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Are there lots of fruits we dont have in the Continental US?
Is internet reliable?
Are there mosquitoes or other biters?
What's life like?
They are advertising for an Asst Attorney General.
I went there once on vacation and found the place interesting with lots of World War II history stuff to see. I didn't pay that much attention to the fruit situation. They have supermarkets and you can buy the same fruit you can buy on the mainland. I did notice banana and papaya plants growing. Food prices seem a little higher since much of everything is imported from the mainland.
I don't know anything about the internet situation.
I never ran into any mosquitoes or other insects. The weather was sunny and mild while I was there.
I think you might get bored there after a while. There isn't that much to do unless you like going to the beach alot. You can drive around the island in about 2 hours. The only town is Garapan which has a little night life including a Hard Rock Cafe. There are duty free shops (Gucci, Channel and other over priced stuff). There are also a couple of casinos that mostly cater to tourists from China, Japan and S. Korea. Asian languages seem to be more in use than English. Many signs I saw were in any language other that English. There were signs even in Russian. They seem to get tourists from eastern Russia. There are a couple of nice hotels on the beach (Hyatt). Good luck !
I've never been to Saipan. I don't even know anyone who's ever been there. I'm fascinated by its World War II history, so it's on my bucket list to go there. But as of yet, I have absolutely no first-hand experience with the place. Worth keeping that in mind as you read the rest of my post.
Some years ago, I came upon a website called Saipan Sucks. No one knows who wrote it, but it was clearly written from the perspective of an outsider who had gone to Saipan to take an advertised job. His complaints about the corruption, sloth, and indolence of daily life there seemed rather over-the-top, but they also had the ring of truth. One of his big complaints was about the rampant nepotism there, coupled with an epidemic of dishonesty. People would go there because they had been promised a job, only to find that the job had gone to someone's drunkard brother-in-law and the person was out the fees they'd paid to accept the position and move there.
From the website:
Quote:
If you are one of the Mainland professionals offered a contract to work in the CNMI, the advice of some former American CNMI residents is "STAY HOME." It is not uncommon for contracts to be breached, leaving people many thousands of miles from home in an economy that cannot accommodate them. Persons in positions of "authority" (for want of a better word, since nobody accepts "responsibility") casually, even sadistically, terminate contracts – or, worse yet, refuse to execute contracts after people from the Mainland relocate based on promises of employment. For example, in 1998 a couple from Virginia was promised professional employment with the CNMI Department of Public Works. They were professional engineers who retired from the military for the sake of taking the positions offered them. They sold their house and their car. When they arrived in Saipan with their children, no contract was signed. Promises, however, abounded. They worked for several months without pay before giving up and moving back home. They ultimately sued the CNMI and obtained a substantial, although undisclosed, settlement.
[ . . . ]
Professional employees working in Saipan who are victimized by breached contracts and wrongful termination will be offered sympathy and understanding by people who call themselves "friends," but not one person will come forward publicly to criticize the illegal conduct for fear of reprisal. Cowardice is taught and quickly learned in the CNMI. The fear of reprisal dominates the lives of all but very few. It is an essential reason the institutional corruption continues to flourish.
A correspondent whose application for employment with the CNMI Attorney General's Office was pending for eight months inquired as follows: "My friend thinks of [the then-Attorney General] as an honest and straightfoward [sic] person -- but the 8-month delay in making ANY decision on my application, set against his own admission of 'turmoil' in his office, gives me strong doubts about remaining available for employment or accepting an offer . . . . Please tell me what you think is the real cause of the delay! It will be very important in making MY decision on what appears . . . a charade."
[ . . . ]
SOME ADVICE: DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING TOLD TO YOU BY ANYONE ON SAIPAN, ESPECIALLY IF THAT PERSON IS TRYING TO HIRE YOU. DON'T ACCEPT ANY EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT IN SAIPAN. IF YOU'RE INTENT ON DOING SO IN SPITE OF THIS WARNING, SOME GOOD ADVICE MIGHT BE TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE PAID IN ADVANCE FOR THE FULL DURATION OF YOUR CONTRACT. YOU MIGHT ALSO WANT TO HAVE YOUR HEAD EXAMINED.
As I said before, I have absolutely no first-hand experience with Saipan. I have no idea if any of these things are true, or if they used to be true but are no longer true, or anything else. But given that you're interested in a position in the Attorney General's office, I thought you might like to see it and give it consideration.
Very interesting information about Saipan. I didn't know it was that bad there. But it was great to spend a one week vacation there (with a 1 day side trip to Tinian). Since you're a World War II history buff, it's well worth a visit to Guam, Saipan and Tinian.
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