are more prone to being harassed or assaulted because, well, they are asian.
Western women also don’t feel very comfortable walking alone due to the fact that some Arabs believe that western woman=slut.
Hell, some even think any woman not wearing a hijab is asking to get hit on.
Assaulting a Kuwaiti woman would mean maximum punishment by the law if caught and the potential to get murdered by her brothers/cousins.
You have no idea what you’re talking about or are faking ignorance. Take a trip down Gulf Road and if you’re a lone woman driving a car, chances are you’ll be accosted by ‘horny’ locals. They have no respect for women of any nationality and even worse for expats especially Asians. The lack of respect for women and the look at them as meat is just surprising and I blame the upbringing as I do not see this as much in neighboring countries like Bahrain, Oman and UAE
Stop lying! If you have personal experiences of some women then don’t generalize it to all Kuwaitis!
Quiet true James we had a graphics artist years ago that came from Canada she was very talented but guess what ?
She couldn’t stand living here. On her third week she came in and resigned and the reason was she got fed up being followed around every time she gets in and out and she didn’t want to wait until something bad happened to her.
That safety rating makes me not take this survey seriously
Have you tried walking in Salmiya alone after 8-9 PM? Can get mugged pretty easily.
I have gotten mugged 4-5 times during my school days in 2011-2012.
So no Kuwait isn’t safe one bit if you don’t have a car whether you are a man or a woman.
That is exaggerating things like crazy. maybe you look extra inviting to muggers to have been mugged 4-5 times in 1 year. Kuwait is far far safer for both men and women than a whole lot of places in south asia, africa and even a place like brazil where once can get mugged in a touristy place
Okay I must have not worded it correctly, it wasn’t just that one year but during my school days walking in Salmiya was scary just for the fact that some random Arab kid would break open a glass bottle in front of me and ask me to empty my wallet and take away my MP3 player as well.
Its not just in terms of safety, its the vibe that the country gives you as well in general and Kuwait doesn’t give the vibe that it is safe, language barriers being one of those reasons.
You see maids and other women getting raped because they don’t know the language and can’t distinguish between real cops and the fake ones. Even if the cops are real, you can’t question them and ask them for ID.
I think the 4-5 times is an exageration, but they still don’t realise how easy its to get mugged, anywhere in salmiya, I was back in Marina after 4 year and boy did it feel unsafe
yeah but come on – fights in the street, fights in the mall, fights at the airport, peopel getting robbed. The number of sexual assaults that feature in statistics and those that never make it to those statistics? the number of Indians and Filipinos killed per year in Kuwait? (in Johann Hari’s article, over 900 Indians die in Dubai a year.. how much more in Kuwait)Isis? We’re not fucking safe! We aren’t huge enough a population to think that this is all happening in Jleeb somewhere.
Yeah u just proved ur point isn’t worth shit
Dude I’ve lived in Kuwait for like 15 years now and I’ve never been close to getting robbed.
Lucky you and good for you.
If anything, this makes less sense now.
Quality of life Kuwait less than Egypt?
Safety amd Security Kuwait follows Mexico?
Leisure options, KSA and Nigeria?? Really?
Ease of settling in, Denmark at 64?
Cost of living UK cheaper than Kuwait?
This survey is effed up I tell you.
I took the damn survey. I’m a member of Internations and I received an email on afternoon on my way home from work. I sure as hell was honest in my responses.
I think Mark just needs to get some traffic or something, the survey is totally bullshit.
Speaking of the survey, Im glad our weather is up there with Luxembourg.
Also, at least expats sleep with each other better than Romania! Be thankful.
I didn’t hold the survey!
For me, the skepticism comes from there being lack of clarity of the sample size and sample source. Were these people asked, actually residents of Dubai?
You looking at the data actually reinforces this belief that actual residents of Kuwait weren’t asked. Saudi has more leisure opportunities than Kuwait? Really? They don’t even have movie theaters! Sounds like Dubai residents who hate travelling to Kuwait, supported by expats living in compounds in Jeddah pumping up numbers. Not the reality on the ground in Kuwait, nor KSA, where the majority haven’t been represented.
And to clarify my bias, I believe Kuwait does rank low. I just think that if you want to specify an exact ranking, the numbers probably aren’t supported and it is likely a few places higher.
