Meant to be moving to Dubai in 4 weeks

No,"everyone" doesn’t want to move there! I would never, never voluntarily live in the UAE.

Have you even visited before op? Are you being taken in by the glamour and forgetting it’s the Middle East, and what comes with that, from the culture to the region ? I find your post surprising to be honest.

I just can't imagine a situation where you'd move your family to another country without ever looking at the map!

Moving to an unstable region was always going to come with risks. I don't think the risks are any different today than they were this time last week. "Something" has happened now, but it's been about to for weeks.

I think the main risk is travel disruption though, that something happens at home (family illness etc) and you can't fly back when you want to, or you come back for a trip with DC and don't see DH for longer than expected.

And some people wonder why they get a hard time about moving. When they don’t even know where they are moving to or the current/historical political climate out there.

There’s been rumblings for a while about a USA attack. Israel/iran attacked each other last year. The middle east has been unstable for as long as i can remember for one feason or another. . Shiny hotels, sunshine, shopping malls and money doesn’t change that area and its history.

I feel for people stuck out there and experiencing it all but the amount of videos i’ve seen today of influencer type young people who still aren’t understanding the danger and still outside enjoying beach clubs and one was even laughing about it. It’s all is just wow really.

I used to go a lot for work. I wouldn’t consider it for a holiday or to live there. All that glisters is not gold.

However I know people who live there and love it. I can see how people are seduced by the lifestyle but you have to look at the other side too.

I do feel for you OP, as you must be very worried so close to the time when you should be moving. I know the region is unstable but not many people would have considered Dubai unsafe.

You think she thinks every one of the world’s 8 billion people wants to move to tiny Dubai?

Do you always take things so literally?

Is this new? There were buses from Saudi Arabia and Oman when I was there. It was a good while ago.

It really isnt to most people. I have never seen it in rose to tinted glasses.

I’ve been there a few times and couldn’t live there. And I wouldn’t want to bring up kids there either. Added to that the constant ME tensions, it was clear that it will blow up one day. Mind you, people who live there would then say ‘it’s safer than London’. Personally I disagree with that

Your Dh needs to talk to his employer about what their plans are.

I wouldn’t be comfortable going so soon. We have friends working out there who have had a scary night. They have been there for years, had their dc there and aren’t easily scared.

This, the airports been bombed once already, airspace closed. Aircraft rerouted away midflight yesterday etc.

OP - I mean this politely, but you are ridiculous. I’ve lived in the UAE for decades. It has always been part of an unstable region. The UAE itself is not, but the neighbourhood is. If you have not done even token research on the region you are moving to, you should stop and reconsider until you have.

Even before this all kicked off, you couldn't have paid me to even visit.
Anyway, as someone said earlier, you are where you are. I would think that you will have to move heaven and earth to put a stop to this move (assuming it's not stopped by outside agencies).

Yes I don’t understand why people are not a bit more freaked out by the prevalence of modern slavery in countries like UAE - low prevalence of slavery seems a low bar to clear, but at least the UK does clear
that one.

@Medesres did you research anything else about living there?

For example did you know that the reason we are not hearing about how bad the bombings have been in Dubai is that “law 34” prohibits people from sharing that information. If your friends have been sharing on social media they could face 10 years in jail.

Did you know that you wouldn’t be able to kiss your husband in public? A lot of people do kiss their spouses, but it is still illegal, so you do so at the whim of any police officer who might be having a bad day and want to teach a westerner a lesson.

Obviously I could go on with dozens more examples.

How have you never looked on a map when you were moving there?

You'd best put that plan on hold indefinitely. Sadly it could be for a very long time, given how long other wars are lasting.

Everyone doesn't actually mean everyone she knows. Everyone she knows means just that. If she thinks that everyone wants to go she is misinformed and might like to know that

I agree with others that it's crazy that you were planning to emigrate without researching the geography and politics of the area. Unless you are very new to Mumsnet, you must be aware that while some people love it for the "glamourous lifestyle" (for foreign tourists and expats), there are many others who wouldn't touch it with a bargepole (either holidaying there or working there) because of its human rights abuses.

But, we are where we are. It will be some time before the situation in the area stabilises. Your DH needs to phone his employer asap to ask what happens if you postpone/cancel the move and want to stay in this country.

I can understand you being nervous now. What I find ridiculous is that you haven’t really looked into where you are moving and the political climate. I’m guessing you know nothing about the rules and laws there you will have to follow too. Not a place I’d be moving to with no research.

Quite!

I would be worried about going too. But I am not someone who has ever even wanted to visit Dubai, so I can't tell you if the pay off may be worth the risk for you.

I don't think I'd cancel necessarily. But I don't see it being a bed of roses over there. It definitely seems to be a love it or hate it place at the best of times and I know a few people who really didn't like living there for a number of reasons, none of which I think are going to improve with everything that is going on.

The main issue for me atm would be getting stuck there and unable to leave if I wanted to or needed to.

It amazes me how many British people just think Dubai is Real Housewives of England without realising the political and geographical realities of it.

If you believed everything you saw/read in the media you wouldn't go anywhere....yep including your local High Street.
The situation in the region has been unstable for years and always will be, especially if 'the West keep involving themselves. Missiles over the UAze however are few and far between ... usually Bahrain and Qatar are seen more as targets due to US bases.
Talking to friends who live in the UAE earlier nobody was particularly worried and were pretty much carrying on as they would during any normal Ramadan.
There's a supposed ex security guy on Instagram who speaks a lot of sense and lives in Dubai...Joule Sullivan. Haven't checked his credentials but worth listening to.
I've lived in the region for many years snd spart from the frustration of air space being closed have been lucky enough not to have any major worries.

I know! Did you not do any research before agreeing to this?