We love Dubai.
The kids are in a fabulous school - on a par with UK independent schools - with great enthusiastic young well qualified British teachers. They have opportunities to do all the activities they love (dancing, sports, martial arts, ice skating, skiing) outside of school.
The restaurants and night life are great for adults. It's easy to make friends. If you can find a good maid - preferably by recommendation - childcare is great. There are theatre, ballet, plays that tour and so the "lack of culture" argument people use is moot.
It's an extremely safe place to live. I can leave my mobile on a restaurant table and wander off and know it'll still be there.
The outside life style for the whole of winter is amazing. Parks, running, biking, picnics, eating outside every meal time, swimming all the time...
Tolerance for all religions is so much better than the UK to be honest and people here celebrate everything.
The children also learn Arabic at school, which mine love.
Bad points - it is very, very, very expensive. We earn more than the uk by a long way ( almost double) but haven't any extra cash than we did there. Food is ludicrous to buy, school fees, clothes, shoes, flights anywhere is expensive. You have one choice of utility supplier and they charge what they like, and there's no arguing with them. We can easily pay £1000 in electricity and water a month for four months of the year in the summer. If you miss a payment by just a day or two, you get cut off, even if not your fault but their own system that wouldn't take the payment (this is a sore point 🙄)
It's way too hot in the summer and children simply don't cope with it. It's 50 degrees. If you are working you simply have to pay to have them in pricey air conditioned kids clubs as otherwise they are stuck at home with the air con on full blast there. It's not pleasant and almost everyone we know has one parent who takes the children somewhere else for 8 weeks.
The paperwork and effort it takes to do anything is soul destroying. DH had to queue for two hours in a police station to collect a piece of paper yesterday.
But saying all this, we all still love it. We won't be there forever, maybe only another few months in fact, but it's been an amazing time and I will miss it. There is something fun about being in such a vibrant young city.