To be honest its not about how good life here for expat is. But how he feels like living here. And yes its feel you are unwelcome. Just read the news and see how many times you will hear expat this and expat that.
tell you why its faring so low, this morning my car could not get passed coz i got a small family doodle sticker (father, mother with two kids) on the rear window.
The officer tells me to remove the sticker and come back. Just boggles my mind as to how on earth is that a valid excuse to not pass the vehicle inspection.
This kind of harassment is what leads to dissatisfaction and general ill feeling, because of a few egoistical individuals.
Should’ve asked him how pick-ups with blackened out glass all around or with giant stickers of Kuwait flags or pictures of leaders of the middle east roam around easily…
Kuwait is the worst country for your delusions about living in an oil rich Arab country.
What he said ^
Hahahahaha this is such a good way to put it
Health & Well-Being
…..
58 Kenya
59 India
60 Kuwait
Two words.
My. Ass.
This is fucked up and rigged. No way in hell does this thing relate to the truth.
I am in the middle, Nasser.
A couple of days, I had to go to Salmiya Clinic as I was not feeling well. After I told her my condition, she took my temperature and told me to go to the pharmacy. in 2 minutes, she filed that I have a respiratory disease and needed 2 days rest……I spoke with her and told her about my condition and got a “nod” reply…
The survey was given to expats…… I am an expat and ’tis how I was treated.
If you are in my shoes, what score would you give in this survey?
In Kerala, India healthcare is INCREDIBLE and cheap. There are literal doctor’s houses on the streets with signs saying ‘People who cannot pay will get free consultations’ ie REAL free health care.
Your limited view on the world outside Kuwait does not mean that is reality. Kuwait health care is shitty and racist.
You seem to be high on something..its the first time anyone has come up with this ridiculous claim.. you need to get real
sure. great response. Thankfully, facts don’t change because you have nothing to say about them. South India, like Thailand, has become a medical tourism hub. Don’t let your lack of education hold you back tho.
i got harassed multiple times in kuwaiti hospitals by staff who don’t give a fuck. one dude even tore up my clinic recommendation papers in sabah hospital. you need to get real you wanker, shitty discrimination is alive and well in kuwait
In my perspective as a Kuwaiti, I do believe that the health care is shitty to everybody even the Kuwaitis. I do however apologize for any inconvenience or bad experiences that is faced by any person who needed help or a service from this old fashioned crooked system. I would like to know, what do u think the system should be like?
I disagree majorly with Kuwait ranking that low in the Work-Life balance parameter. Pace of work is much more relaxed in Middle east, where one doesnt have to put in long working hours to meet aggressive deadlines and work load , that is usually the case in places like US, Singapore/ HK, and even India.
Pace of work is relaxed in Kuwait? Really? My assumptions is that you have never worked in a bank in Kuwait……..
Agreed or in a consulting firm for that matter.
But Kuwait and the Middle East in general are comparatively more relaxed as opposed to working in India or the United States
pace of work is much more relax? your working where? here in Kuwait,you will come on time,work on time..and this Kuwaitis will just come to take some tea,work a little and go home..and all the work load will be unto you..and afterwards if there is mistake,they(kuwaity)will blame you about the shit..sometime they will just come for time in and go somewhere and come back to time out..its the reality..i mean..i don’t know in your work hows Kuwaitis is doing..
yeah well I remember when friends I knew (and no longer have thank God) could go into work, punch in, go home and get paid while the REAL work was done by an asian. so OF COURSE people might think work in Kuwait relaxed. Heck we aren;t even considering the labourers who work their asses off in terrible conditions and only recently got told they didnt have to work in blistering heat in the summer. Relaxed? You are still thinking of Kuwaitis – not expats.
Pace of work is relaxed in Kuwait? Really? My assumptions is that you have never worked in a bank in Kuwait……..
are you comparing working in bank in Kuwait with working in a bank in London or New York? and still think the pace of work is comparable? do you know about how stressful work is overall in the geographies i mentioned above?
Is it still stressful compared to a government, thus why I left the bank 🙂
Government job*
Please define “stressful”.. I’m genuinely curious. And then kindly describe your government job for us
I ask because I remembered a bright young bank employee with a promising future who told me he quit to work in Ministry of Finance because “work hours are easy, I can go on long breakfast/coffee breaks with my friends etc.”
