Jump to content

Anyone here live/lived in Dubai?


Lighthouse
 Share

Recommended Posts

Considering an employment opportunity out in Dubai and I know we have a couple of posters on here who live out there (I'll take a guess at "Dubai Phil" for one).

 

Just wondering what it's like to live out there. I know it's an awesome holiday with great weather, beaches etc. but what's the actual day to day life like when the honeymoon period wears off? What are the things you like most about being out there and what are the things you miss the most? What problems can you foresee for a munchkin like me who's never lived out there, aside from the obvious not being able to go to Saints games?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not been offered anything yet. Thinking of applying for a possition, which I'd stick in the "managers" bracket. The job is awesome, that's not the issues. It's the "could I live in Dubai" issue that I'm interested in.

well, its...

fast

rich

hot

pretentious

non liberal

expensive

home to lots of very rude russians

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My daughter worked in the UAE for five years (mainly in Abu Dhabi though) and, although I think she enjoyed the experience, she did work long hours and became quite frustrated with people telling her what they thought she wanted to hear rather than what was actually happening - she learnt that if they added "God willing" to their statement then the chances are that she would be disappointed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know it get's up into the 40s there in the height of summer. I'd have an air conditioned appartment, car and the heat wont be a problem at work either so it's not a massive turn off.

 

I've been told by a friend already out there that alcohol isn't really much of an issue. Being drunk in public is frowned upon and I know there are massive prison sentences for drug use. On the other hand I've heard there are loads of great bars out there.

 

Regarding slavery... I don't like it, but I can live with it and the workers do chose to go there, in spite of the conditions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know it get's up into the 40s there in the height of summer. I'd have an air conditioned appartment, car and the heat wont be a problem at work either so it's not a massive turn off.

 

I've been told by a friend already out there that alcohol isn't really much of an issue. Being drunk in public is frowned upon and I know there are massive prison sentences for drug use. On the other hand I've heard there are loads of great bars out there.

 

Regarding slavery... I don't like it, but I can live with it and the workers do chose to go there, in spite of the conditions.

 

That's a good point. You would have to be able to turn a blind eye to some very nasty treatment of people.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the other hand... The UK did deals with Gadaffi recently and hardly has a clean history when it comes to human rights. America has huge problems with racism. Women, homosexuals and various minorities are oppressed in many other arab states. China... etc.

 

I don't think there's any country on Earth which can really point the finger at the UAE.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lived there for 8 years. My philosophy was "every day was a holiday". I would never put any one off moving there. As with every where - there loads of positives and negatives. And what is good for one person isn't for another.

 

EoA will give you the latest up to date info, but happy to give my completely independent and unbiased views if required.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It'll be hot. If you can't handle constant heat, don't go.

 

And it's not as free, but I hear from people I have met who have worked out there, it isn't a massive put off like it is in Saudi Arabia.

 

He asked the views of people who had lived there, not a kid to state the bleeding obvious. "it'll be hot" FFS

Edited by Turkish
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Morning all. Yup, I'm back.

 

Simple list?

 

Loneliest place on the planet to live

Full of "tranisent" people who arrive and think they have made it, thus ensuring that everywhere you go you are surrounded by arrogant c*cks who care about nothing apart from themselves

You'll be expected to work 9-7, 5 days a week and in many case expected to do 6 or 7 days a week. You WILL work on Sundays and at Easter and in many cases on Christmas Day. THAT comes as one hell of a shock to many people

If you work for a "locally" owned firm you can expect to get screwed on your salary and bonus

You will be a racial minority and will have no rights, so you either get with the programme or you will have nothing but trouble. It is NOT just the "poor Asian Labouring classes" that get ripped off/abused by local employers

Your disposable income will not be what you think it is, from 300 quid electric bills a month to 250 quid mobile bills, to the never ending fees that you get charged

NOBODY respects anyone else so if you live in an apartment it will be noisy & often miserable. In this respect it is FAR worse than the UK

You will NOT go down the pub to chat with your mates, the beer is 8 quid a pint and any bar worth going to will have some moron DJ playing 80's music or Hip Hop/RnB at full volume or will have a live band

a 1.99 packet of Iceland Bacon will cost you 8 quid.

You will always be one stupid mistake away from being kicked out and losing everything, crashing your car into the wrong person, losing your temper in public.

There is NO support structure. Nothing. You have a bad day at work & get fired, you are on the plane out of here. You don't like your job or your boss, tough, they OWN you.

