techn: MM used the word "privilege," which I understood to mean that there are obvious and hidden costs that one must pay to live in Qatar. While taxes are not levied on individuals in Qatar, "taxes" by other means are still levied by higher prices for some things. I also understood "privilege" to be used sarcastically, in that many people are attracted to ostensibly high salaries in Qatar, but there are hidden costs that diminish those "high" salaries. I replied that in the U.S. there are many hidden costs to things that diminish the standard of living there, which is corroborated by many studies of standards of living around the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality-of-life_index