Please don’t be that guy
Yes working in a bank in kuwait is tougher than a government job, which isn’t really a job. You just get paid to go put ur thumb on that thingy and kill time till you have to do it again.
Meanwhile there are expats working in the government (your department included) who are actually getting the work done (very badly, because they are unqualified and underpaid). So you see how the expat experience can be very different to yours (even in your own office.) Yah those expats in your office don’t like you, because they are doing your duties for peanuts. And remember when you pay peanuts you get monkeys. SO ENJOY.
haters gonna hate ….
This is a bit exaggerated, Mexico was rated better in security than Kuwait! seriously?
That’s pretty much the same issue we suffer from as locals so why does it specify expats only. All categories easily apply on almost everyone. Everyone knows things in Kuwait weren’t doin great for the past years so obviously the results are logical. Personally I feel results are accuate but find it astonishing to see that some countries are way better than Kuwait although poor. Ppl should realize money isn’t what makes a country we need to chill a lil bit this negativity is affecting everything.
I really do agree, and want to add that we should free ourselves from being trapped in our victimhood, because we’re going nowhere if we still going to stick in our prattle. If any mankind want to do something about something he/she should start from now with a logic sense.
Petty Issue:
https://248am.com/mark/automotive/expats-cant-pick-truks/
The survey is skewed. I would stick to rankings from The Economist magazine and other reputable publications than junk as this.
so any idea on what’s their sample space for kuwait? And their survey settings?
Bullshit… bullshit… bullshit
Kuwait is better than most countries
In ‘some’ aspects yes but most no. I spent 40+ years. I’ve seen the change in the people, the country and the pace of development. Everything changed from 2009.
Cost of living was an advantage but as of yesterday, it’s cheaper living in the UAE- the prices of commodities have shot up like mad. Education is as expensive, rents are insane, no quality public transport, infra is crumbling, expats are being persecuted in the name of ‘checks’ – it’s become a revenue practice to hand out Arabic tickets (never know what theyve written) at checkpoints for scratches and even impound cars to return them after weeks.
On the contrary, cost of living in Kuwait is still cheaper than most GCC states.
The survey is completely out of touch with reality.
Perhaps if you go shopping to the ‘close to expiry’ goods market in Shuwaikh.
You’ve got Lulu in Kuwait and Uae and prices are better there. Rents in Kuwait are insanely high. So in what aspect is Kuwait cheaper?
LOL!
I don’t think much expats of kuwait participated in this survey. Kuwait is decent place to “eat pray love”.
Though seriously sometimes one gets frustrated from “this and that” but thats part of the deal, comparing each and every country in each and every aspect is impossible.
I satisfied with quality of food, medicines and basic infrastructure here. I been to many so called developed countries and found unethical prices for transport, food etc.
When it comes to mutual respect, safety and friendliness, i believe its more rooted in once’s own perspective and personal quality to give first, rather than expect it first.
Love Kuwait
What’s the sample size? Who’s the sample? What are the demographics? What are their salaries? And a ton of other things you’ll need before you can start making sense of this information.
I am just guessing here (because I don’t have the answers to the questions above) but I’ll say this is a biased survey.
+1!
Yes three years of continued bias and by different sample groups – I hope you get I’m being sarcastic
Well, you could have a hundred years of the same biased survey and still end up with bias. In other words, repetition of the same study doesn’t mean it’s a valid study, unless it’s designed properly. Any research study needs proper methodology otherwise you can’t trust your data.
I am not saying this to say that Kuwait is treated unfairly here (or not). I am saying you need to know the properties of the study before jumping to ANY conclusions.
classic kuwaiti denial, treat expat workers like shit and then when international studies reflect the same “no we’re so friendly, come and see” and “these studies are due to politics and are biased” lol
Exactly. We are bombarded with “statistics” everyday and people take them as facts when in infact even the best designed studies can contain a lot of bias, let alone pseudoscientific studies with unknown methodology.
I think John Oliver did a great piece on the same subject.