 

Once you get away from that

It will give you the chance to have a once in a life-time moment on average every couple of months

You will soon stop looking out the window in the morning to check the weather

You will eventually get past the Blingers and meet REAL friends and will find that they will be from every corner of the world and your "Horizons" will be "broadened"

Because nobody gives a damn about anyone except themselves and there is no politics, you will soon discover that you have conversation that are NOT about "Other people" or "Celebs". The News will no longer depress you, and you will have never heard of the contestants on Celebrity Big Brother

If you have kids they will be able to go out on their own at night by taxi to the cinema from the age of about 11. You will not have to worry about Drugs/Gang/Weirdo culture. They will be educated by underpaid teachers with no political leanings and will (at Uni age) be far advanced in terms of Emotional Intelligence than their Brit equivalents

You will learn to go out on the p1ss and drink at half the speed of the Brits so that you still have your wits about you when you go home or you could get deported.

 

On balance? The Daily Mail (et al) pumped Dubai up during it's feeding frenzy of you MUST buy into the lifestyle phase, and now pumps down the value of being here. It was all bollix in the boom and it's all bollix now.

 

It is an Alien country with an Alien culture to the average Brit.

 

The best description? It is a City with no Soul. You will miss So much more of Britain than you could ever imagine.

 

BUT if you get past that and come and live here and understand that this place in NOT reality and life is NOT about Bling, then you will prosper at work and will see one hell of a lot of the world.

 

Oh, and anything less than 60 grand a year tax free inc allowances & assistance with schooling? Forget it, you'll be broke all the time, or stuck in doors wishing you had UK Daytime TV to watch at night.

 

Oh, and did someone mention it gets Hot?

Seriously. From May - September you will live indoors, anywhere up to the 50C & humidity up to 90%. It IS miserable, you can fry egss on the steering wheel of your car and you will be permanetly wet with sweat all day and surrounded by the great unwashed and excessive Garlic eaters

 

Would I rather be here or UK? Give me a thatched cottage in the New Forest ANYDAY of the week, but then as very few of us can afford that... This City has been fantastic to me & my kids, and getting the job here in '93 was my winning lottery ticket in life. There have been MANY days/weeks I have regretted that move, but many months and years where I have thanked the Big Man upstairs

 

You'll get a PM on what to look for in the offer of the job

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Turkish has taken over as the new king of the petty squabble hasn't he? All over every thread with niggling little digs at people. Try to get a nice relaxing hobby or something, Turkish, take your mind off how angry it makes you that some people's comments on the internet are superfluous.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Morning all. Yup, I'm back.

 

Simple list?

 

Loneliest place on the planet to live

Full of "tranisent" people who arrive and think they have made it, thus ensuring that everywhere you go you are surrounded by arrogant c*cks who care about nothing apart from themselves

You'll be expected to work 9-7, 5 days a week and in many case expected to do 6 or 7 days a week. You WILL work on Sundays and at Easter and in many cases on Christmas Day. THAT comes as one hell of a shock to many people

If you work for a "locally" owned firm you can expect to get screwed on your salary and bonus

You will be a racial minority and will have no rights, so you either get with the programme or you will have nothing but trouble. It is NOT just the "poor Asian Labouring classes" that get ripped off/abused by local employers

Your disposable income will not be what you think it is, from 300 quid electric bills a month to 250 quid mobile bills, to the never ending fees that you get charged

NOBODY respects anyone else so if you live in an apartment it will be noisy & often miserable. In this respect it is FAR worse than the UK

You will NOT go down the pub to chat with your mates, the beer is 8 quid a pint and any bar worth going to will have some moron DJ playing 80's music or Hip Hop/RnB at full volume or will have a live band

a 1.99 packet of Iceland Bacon will cost you 8 quid.

You will always be one stupid mistake away from being kicked out and losing everything, crashing your car into the wrong person, losing your temper in public.

There is NO support structure. Nothing. You have a bad day at work & get fired, you are on the plane out of here. You don't like your job or your boss, tough, they OWN you.

