Meant to be moving to Dubai in 4 weeks

I find it incredible people would move children there without researching. I went there on holiday once, would never return, let alone live there. I would be cancelling, and staying in the UK.

"everyone wants to move there"???????

you must be joking

many people see Dubai for what it is. If you don't then please check out human rights there and in particular women's rights

I’m so grateful I live in the “wet and grey UK”

I know someone who is there and they have already registered with the foreign office in case they need to evacuate. They have also been advised to stock up some food and water just in case. It doesn't sound like somewhere you should plan on taking your family.

I wouldn’t go. I can’t see this being a seamless transition.

It is madness to uproot and emigrate based on how glamorous people say a place is and not even have awareness of what countries are next to it 😱

there is obviously crime. Otherwise who is living in their prisons?!? 🤣 it’s just common sense

To be fair I have a friend who moved there 6 months ago and she’s pretty miffed too.
but she is a British Muslim and left due to the racism and general hate she was receiving here, so feels more comfortable there. So far it’s still worth it for her but let’s see how it plays out.

I'm not sure I'd believe the no crime whatsoever. My ex employers had offices in the UEA and break-ins to westerner complexes/communities were rife and a female colleague was sexually assaulted.

Exactly! Thanks to this thread, I’ve just googled Skelmerdale @HelloDenise 😂

This can’t possibly be true, can it? Tell me it’s not true!

In case you haven’t noticed, people have run off the OP with their nasty posts.

Anything to say to them? Thought not.

As a geographer I despair. Here's a quick run down for you. The Arabian peninsular is a massive dessert with loads of oil. The result are some glitzy energy and water guzzling cities that are totally unstainable and continuing to fuel these oil producing regimes and ultimately the demise of our climate.

Then there's the fact that most ME countries are authoritarian regimes with terrible track records for human rights abuses and in particular with concern to women and homosexuals. Not to mention the political instability in the region....Arab Spring, Syria, Iran, Iraq.

Have I put you off yet?

Lol @ not zooming out from the supermarkets. Good grief.

This is what the internet does though - it plays up how terrible paying taxes and bad weather is and plays down the benefits of living in a safe democracy, so people voluntarily give up human rights and safety for the sake of a nice house, a housekeeper and a glamorous life in the sun. And then are shocked when it goes wrong.

I don’t know a single person who would want to live there. Regardless of the current situation.

Glamorous? I think you should use this opportunity to educate yourself about the country and its culture. It’s extremely ugly.

None of the Middle East is glamorous even if it appears it from the outside. There is always an undercurrent of unrest in this part of the world.

This.

The only reason life there is significantly better for those with money is because it's significantly worse for those without.

International businesses will be pulling out in droves - in fact a number already have since Trump made the whole Middle East more volatile so I'm surprised your DH's firm were still sending people there. They definitely won't be able to force him to keep to his plans.

I doubt you’d be able to travel anyway. Foreign Office is advising against travel and I doubt your employer’s insurance would cover them to send staff there at such a time.

How could you be planning a move to a country without actually knowing where it is going by your first post? Seriously? If i was rude id say, grow up....

It's just content for them.

Right? It's very basic. To move somewhere and not even look on a map where it is is bizarre. Same with holidays.

I blame the pistachios.

If I was moving there yes I’d look at the map and see where it was, neighbouring countries etc it shares a maritime border with Iran, and land borders with Saudi and Oman.

it really isn’t the sort of place you’d only look at where the supermarkets were and the neighbour hoods if moving there.

all in I’ve spent over a month there, on two visits, always in lovely hotels, seeing the glamour, but you are fully aware of the culture, at all times, be it in a hotel, the airport, or a mall. There is no mistaking it, from how women are viewed, what’s permitted, even how you dress.

it’s not the glamourous wealthy westernised place its made out to be, there is a much much bigger umbrella of culture that dominates and it is inescapable.

as much as I enjoyed my trips, I would not live there.

Were you the poster a fair few posts back castigating someone for derailing the thread?

Because if you are, listen to yourself?