Wan Norafli Razali leaves the restaurant and strolls around to the left-hand side of his car to open the door. Then he remembers. He’s back home in Malaysia and the driver’s seat is on the other side. “See,” he chuckles. “I’ve been away a long time."

The 38-year-old chemical engineer, who likes to be known as Afli, lives in Dubai with his family and works with the Lubrizol Corporation, an American oil-field services company. He’d always dreamed of a career overseas.

After graduating from university in the United States in 2001, he worked in his native Malaysia before moving back to the US in 2006 when he got a job with oil services company Schlumberger. It wasn’t the full expat package, but he got a good salary, housing and transport, he says.

“I wanted to live in the States forever,” he recalls, nibbling on some McDonald’s French fries. “I was living the American dream.

“The motivation was to work overseas and get as much experience as possible.”