Although I do find some of the statistics a little weird in the report. They do actually provide the information you mentioned. Here’s a paragraph from page 4 of the report:
The Expat Insider 2016 survey was conducted by InterNations,
with conceptual feedback provided by the independent
market research company komma GmbH. The online survey
ran from 18 February through 13 March 2016 and was
promoted through the InterNations website, newsletter,
and social media profiles — reaching out both to members
of our network and expats in general. A total of 14,272
expatriates took part, representing 174 nationalities and
living in 191 different countries or overseas territories.
Answers to the rest of your questions are provided in the following pages, more specifically Page 6 & 7.
Hope this helps 🙂
Might I add, the only point of contention I might have with this survey is the means it was carried out in (online survey which was promoted through the InterNations website, newsletter,
and social media profiles).
There is so much corruption in the country that they dont value the expat working condition. Just to remind you guys when the government placed a rule for the expats who had their residency expired or something like that and in which they pulled out from each expat 2KD/day. Did you guys see the number of expats which rushed to the government sectors. Did you guys see the treatment which the government authorities gave us. In top of that, infrastructure and construction sites have more weight on the condition of the expats as they government sectors are not paying the contractors, in result the daily labor is not geting paid which in turns to a rebellion to the country. How is it then that the country will pay the contractor to expand the airport. I was born and live more than 20 years in Kuwait and still the mentality is the same, but there is an improvement in the sense that people there are getting fatter because of the number of franchized restaurants that have opened that past 5 years is outrageous. In addition, I would put Kuwait as number 1 in having the best data deals in world. This is to improve how much the country do care about making them lazy and stay at home.
TBH what I think let’s them do that is that they know the gov and people here won’t do shit about the fact that they wrote complete crap, say if they said Dubai or Qatar was worst then you’d have foreign ministers on their ass.
+1
it’s complete rubbish
Just to say that the country really didnt improve the standard of living of the expat for more than 10 years. The treatment and work environment does have a major role in impacting the lifestyle on a day to day basis. In addition, the rude behavior on females does also have into effect the standard of lifestyle for the expat and the local. Many harrassement are performed on to local and expat girls which results to conflict. In any case, people should carefully read the report and base their opnion on what the report generally says.
I read your two posts it seriously gave me a headache..
THATS GOOD, IT MEANS YOU HAVE SOMETHING INSIDE UR HEAD…….
seriously man! do you use google translate? you don’t make much sense lol
oh get over yourselves people. This sort of intolerance is petty. You can read and understand, unless you yourselves are completely uneducated.
How is the weather in UK worse than Kuwait? 😮
I think this is a personal judgement like a personal taste, Because I met people who like living in hot countries rather than the cooler conditions and vise versa. it is simply like some people prefer sugar over salt and vise versa.
I’ve been living in Kuwait for five years now even though I’m in no position to endorse or reject the outcome of this survey but as a single manager working here I can relate to some of the categories
– I could not make any new friends here so I end up traveling a lot to catch up with mine who live abroad.
– Finding decent accommodation is a nightmare, forget about the jacked up rents of below average apartments offering no services or proper maintenance, the fact that you have to suffer searching for weeks just to find someone who accepts to rent you an apartment is by itself a stressful experience.
– Leisure options, enough said.
Otherwise i have not experienced – or had mixed experiences – with the other categories mentioned.
The survey is absolutely rubbish.
Hmmm, 61 Comments in and still no one has blamed the “Supposed Ungrateful” Expats for the results of this Survey.
there are 2 kuwaits for expats:
Youre either hooked up, been here forever or grew up here, have many amazing kuwaiti and expat friends, wasta, ease in moving around,lots of money and maids,great pad, driver or mandoob who does all your crap,booze, parties etc, OR youre some miserable expat new to the country, overworked, unsure of what to do, disgusted by the weather and lack of bars and other social places where you might meet fellow expats,underpaid, shocked by the high rents and unappealing apt buildings,amazed that kuwait has the shittiest airport in the world, weirded out by all the kuwaitis and other expats who all get along and have excluded you, and in general cant stand your life here and dream of moving to Dubai or Qatar as soon as humanly possible. THOSE are the expats who they probably interviewed for the survey and you cant blame them for their answers and negativity. Kuwait is an incredibly unfriendly place for newcomers especially with the recent increased xenophobia and resentment towards expats. As for those of us who grew up here and know all the tricks and are comfortably numb – cheers!
