Leaving his family behind

Newport Beach resident Dave Peterson looked far and wide for work after he lost his job managing construction on the $500-million Ritz Carlton at Rancho Mirage last fall.

Now he’s leaving his wife and three kids in Newport Beach to work in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates — the only place he could find a job in his field in a troubled economy.

“We didn’t know how bad the situation was going to get, or how long this was going to last,” said Dave Peterson’s wife, Anne. “I kind of feel like we didn’t really have a choice in the matter.”

Financing for the $500-million Ritz Carlton at Rancho Mirage fell through after the investment giant Lehman Brothers Holdings filed for bankruptcy in September. The troubled firm provided financing for the Ritz Carlton, and the developer was forced to halt construction on the project. The massive resort in the Coachella Valley was about 80% completed but sits abandoned today.

“We were spending half a million dollars a day with a crew of 450 workers — all those people were out of jobs,” Dave Peterson said.

The Petersons have lived in Newport Beach for the past 25 years, where they live in a comfortable, ranch-style house in a quite neighborhood.

“The schools here are good, but the economy is so bad — it’s scary,” Anne Peterson said.

Their three daughters, Allyssa, 19, Amanda, 16 and Avery, 13, are all active in sports like swimming and water polo. Allyssa is a sophomore at UC Berkeley, studying mass communications.

“We try to keep those problems away from them,” Anne Peterson said, of the family’s recent financial worries.

Dave Peterson looked far and wide for work in the construction business closer to home, but with the worsening economic situation, nobody was hiring.

Large-scale, private construction projects everywhere were being put on hold due to economic uncertainty.

“Everyone was delaying hiring decisions,” Dave Peterson said. “If I could figure out how to live on my unemployment check, I would, but the kids want to eat and I’m putting a daughter through college.”

Anne Peterson encouraged her husband to seek employment abroad.

Now Dave Peterson is headed for the Middle East after landing a job working for the world’s largest interior contractor, Depa, Ltd. Based in Dubai, the company specializes in outfitting luxury resorts.

Dave Peterson is waiting for his work visa to come through, but expects to leave the United States later this month for Abu Dhabi — an 18 hour plane ride away from home.

Dave Peterson’s wife and three daughters will be able to visit him in Abu Dhabi several times a year — his employer allows a regular allotment of plane tickets to foreign workers. The family is trying to look on the bright side of the situation, Anne Peterson said.

“It’s really going to be a great opportunity for Dave, plus it will be an educational experience for the girls,” Anne Peterson said.

The Peterson’s three daughters are taking the move in stride.

“I don’t really mind that much,” Amanda Peterson said, who said she is looking forward to checking out a giant indoor ski slope in Dubai when she visits her father.

The capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi is a booming oil town on the edge of the Persian Gulf. There is no shortage of construction jobs in the area — developers are covering the emirate’s roughly 200 islands with luxury resorts and high-end shopping malls. Abu Dhabi is a city of millionaires — its 420,000 citizens have an average net worth of $17 million, according to Fortune magazine, which named the emirate “the richest city in the world.”

The emirate is experiencing a population explosion, with a growth rate of 200% over the last 20 years, according to the Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency. Hundreds of thousands of foreigners, primarily from Great Britain and Asia come to Abu Dhabi each year to work, but it’s rare for an American to find work in the construction industry there, Dave Peterson said.

The recruiting firm based in Manchester, England, Dave Peterson used to find his new job said he was the first American it had ever placed, he said.

“I’m glad to be at the front of the bus on this,” he said. “A lot of people have already called me and asked ‘how do you get a job over there?’”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].