by It was not long before I moved to London in 2007, and the financial crisis recorded and reported that Dubai’s residents had taken off their super sports cars at the airport when they fled out of the city.
Almost 20 years later, Dubai is back at the top and bears the shine of the phenomenal wealth.
After some estimates, 30,000 British moved to Dubai in 2021 and rose to 35,000 in 2022 and in 2023 to 40,000. Around 240,000 British now call the city’s house, and this number seems to grow. Last year, UK is looking for “Jobs in Dubai” and “Move to Dubai” rose by around 50 percent from year to year.
Last year I decided to join Exodus, to uproot my life in Hackney and move to the Middle East. There were both good and bad surprises and many challenges. Here are 10 things that I have learned in Dubai since the beginning of a new life …
1. It is uplifting to be somewhere on the climb
While the economic pressure remains in Europe, Dubai is booming. Currently in 3.8 million people and with a expected population of 5.8 million by 2040, the real estate sector has exploded and tourism is flourishing.
By securing the residence here, you usually have to be economically active. The vast majority of the people I meet here is hard work, ambitious and actively tries to improve their life prospects. It is reassuring to be somewhere where it feels like it is in the up – the city has an optimistic energy and is so much more hopeful than what I left behind.
2. Security is a matter of course
Shortly after I moved here, I went to a supermarket and was surprised to see a series of unattended Iphones on a counter while their owners went shopping. Later, at a working meeting, colleagues mentioned that they will not lock up their houses – it is apparently unnecessary excitement.
After I have lived in London for so long, I still don’t feel able to imitate them, but there are more than enough robust evidence to support the claims that Dubai is an exceptionally safe city. The full trust that you can call earphones, call earphones, can be ambler every hour and night, is wonderful and something I meet here is particularly liberating.
3. This autoentric city finally includes cycling and walking
I went, cycled or took the tube everywhere in London. One of my biggest challenges here was to adapt to a place with very limited public transport compared to large European cities.
However, dubais car-centerism fades. The movement does their best to convince the residents to move on two wheels, a number of picturesque bicycle paths that now halve the city, and the authorities recently announced plans to improve pedestrian and cycle-friendly infrastructure. Last month confirm that 3000 km from the paths. By carrying out hiking trails. The metror networks. The metrore stations. Operation in the same year, of 55 today.
4. The search for a house is boring and expensive
When I started looking for my apartment, I was warned of a certain building because it was “so old”. It was built in 2005. While Dubai has been subjected to a construction boom since then, unless they feel a high-end development, there is a uniformity of the residential towers and predictability in their layouts, which mean that it is difficult to find houses with character. I resigned to live in a boring box in the city, although families tend to prefer beige villas in the suburbs. Regardless of the option you prefer, you should expect to pay well. Rental and sales prices are powerful; At least for the former, I found that houses are largely listed in accordance with the London prices.
5. Summer is constant
It is an adaptation to move in a constantly sunny place. The blue sky is atmospheric, although some people complain of predictability and complain about the lack of clearly defined seasons. While the summer is trendy and sticky, it offers a few advantages: the city is much calmer and locals that make it difficult can do justice for tourists in winter. Expect considerable savings for hotel stays, topic visits and other main attractions.
6. It is strange to live in a place that was built for tourists
Tourism is crucial for Dubai’s economy and it can feel as if a large part of the city’s leisure activities have taken action towards visitors who are happy to spray out. If you live here, it will be exhausting pretty quickly.
I miss the diversity of the cultural attractions of London. The Alserkal Avenue, an artistic district with studios, shops and cafes of creative, and Dubai Design District are perhaps the main cultural quarters of Dubai, but for real profits I think that tourists in Abu Dhabi are better served. Near the completion, the Saadiyat Cultural District will have a phenomenal ambitious concentration of art institutions, including an upcoming Guggenheim, which is located next to the existing Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Jean Nouvel.
7. It is a perfect hub for traveling – but there is no Ryanair
Dubai is located in a four -hour flight of a third of the world’s population, and within eight -hour two thirds a large number of new travel opportunities open up. The Maldives, India and Nepal are popular longest short wings, and I will go to Oman and Uzbekistan shortly. However, it will cost you. Although the Hungarian airline Wizz Air in Abu Dhabi opened a hub during the pandemic, the country near the distribution of budget airlines that they find throughout Europe is far from being able to get.
8. This is one of the big cooking cities in the world of the world
About 85 percent of the population in Dubai were born abroad, and his diverse composition has cultivated a dynamic, versatile eating landscape. It is full of superlative gourmet offers such as French GDE dining at the Mosphere in the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s highest restaurant, but there is also a lot from the high-end scene.
I love to fry Pan Adventures Foodie hiking tours in the unfortunate district of Deiraa, which includes Pitstops for Syrian flatbread, Iraqi smoked festivals and Lebanese Baklava.
The latest trends in the city are often in their own houses for dinner clubs, in which chefs organize casual community courts. In her DIFC apartment, Madame Vo serves Madame VO with her dog Bailey nearby.
9. You may not save that much money
Many people are lured into the VAE by promising a high, tax -free salary, but that does not mean that they ultimately return home with a lot of cash: Dubai classified Dubai as the 15th city of the world, in which they cannot live far behind London in the 8th place, but my departures are actually higher than in the British capital. Prepare to output more for food.
Note that health insurance is mandatory (even though it is usually covered by employers). Expect that electricity costs will skyrocket in summer if everyone shines on the air conditioning system. In addition, fees for British curriculum schools can be colossal, and the temporary nature of the city means that newcomers do not rent cars instead of buying them. Everything adds up.
10. Unfortunately, it is a relief to be from Great Britain
Wherever you fall politically, it is unfortunately fair to say that life in the UK is now unbearably difficult for so many people. Challenging how it emigrated and the observation of the endless punitive measures and the state disaster, which people are exposed to, have confirmed that I made the right decision when leaving.