Not all who grow up here and know the tricks of the trade love the country and are ‘comfortably numb’. I was born and raised here and I still dream of the day that I can leave and never look back. No amount of friends, money or wasta can ever amount to a normal lifestyle back home or any other country in the world.
why dream? why not just leave? are you banned from leaving? dont have a passport? I dont get it
Family. And you don’t have to be a dick about it.
@Xtina I grew up in the USA and we have Americans love to tell foreigners that if they don’t like it there that they should leave. When my sister studied in the UK the Brits would say the same thing. Any country that you go to you will hear the same. The truth is that its money that keeps most foreigners here in Kuwait. In my country we have a saying, “Por la plata baila el mono” in other words ” The monkey dances for the money”. If you make better money here than other places you will stay. If you can find a better life somewhere else you will leave. Maybe you will even take your family with you. That’s what we did when ww left the USA.
don’t have enough money to leave, am saving up bit by bit and applying to unis outside. don’t worry, you can keep this place clean of the foreign filth 🙂
uuuuuh wow. Although I get what you are saying, I have to say you are completely wrong. way to reduce a massive chunk of your country (expats) into TWO categories. It’s far more complicated than that – it’s about race and culture and social status, at LEAST as complicated as the weird racism that you find WITHIN kuwaiti culture. What i mean is Kuwaitis being racist against Kuwaitis.
I am in neither category you’ve suggested. I was born and raised, am familiar with the culture and with Kuwaitis, have friends but still experienced all of the negative aspects of being an expat in Kuwaiti culture. I was never comfortably numb though I agree, a few of my friends were.
What I’m saying is, you can have lived in Kuwait from day 1 and still experience the things that make this survey true.
Aren’t you the lame guy who couldn’t find friends in a previous post?
kuwaiti friends. well done, you’ve managed to track me from point A to point B. Here’s a cookie for you.
In other news, government to launch separate hospitals for expatriates.
we talked about that like a month ago?
I kinda hope they do. Maybe we can even go in the mornings instead of only in the evenings. If that’s the case as a Foreigner I am all for it.
Let me keep it short (i’ll try),
Whenever these surveys and reports are made, many if not all, do not consider the lower and below middle classes of the country (wages-wise i mean).
For instance, many people from Philippines, Egypt, Bangladesh, Sri lanka and India who do not earn as much, and who are from not fully developed regions back in their country, do find this place beautiful and full of opportunity.
Many bring up the fact that what if, one day all the expats leave then who will do the hard labour and the works which gets your hand dirty. All i have to say regarding that is, there is always some one to fill in, Always!
With times getting tough, there is always some one ready to work for less wages and longer hours as long he can manage to save up/feed his family.
Now back to what i was saying.
A simple thing that works me up every single time i drive, is when i see people standing in the heat waiting for a bus.
Now bus tickets don’t come cheap, ranging from 200-250fils per direction if i am not mistaken, that works up to an average of 15kd or more per month per person. Taxis cost 1kd or more per direction. The point i am trying to make is that many still earn 150kd – 250kd salary a month and are expected to survive here after paying rent and for their food. But people manage and survive (Sacrificing, compromising, struggling). I have also seen how many live here. From families sharing flats, to people trying to fit in one room. I’ve heard of a room with ten plus men in it! (And no .. they live like that .. it wasn’t a one night thing or something 😛 )
Anyways, so this and many other facts from the education to the the health system, are things worth mentioning as well.
To wrap it up, as long as you are above average and in the higher classes of society here, then it is an amazing place to be. Lots to do, if you have the dough and means for it. Amazing places to visit on holidays, if not within the country, then near-by. Availability of the latest technology and gadgets, to make your life easier.
But it is not for all. Not for the below average and lower working classes.
And these are the ones who are complaining, they are the ones hoping that it would make a difference, but it won’t, simply for the fact that, there is always that someone ready to fill in, if they leave.
absolutely
well said
Did anyone look at the overall rankings? it’s illogical. Uganda is one of the poorest countries on earth, Stitzerland is utopia by comparison. Brazil and Greece are western expat utopia compared to Saudi Arabia. Not to mention the notion that Kuwait health and wellbeing is worse than Kenya and Uganda.