 

Once you get away from that

It will give you the chance to have a once in a life-time moment on average every couple of months

You will soon stop looking out the window in the morning to check the weather

You will eventually get past the Blingers and meet REAL friends and will find that they will be from every corner of the world and your "Horizons" will be "broadened"

Because nobody gives a damn about anyone except themselves and there is no politics, you will soon discover that you have conversation that are NOT about "Other people" or "Celebs". The News will no longer depress you, and you will have never heard of the contestants on Celebrity Big Brother

If you have kids they will be able to go out on their own at night by taxi to the cinema from the age of about 11. You will not have to worry about Drugs/Gang/Weirdo culture. They will be educated by underpaid teachers with no political leanings and will (at Uni age) be far advanced in terms of Emotional Intelligence than their Brit equivalents

You will learn to go out on the p1ss and drink at half the speed of the Brits so that you still have your wits about you when you go home or you could get deported.

 

On balance? The Daily Mail (et al) pumped Dubai up during it's feeding frenzy of you MUST buy into the lifestyle phase, and now pumps down the value of being here. It was all bollix in the boom and it's all bollix now.

 

It is an Alien country with an Alien culture to the average Brit.

 

The best description? It is a City with no Soul. You will miss So much more of Britain than you could ever imagine.

 

BUT if you get past that and come and live here and understand that this place in NOT reality and life is NOT about Bling, then you will prosper at work and will see one hell of a lot of the world.

 

Oh, and anything less than 60 grand a year tax free inc allowances & assistance with schooling? Forget it, you'll be broke all the time, or stuck in doors wishing you had UK Daytime TV to watch at night.

 

Oh, and did someone mention it gets Hot?

Seriously. From May - September you will live indoors, anywhere up to the 50C & humidity up to 90%. It IS miserable, you can fry egss on the steering wheel of your car and you will be permanetly wet with sweat all day and surrounded by the great unwashed and excessive Garlic eaters

 

Would I rather be here or UK? Give me a thatched cottage in the New Forest ANYDAY of the week, but then as very few of us can afford that... This City has been fantastic to me & my kids, and getting the job here in '93 was my winning lottery ticket in life. There have been MANY days/weeks I have regretted that move, but many months and years where I have thanked the Big Man upstairs

 

You'll get a PM on what to look for in the offer of the job

 

Sorry what you have described is the life of an expat living anywhere pretty much. I have lived in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo and they are all the same. Personally would I change any of it ? NO!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Turkish has taken over as the new king of the petty squabble hasn't he? All over every thread with niggling little digs at people. Try to get a nice relaxing hobby or something, Turkish, take your mind off how angry it makes you that some people's comments on the internet are superfluous.

 

Not at all, its these arrogant little oiks with an opinion of everything but have done nothing that p*ss me off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Turkish has taken over as the new king of the petty squabble hasn't he? All over every thread with niggling little digs at people. Try to get a nice relaxing hobby or something, Turkish, take your mind off how angry it makes you that some people's comments on the internet are superfluous.

 

I have to agree, and I wouldn't usually join in like I am with this post. But I am fed up of how posters like him are taking over threads with petty posts attacking others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not at all, its these arrogant little oiks with an opinion of everything but have done nothing that p*ss me off.

 

To be fair, I expect there is only one poster on this thread who has commented that actually lives in Dubai.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

having read dubai phil's post

 

I can't see super liberal mikey leaving the disgrace that is the UK and heading for such a paradise

 

they don't "live and let live" over there

 

Keep up Jamie. Super Mikey has already told us that he's upping sticks with his bracelets and is off to Canada.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not at all, its these arrogant little oiks with an opinion of everything but have done nothing that p*ss me off.

 

I only come on here to laugh at people. No point getting p/ssed off about anything on a stupid forum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry what you have described is the life of an expat living anywhere pretty much. I have lived in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo and they are all the same. Personally would I change any of it ? NO!

 

Yep.

 

HTH.

 

The only bit that really varies from place to place is the quality of any "community" life and whether you can (for example) buy Heinz Baked Beans, Old Speckled Hen (or an equivalent), Proper Tea or Bacon and how you get around the town

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not at all, its these arrogant little oiks with an opinion of everything but have done nothing that p*ss me off.

 

I'd actually suggest it is yourself that ****es you off.

 

Everyone reads the same posts, Turkish. Not all of us get so upset, and some of us actually remember what it was like being young, and cut the younger nippers a bit of slack.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like a sh!te hole to me.

 

Blimey I hadn't realised till now .... I'm on the next plane home tomorrow :?

