Meant to be moving to Dubai in 4 weeks

It’s very very easy to go along with all this ‘feels safe, protects their people really well etc’. Until it doesn’t - you lose your job or in the case of someone I know got accused of a business thing going wrong by an Emirati. It then became incredibly frightening and this person won’t touch the ME now with a barge pole and as I’ve said before the thing about no tax, it’s really not cheap and if you want to keep up with your new friends who may well be into flashing the cash- you may well be going to get through more than you think - I’m definitely not against people moving around, we had 2 years in Copenhagen and may well go to Netherlands shortly , but I do think places like the ME are a different ballgame and you need if going as a family to really think all aspects out- there including the fact that a big salary may not seem as much if ‘all ‘ costs aren’t fully covered off, including flights back if you want to come back at all - if the expectation is expensive group evenings out frequently, you can’t presume family will be out to you, few cheapish hobbies for kids, it’s a very particular world and lifestyle that in some ways I think is easier if on your own. My friends lived there for a few years but then went to Oman and then Saudi - both of which they have found more manageable in honesty and saved money - they didn’t in Dubai - bloke got into the habit of blingy nights out for company and they earned well and spent a lot - and the woman struggled to get a job too

All hail our glorious leaders! 😅 Genuinely suspecting some of these posts are from pro UAE bots…

Yes, they'll be using a different hub, @Sisublondie

Interesting, thanks, @Smeuse . I've been watching BBC verify about this conflict, which is also illuminating.
So much fake news, and unreliable reporting.

@SleeplessInWherever.. At present the college say they are “ monitoring the escalating conflict”, and essentially it’s a “ wait and see”….but, yes, I absolutely do not want to wave him off to the other side of the world right now. I’ve been to UAE a few times pre DC, early 2000’s, totally different vibe to how it appears to be now. (Fujairah essentially only had one hotel back then). My DSIL has lived in Abu Dhabi for 20 years and I didn’t really think twice about a Dubai layover…. yes, even when Trump started heating up a bit.

@Cardomomle… it is for just a short few hours layover… ironically I think they have also used a different hub! I’m guessing probably too many on trip to be able to change… 🤷‍♀️

You might want to be a bit more critical about the SM you are viewing

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g8r23yv71o

If it's for a stop over, I'm guessing it'll be changed.

Surely you now don’t want him to?

My DS is due to go on a college volunteering trip via Dubai in a couple of weeks……. He worked hard applying and interviewing for it, been excited for months, basically packed and vaccinated and ready to go………..

Yes, you did, that's absolutely fine, but my point is that things are not always how they are perceived.

You'd think! 😊
I'm guessing some people get their information on UK education from GB News. 🙄

Well clearly it suits vacuous people?

I bet you are not any time soon. No way would I agree to go to any middle east country now. The world is changing and not for the good.

For me it isn't even the war or the human rights issues that would put me off Dubai, it's the heat, having to live in air conditioning 24/7, living in a manufactured environment in general.

People go there on holiday to drink and spend, you need more to do than this if you actually live there.
My DH knew Dubai before all the construction work and says that even then, although it had character, there was nothing to do.

Everyone does not want to move there. Many of us wouldn't move there if you paid us.
Modern slavery and human rights abuses are not glamorous, no matter how many influencers you follow who pose in bikinis from Dubai.

I admit I was wrong.

It's unfortunate what is happening there but I would not be put off moving.

The leaders of UAE are protecting their people so well. I trust them more than our government!

You may just need to delay it slightly.

I’m 36 and I was, in a rough comp in the NE, so I think I probably bridge that gap.

More likely some people weren’t paying attention.

I believe so - during my school years we were never taught this.

You walk around with your phone in London it'll be snatched. If you have a nice watch, a gang with stab you for it.

What utter rubbish. I've never had my phone snatched, in London or anywhere else, and I've happily walked around London wearing my late uncle's vintage Rolex that was worth well into 5 figures.

I was taught about the Raj, slavery etc at school in the 1960s. My grandchildren seem to have learned about slavery and colonialisation more recently. Was there a gap in the middle or were some people not paying attention?

I have an old school friend who lives in Doha because of husbands work, and has for probably 10 years now.
She said the first 24 hours were scary. They saw rocket trails overhead. But says on the ground things are calming down, and they've felt comfortable enough to start going out and about with the kids again. They have two kids, who are about 9 and 7. Although they were both born in the UK, they've lived in the middle east all their lives basically, and know nothing else. The parents don't want to uproot their whole lives unless they really, really have to.

They changed the law now that sex outside of marriage is not illegal. Both parties just need to be 18. What happened in the past was horrific and wrong, but they changed it.

All I've seen was that British female YouTuber get told off in a ball for just wearing a bikini and had to cover up.

A couple of weeks?

You think this is all going to be over and hunky-dory in a couple of weeks?

Genuinely OP WHY do you want to live in a manufactured city in the dessert adjacent to several war zones? It boggles the mind. This ‘lifestyle’ is curated to entice people to move somewhere actually very unpleasant on a lot of levels. So hot much of the year needs to be spent in air conditioned rooms…human rights violations all over the place…really harsh laws. I’d rethink.