What is the sample size? How was the survey conducred? Perhaps if it was 2010 I would believe the results, but in recent years Kuwait has markedly progressed in terms of events & activities. There are now many leisure options. Every day, it seems dozens of cultural events take place. They are cross-sectional. They are abundant.
In terms of activities & events, Kuwait is almost outpacing Dubai. You got open-markets, go-kart racing, art galleries, music festivals, freestyle dance battles, hipster yoga festivals, gaming conventions, entrepreneur workshops, tech collaborations, and the list goes on and on.
Kuwait is not even close to outpacing Dubai in events and activities come on be a bit realistic here. There are more activities and events taking place on a single weekend in Dubai then there are ones taking place in kuwait the whole month. Plus as I mentioned earlier there is probably a domino effect, if people can’t make friends they aren’t going to go to events or take part in activities.
And another thing, do you know how difficult it is for people to find out about what’s going on in Kuwait? I have such a struggle every week trying to dig up events and I have people emailing me and my own sources so imagine people with neither of those, the people being surveyed probably aren’t even aware of the stuff taking place.
My point is, there has been a noticeably significant increase in the number of events and activities in Kuwait since 2013. If you have an internet connection, it’s easy to find out about them, even Kuwait Up 2 Date posts about them. I think people just don’t bother, like they see the advertisement in Facebook and they just don’t care. Kuwait Up 2 Date has a rather large following and I notice that the event/activity posts are ignored by most people.
“noticeably significant increase” doesn’t mean “close to outpacing Dubai”. The amount of events and activities that take place there are insane compared to Kuwait. You can’t even compare.
As someone who collects and lists events for a living I wouldn’t say there has been a significant increase since 2013, maybe a slight one but that is to be expected year by year with a growing population. The only difference is more people are now aware of events because of lists like my “Things to do this weekend” list. Before that information was scattered all over the place.
Now again, I’m the last one to complain that there isn’t anything to do in Kuwait cuz I know there is. I’m just highlighting the fact you can’t compare Kuwait to Dubai who are ions ahead, and that there could be multiple of reasons to why people who took the survey said there is nothing to do in kuwait.
Dubai and “making friends” aside, it’s not rocket science. Leisure activities can be googled. If you search for [insert activity], you will find it. Events are harder to find, but an internet connection can do wonders. They’re not collecting all the events and listing them in one place. You are. This blog is popular.
On the “making friends” domino effect, surely it can’t be that hard to make friends. Most of them work at military bases and teachers at privates schools alongside compatriots and similar nationalities.
I’m curious about the sample size, demographics and how the survey was conducted (could be prone to rigging).
I’d like to contrast this with Manhattan, USA. If a free or cheap event and has been posted online, you can expect that it will be flooded to the gills. Any event. It is amazing.
The alternative is to issue tickets for high prices to limit the audience size. The events even still inevitably sell out because people love the social capital of gaining access to an expensive event. The downside is that doing this no longer makes events accessible to the general public(or the low-income public).
Contrast that to Kuwait. I have attended a events in auditoriums that have been filled way under capacity. It is amazing for how few events come up in Kuwait and the number of overall people populating here.
This is to say: there is hardly anything to do in Kuwait. It is like living in a country with the same rules as living with my mother and father as a child. I feel grounded.
Did you know according to the Kuwait govt if you add together every single European, North American, South American and Australian living in Kuwait they are less than 1% of Kuwait’s population? Look it up yourself:
https://stat.paci.gov.kw/englishreports/
There’s a huge difference between the European who misses alcohol and the 10 guys living in a single apartment who work 7 days a week
“Expats.” What global demograph are they talking about? Man, Kuwait has about 8 different levels of “Expats.” I hate the word nowadays.
20 years ago an Expat was a westerner who lived/worked/holidayed outside of their own country.
Here in Kuwait it only means Filipino or South Asian who, without question, see a different Kuwait than their western counterparts I’m sure. Hey don’t get me wrong, sometimes we share the suck, sometimes they have it good, sometimes we have it good and the same with the bad. There are prices for the westerners and there are prices for the easterners.
So how did they do this report? What Expat did they use?
