Thread: Please tell me about Dubai

Whats Dubai like? Not for a holiday but to live. Whats it like for a foreigner with 3 children(girls)

Ive live in Australia all my life.

I know Aziza_UAE made the move there and would like her opinion as well as others.

Thanks so much

My daily routine here in Dubai is almost the same as in Oz or NZ: I go to the gym early a.m, then drive to work, I meet friends at the mall at lunchtime (the biggest mall in the world), in the evening I get back in the car, drive to my local shops to do some grocery shopping and come home. Non-Muslim women don't need to cover. I work with several Muslim ladies who dress Western style and don't cover either, its a matter of personal choice here.

English is the day-to-day language. I spent 6 months learning Arabic only to be disappointed to find there is little need for it unless you end up in a tangle with the Police or the Court system. Hindi, Urdu and Tagalog are the most useful ‘second’ languages to have. There's freedom of religion.

There is no income tax. The largest expat group is Indian making up 70% of the entire UAE population. Many expat families have full-time domestic help. Many expats live in areas of identical semi-detached houses with communal pools/gyms. These areas remind me of Legoland but each to their own. Rent is still exorbitant but dropping rapidly as housing supply has now outstripped demand. The days of having to pay the entire year’s rent in one cheque, up front, are fading fast thank goodness. Petrol is cheap, I run a V8 and when I fill it up every week it usually costs me 100 dirhams which is about $30 Australian.

What you read in the papers here often does not reflect the reality you see around you daily. We are told by the media here that everything is rosy and that the stories of the effects of the financial crisis are motivated by the West’s jealousy of Dubai, a practice known here as ‘Dubai-bashing’.

The government schools only accept Emirati children but despite this nearly 50% of Emirati children attend private schools. My friends tell me that tuition fees here are high by Western standards (Tuition fees hike drives Dubai's 2009 inflation rate - Politics & Economics - ArabianBusiness.com). We were at a bbq last night, mostly families with young kids, phew, the standard of education in the UAE is a *really* hot topic!

A residency visa in the UAE is valid for 3 years (renewable) and is linked to your, or your husband’s, job. Lose the job and the residency visa is cancelled with 30 days to leave the country.

To purchase alcohol a government issued licence is required. A married woman cannot have her own licence and must have her husband’s written permission to be added to his licence.

Local weddings are an insight into another world, men and women have separate functions and the women’s function is where the ladies show off their designer gowns and jewellery. There is live music, usually a famous singer or even two performs, all the ladies, young and old get up to dance - best fun ever!

This doesn't scatch the surface so PM me if there's anything else you'd like to know.

Thanks so much aziza for taking the time to reply. I will pm you in a few days when I get a chance(got a few busy days coming up, then after that I can concentrate LOL)

I used to live in KSA and only went to Dubai to party but a friend of mine lives there with her 3 children and loves it.


Life is extremely good but you definitely need to ensure that your sponsor provides accomodation and education as part of the package as those are where the big, no MASSIVE, expenses are.

Also, I assume it is your husband that will be sponsored to work there - don't, under any circumstance, be tempted to get some work on the side unless you clear up a work permit for the position you are taking up.

Just do it, you won't regret it at all.

I've spent a large part of nearly 5 years in Dubai and I like it all in all.
It's changed tremendously since I first started coming here, it physically changes (buildings, roads, expansions into the sea!) everyday.
I have to say what I most like about it is that it's so multicultural. Rather than being a "melting pot" like western cities that have immigrants from everywhere, I think of it more like a pot of chunky stew! People come here, dress as they do at home, speak their own language and live their own lifestyle. You're constantly learning new things about different people. This can also be a challenge. Understanding people, respecting the local customs and finding a balance in this very surreal world of extreme wealth and extreme inequality.
As with every place there is good and bad, but Dubai will always have a place in my heart, working and living here has been an experience that has shaped the rest of my life no matter where I end up.