 

Supping a few cocktails whilst watching the sun go down on the beach, and then having dinner al fresco in the garden with a nice 30c temp and slight breeze and a star filled clear sky tonight counts for nothing ... give me Eastleigh any day.:facepalm:

Edited by ericofarabia
Link to comment
Share on other sites

HK's not nearly that bad, you can drink in the street, find lots of local bars as well as Western Style bars. And the skyscraper's are tall because of the lack of space, not because some rick blokes are having a mines bigger than yours competition. Saying that there are also great beaches, mountains and temples, festivals and islands. Much more culture than I would have thought Dubai can manufacture. I always felt very welcome there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like a sh!te hole to me.

 

Perhaps better is "We ain't in Kansas anymoreToto" is a better description. Brits come here thinking it's Blighty with Palm Trees or the Costa Del Sol and give it large. They will eventually get found out, into trouble, or will end up going home having blinged themselves to death.

 

Come here & understand it's the Middle East with the ability to do a lot of Britness type stuff but DON'T upset the locals then as Eric says, perfect.

 

Great example? Drink Driving. In UK you can drive to a country pub, have a meal and one or two beers and drive home, you have a legal limit for booze. here the legal limit is ZERO. So many Brits don't understand that - punishment one month in an Arabic Jail with your head shaved. Second offence Deportation. It is an incredibly simple thing to change your thought process to simply take a taxi everywhere but people are so set in their ways.

 

Point is people move anywhere in the world and with the right attitude they can have a different life and probably even better one than back home and they will enjoy it.

But equally, many people simply don't do change and expect it to be the same.

 

Open mind is the key, it is NOT for everyone. For every EoA or D_P you'll find someone who had a nightmare and has run home with their tail between their legs losing everything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blimey I hadn't realised till now .... I'm on the next plane home tomorrow :?

 

Supping a few cocktails whilst watching the sun go down on the beach, and then having dinner al fresco in the garden with a nice 30c temp and slight breeze and a star filled clear sky tonight counts for nothing ... give me Eastleigh any day.:facepalm:

 

Nice weather and tax free earnings is great but I would prefer to be near my friends and family. I suppose it depends what you value in life, each to their own.

 

I also don't like how these Muslim countries are often openly racist, homophobic and sexist. They make the BNP look like a intolerant bunch.

Edited by aintforever
Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, but most Muslim states appear to be openly racist against Jewish people, and hostile towards non-Muslims.

 

And parts of the UK aren't openly racist against Jewish people, and hostile towards Muslims?

 

Or parts of France to their Algerian immigrants?

or Germany twoards their Turkish Migrants?

 

I seem to recall George Michael being the butt (sic) of many jokes. hell, I'm willing to bet that most posters Grandparents would class themselves as homophobic

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And parts of the UK aren't openly racist against Jewish people, and hostile towards Muslims?

 

Or parts of France to their Algerian immigrants?

or Germany twoards their Turkish Migrants?

 

I seem to recall George Michael being the butt (sic) of many jokes. hell, I'm willing to bet that most posters Grandparents would class themselves as homophobic

 

Don't disagree, but that's very different to it being government policy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry what you have described is the life of an expat living anywhere pretty much. I have lived in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo and they are all the same. Personally would I change any of it ? NO!

 

It depends how different the places are and their size. I live in small city Italy and I'm certainly not a classic expat; this morning I had a natter with an English friend but she's about the only one I have, all the rest are locals. I bench warm for a local footie side, play traditional music from the area with other musicians, have a reasonably active social life and don't earn very much: enough to have a ski season pass and go pretty often.

I suspect if I were teaching in Dubai I'd been even poorer, although my experience of teaching UAE cadets in the UK was positive enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't disagree, but that's very different to it being government policy.

 

It just goes back to the main point. It ain't Kansas....

 

There are a zillion laws in the EU that are just plain wrong or daft.

 

BUT, if Western life and Law and Culture was built solely around one specific interpretation of The Bible per country then you'd likely still be a homophobic nation.

 

It's Islam that is homophobic, not Governments, just here Religion is at the heart of their society & culture. You can best compare here with the Bible Belt in the US. I don't personally agree with their view of the world but I wouldn't go there and expect to be allowed to get on and live my live in peace if I railed against them every day.

 

See, that's the point. As an expat in many places - you ain't got no Politics

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BUT, if Western life and Law and Culture was built solely around one specific interpretation of The Bible per country then you'd likely still be a homophobic nation.

 

But it's not, that's my point.

 

If the BNP got in power in the UK we still wouldn't have a country anywhere near as bigoted as most Muslim countries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...