I am a local and i endorse this survey ! Its logical and makes sense even heard it a lot from my colleagues both local and expat, heck it even shows statistics wise, the country literally becomes empty during summer, and no im pretty sure it isnt because of the weather, keep in mind there are other countries like us even if they are first world countries such as Denmark and so on. Nothing much you could do about it just live with it.
U maybe a local but not a particularly smart one, might I add. I don’t really care who says it heck the General secretary of the U.N could say that but if the statistics are crap then the info is still pretty much crap. When we are told that work life balance is worse here than in japan where suicides (even in high paid jobs) is extremely common then yeah… no, almost Bottom on quality of environment, you mean Kuwait is lower than countries where you cant swim in water due to how toxic it is? last time I went swimming in the sea I came out fine… not to mention all the seafood we eat that are from Kuwaiti waters. lets not even talk about the health and safety surveys cause it just makes me cringe. Also in the winter the U.K goes quiet, cause people who can afford to go to places like Spain go there, does that mean the U.K is crap? I think not. Here lots of people can afford to travel, I’m sure it would be the same case if as high a percentage of people in the U.K can afford to travel abroad as Kuwaitis here. lets not forget the majority here are expats who actually want to see their families. lastly if you don’t like something then work to change it, black people were slaughtered publically and sold as slaves now although they are still at threat in the U.S they things got better, so if you just “live with it” then your clearly part of the problem because u don’t bother trying to change it.
again – work life balance FOR EXPATS!!! how many fucking expats do you think there are in Japan compared to here? Do you think they’re working at jobs that make them want to commit suicide?
Based on friends who live and work in Japan they hate it there. They find it very racist and one of them even ended up leaving.
I’ve been there on vacation and loved it but I do hear it’s totally different to live there.
Out of curiosity how do you get a job in japan lol
You really have to research a place well before deciding to live there, I’m hoping to do uni there and already I’ve been told that the teachers are gonna be strict as fuck on me.
Unlike here in Japan they don’t give a shit where ur from and more likely they’d make ur life shittier for being a foreigner. Secondly like I said even HIGH PAID JOBS like office work and managerial work. You clearly don’t know anything bout Japan and u didn’t read my comment either and decided to just dump a comment and leave.. well done.
Actually from my two friends who lived and worked in Japan they very much do care where you are from and most likely if you’re not Japanese u won’t get hired. If you’re black good luck with that I think they have it the worst in Japan.
What I meant was like workload, U know how here Kuwaitis generally sit on their asses while the expats do the work. From what I understand it doesn’t happen there in Japan.
Japan is definitely a racist country but besides the aspects of marriage, renting apartments and finding jobs the overall attitude of the Japanese is that they’re polite and not confrontational even if they don’t like you. In Kuwait if you’re a poor Asian or Arab you can hardly get any respect, not just from the government agencies including the police but even normal citizens as if they’ve been brainwashed into thinking you’re the enemy.
Japan is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever been to, loved every minute I was there.
I do agree, If anyone is okay living with it they will live with it, and I also believe that if someone can’t live with it he/she has the choice to do something about it.
Discard the ‘if u dont like it here gtfo’ and ‘i am something others are nothing’ attitudes. Then, everythings gonna be alright.
Brilliant, let’s play the blame game, as we always do, when we don’t want to embarrass this great nation on the international arena. I’ve read several comments regarding this ranking from numerous websites claiming the survey is “rigged”, “inaccurate”, or the sample size was “insufficient”.
There’s no issue with questioning the methodology, but one must also consider the fact that actual expats are filling out the survey, and not angry trolls who get paid to hate. But for argument’s sake, lets say there’s an issue with the methodology. If you go through the Internations website, the methodology had placed rules on sample sizing, which would not include a country with less than 50 participants. Furthermore, demographics were taken into account, and the survey showed that 81% of survey participants were university educated, and 3% with no education whatsoever. Let’s be honest, the people who have it worst in this country are the blue collar workers and domestic helpers, so we could accept the fact they didnt have much input to this survey.
