New life in Dubai? Advice?
Discussion
Royal Jelly said:
No need to apologise. Save the crappy Breitling for London, what with the real risk of having it forcibly removed.
Where’s the Golf s
tter crowd migrated to? Maybe one day I can visit?
The tax element is appealing (albeit salaries are typically lower) but for me it would be like moving to Disney Land, completely fine for a few days but totally unacceptable long term. Where’s the Golf s
tter crowd migrated to? Maybe one day I can visit?Interestingly most of the people I know that live there are either from countries that aren’t civilised (South Africa) or similar in the UK.
Mont Blanc said:
This is the most important post of the thread.
What exactly are you feeling down about?
I've had friends in a similar position to the OP where they just felt fed up with life, wanted to get away from everything and start again, wanted a change, all that sort of thing, and they moved to New Zealand, one moved to Canada, got good jobs, got themselves a nice place to live.... and then felt exactly the same as they did in the UK.
Turned out they had underlying issues the needed to deal with. Depression in one case.
Moving countries won't help you with any mental state you may be in.
I love this insight.What exactly are you feeling down about?
I've had friends in a similar position to the OP where they just felt fed up with life, wanted to get away from everything and start again, wanted a change, all that sort of thing, and they moved to New Zealand, one moved to Canada, got good jobs, got themselves a nice place to live.... and then felt exactly the same as they did in the UK.
Turned out they had underlying issues the needed to deal with. Depression in one case.
Moving countries won't help you with any mental state you may be in.
When I look back on amazing places I've been I can now see that I had my 'issues' with me.
I tried to explain to friends now - 'I took my mind on holiday too'.
Thankfully I'm so different now, and feel lots of joy, even in day to day life, but also on holiday.
For me, therapy, studying to be a therapist, and lots of other things have helped.
Happy to chat OP.
ChocolateFrog said:
Granted I haven't read the whole thread but if you're depressed in the UK what makes you think being depressed in the ME is the answer?
And if you've got the means, which you like to remind us often that you do why don't you get out there and see for yourself what it's like?
Might be an idea to read the whole thread...And if you've got the means, which you like to remind us often that you do why don't you get out there and see for yourself what it's like?
okgo said:
The tax element is appealing (albeit salaries are typically lower) but for me it would be like moving to Disney Land, completely fine for a few days but totally unacceptable long term.
Interestingly most of the people I know that live there are either from countries that aren’t civilised (South Africa) or similar in the UK.
I feel the same about many places. But there are undeniable aspects where it is just orders of magnitude better than anywhere in the UK. For me it is the day to day lifestyle that wins out. Not the warm fuzz of democracy or being able to identify as a plant. Whether that sways you is obviously personal. If I was hugely into theatre, I’d live in a hovel in the West End. Interestingly most of the people I know that live there are either from countries that aren’t civilised (South Africa) or similar in the UK.
Salaries are variable, and anecdotally its employer vs field. I’ve a good friend in fintech whose salary dwarfs his London one, and another front officer who grosses less but still takes home a lot more. My gross salary is far higher than the UK. Absolute no brainer from a purely financial perspective.
Brits are the largest white collar demographic in Dubai.
Edited by Royal Jelly on Wednesday 26th June 23:09
jasonrobertson86 said:
The heat is a huge issue. No ability to walk around which you can do every day in the UK. Lack of hills and countryside.
There's some fairly sizable mountains in Ras Al-Khaimah, Fujairah and Hatta with camping, hiking, cycling and mountain biking. The wide open spaces in the desert are another amazing experience, and you can cycle it up at Al Qudra. It's contryside, but not as you know it!Some people like the heat and some people don't. Last year I found it hard becase we moved in April and it'd already started to really ramp up. This year we've been here since winter and been able to aclimatise, it feels like a warm hug whenever you leave the house and we're managing without the a/c on 24/7. I'm still cycling several times a week and it's fine for an evening walk too.
Having recently visited Dubai for a Holiday I would say that it's an ok place to visit for a holiday / shopping experience, it's a bit bling and designed to pull tourists in to spend money. I think I could manage many a month there in winter to escape the winter in Europe.
People I know have moved their for a job opportunity, none have just wandered over and found a job, I am sure that life is amazing if you are an Emirati as the government throws money at you, the rest are there purely for economic reasons (make as much money as possible and have an exit plan). If I had a choice of countries that I would want to live in, first I would need to speak the local language (I assume you would look to speak / write in Arabic if you wanted to move permanently) and secondly I would need some purpose to stop myself being bored out of my mind.