So at the end of the day, even if we assumed that 50 educated expats in Kuwait took the survey, it is reflective of their experiences of working here. Funnily enough, here are the latest headlines for Kuwait in the news:
– “Kuwaiti MPs call for increased service fees for expats”
– “Kuwait expats could be hit with health insurance fees”
– “‘Corrupt expats’ in Kuwait blamed for municipality woes”
– “New law in Kuwait bans expats from returning within two years of exit”
These headlines were literally the front page for Kuwait, and not under an ‘expat section’. So these survey participants are basing their answers one something concrete. You could go on and on about the methodology of the survey, but you’re not getting anywhere by playing the blame game. Choose productivity over victimhood. Instead of ‘why are we so low’, think of ‘how can we improve’.
I want to acknowledge one thing. We’re in a country where we can atleast ‘have’ this discussion and kudos to them for that. Try this in the UAE and you’ll be behind bars for defamation. So plusses and minuses. Just that right now the minuses are overlaying the pluses by a huge margin and leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouths.
clearly you haven’t seen the ministry memos about having social websites online. stuff is gonna start getting banned and people jailed if the trend in kuwait continues
Firstly, freedom of expression is an indicator, but wouldnt reflect all the indicators shown in this survey. Therefore, your argument is only one of many factors that come to produce the results above.
Secondly, in regards to the UAE, their recently appointed Ministry of Happiness wishes to tackle several of the indicators mentioned in this survey, both for expats and local citizen. Therefore, the UAE outranks Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi for at least beginning to realize this is an issue.
Finally, plus and minus indeed. The issue hasnt magically appeared last week. It has been an ongoing trend with this survey. Kuwait’s ranking has been declining since last year (according to the survey), and the issue of dissatisfaction amongst the expat community has been prevalent for more than a decade. So people have been having a bad taste in their mouths for quite a while now, only takes a comparative survey to show them how bad the taste is.
Ministry of happiness sounds like something from the book 1984 XDD
Most of things mentioned abt Kuwait and certain countries, I simply don’t agree. Kuwait is not a bad place to live but it can be worst too. I’m Kuwaiti I seen changes. I don’t want to offended my Kuwaiti brothers but expats has made Kuwait messy place to live.
However, we need to review and re-survey again.
I don’t think you should ‘re-survey’ People were kind in their last set of feedback. They may get annoyed and give out a worse rating!
The funny thing is that expats still keep coming to kuwait for work and many of them complain but they still keep living here. If someone does not like a place why not leave and find another country they are happy in. The truth of the matter is that even though kuwait is one of the worse places for expacts in tolls, there is still something special here that make them stick around. Now i am not saying its great here its just an observation i wanted to mention.
Absolutely nothing special to hang around for other than the ability to make more money than the home country while occasionally being treated like crap through discriminatory rules. It took us many years to get the f out, but we did and it actually feels fantastic being free. We never felt ‘ free ” in free Kuwait – carrying civild id and being questioned randomly . It is probably the most awful place we lived in our 20 years as expats. I guess Saudi is a bit worse but we would never go there even at double the package.
Sorry but why did you spend 20 years of your life if Kuwait is as bad as you claim it to be, oh sorry i forgot cause its really bad you and your family stayed 20 years.
And the rest of the people that complain about Kuwait and making it look as if its the worst place on earth please tell me why you are not living in your home country but instead you are living in what you claim to be the worst country when it comes to living expenses to hospitals which charges you 1kd and you get meds for free which in other countries would not be possible to get all of that for one KD and please stop saying they treat expats badly i work with foreigners and were good friends at work and outside and yes i do agree the low paid workers are not being paid well but you make it seem as if we the locals never even think of helping them sorry to tell you but we do and i personally feel really bad about that and many others i assure you do feel the same way so please stop claiming that Kuwait is bad. Just to conclude the paragraph i wrote even us Kuwaitis get treated badly at hospitals just for your info
Ohh and i forgot to mention incounters with police its not only the foreigners even the locals are suffering from it my license got taken and i was fined because i had a sticker which i swear wasnt bigger than a 1KD note stuck on the back of my rear window
Reality- kuwait is one of the worst country for expat. It’s not safe for the expat women. A very worse behavior of kuwaitis to expat. I have been there and ask hundreds of expratiates whoever I meet in my a year time. I have never hear a single they say good about kuwaitis. I have been UAE but people thoughts were different ,they take Emirati as good people. And even both are Arab.