I work with people from UAE and the ones that were not born there all seem to have a plan to leave at some point.
So if your primary motivation is money then I would say do it, but I also expect that people often lose sight of the exit plan and then start to spend money because they are bored of the reality of living in Dubai.
People I know have moved their for a job opportunity, none have just wandered over and found a job, I am sure that life is amazing if you are an Emirati as the government throws money at you, the rest are there purely for economic reasons (make as much money as possible and have an exit plan). If I had a choice of countries that I would want to live in, first I would need to speak the local language (I assume you would look to speak / write in Arabic if you wanted to move permanently) and secondly I would need some purpose to stop myself being bored out of my mind.
I work with people from UAE and the ones that were not born there all seem to have a plan to leave at some point.
So if your primary motivation is money then I would say do it, but I also expect that people often lose sight of the exit plan and then start to spend money because they are bored of the reality of living in Dubai.
jasonrobertson86 said:
Royal Jelly said:
Gotcha. Great to have your well-reasoned opinion here. 
No real need for a detailed response to someone with that attitude and seem to want to tell everyone why their opinion is wrong. 
Threads become pointless and annoying when posters go down route of "because I say so" or "I'm not explaining my reasons".
This thread is all about reasons and viewpoints, and if someone says "I don't like Dubai and I'm not going to tell you why" then it renders their whole post utterly pointless and adds nothing to the discussion, and moreover, makes them look like a bit of an empty vessel.
sugerbear said:
Having recently visited Dubai for a Holiday I would say that it's an ok place to visit for a holiday / shopping experience, it's a bit bling and designed to pull tourists in to spend money. I think I could manage many a month there in winter to escape the winter in Europe.
People I know have moved their for a job opportunity, none have just wandered over and found a job, I am sure that life is amazing if you are an Emirati as the government throws money at you, the rest are there purely for economic reasons (make as much money as possible and have an exit plan). If I had a choice of countries that I would want to live in, first I would need to speak the local language (I assume you would look to speak / write in Arabic if you wanted to move permanently) and secondly I would need some purpose to stop myself being bored out of my mind.
I work with people from UAE and the ones that were not born there all seem to have a plan to leave at some point.
So if your primary motivation is money then I would say do it, but I also expect that people often lose sight of the exit plan and then start to spend money because they are bored of the reality of living in Dubai.
There’s zero integration from what I saw. No need at all to speak any local tongue. People I know have moved their for a job opportunity, none have just wandered over and found a job, I am sure that life is amazing if you are an Emirati as the government throws money at you, the rest are there purely for economic reasons (make as much money as possible and have an exit plan). If I had a choice of countries that I would want to live in, first I would need to speak the local language (I assume you would look to speak / write in Arabic if you wanted to move permanently) and secondly I would need some purpose to stop myself being bored out of my mind.
I work with people from UAE and the ones that were not born there all seem to have a plan to leave at some point.
So if your primary motivation is money then I would say do it, but I also expect that people often lose sight of the exit plan and then start to spend money because they are bored of the reality of living in Dubai.
Mates that live there and work there all only speak English.
Rough101 said:
I’ve worked there on and off.
It’s a 2 tier society, the lower rung is all but invisible and they see none of the upside and are met with draconian penalties for many slights.
Nowhere to walk, scalding hot, an indoor society with no heritage.
The scummy Westerner element has grown as well.
I won’t go back.
Im not an expert on Dubai / the wider UAE but I'm not sure your comments about draconian penalties for the lower rung are completely accurate. My wife and I went to Dubai last year and had to get Ubers everywhere (due to poor choice of hotel). All our Uber drivers were Pakistani/bangladeshi and I asked them how they were treated by the locals and especially the local Police. (Anybody who has been to Saudi will know what a complete bunch of arrogant aIt’s a 2 tier society, the lower rung is all but invisible and they see none of the upside and are met with draconian penalties for many slights.
Nowhere to walk, scalding hot, an indoor society with no heritage.
The scummy Westerner element has grown as well.
I won’t go back.
holes Saudis can be).To cut a long story short they all said the cops were fair and didn't discriminate between local/expat. They were fine unless you broke the law in which case you were buggered (not literally). I guess the fear of punishment encourages people to behave - who would have thought?
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