Meant to be moving to Dubai in 4 weeks

Can't believe you'd be moving there - you've probably had a lucky escape.
I feel sorry for the people stuck there now.

I might sound like a broken record, but the slave labour behind the glam culture is just heartbreaking. Back in the early 2000s, we were leaving Dubai to go to my dad's office in Sharjah. We turned down a side road and found a whole town made of cardboard/shanty homes. I grew up enjoying the sunshine and feeling of safety there, but I always reminded how paper thin it all is :-)

There's a reason jobs in Dubai/Saudi Arabia/Bahrain pay well. Let's just leave it at that. You're pretty naive to have even got to this position...

Nope, 'everyone' doesn't and didn't want to move there. Why would you want to live in a place with such a dodgy record on human rights?

Have you at least read books about Dubai and the wider region's history and politics? Even if you haven't actually glanced at a map..?
The mind boggles.

you are entirely unreasonable to even consider moving to a racist homophobic fake place built on slavery

Well said. Thousands of migrant workers died there during world cup preparation, most likely from being forced to work in extreme heat.

Will add to this all that marital rape is not against the law there.

Honour killings can be pardoned.

If a woman divorces and decides to remarry, she forfeits custody of her children.

But you know, yeah great lifestyle 🥴

Anyone who is ok with their record on human rights can get in the bin.

Why should anyone have worried about Iran until now? Thousands of people have moved and worked in Dubai for years. It’s an Arab country and was not in conflict with Iran.

They aren't "ex pats" they are immigrants. They've emigrated from their home state to a new one. Hence they are immigrants to Dubai.

There's plenty to do to be fair. It's just not very ethical.

I was going to say this.

My niece lives there, her villa has been broken into twice and her son physically assaulted by a neighbour who took a dislike to him playing ball. It’s not the crime free place you have been led to believe it is.

@TerracottaWorrier This is brilliant 😂👌

Your Question is way too early to be answered correctly. You need to wait and see what guidelines and advice the Company that is doing the relocating give. For those berating the poster, there are some people in this life that assume rightly or wrongly if a company sends a valued member of their staff abroad they will be safe and rightly so. You have no right to berate the OP in the tones that have been used.

This?!!!!???

To be fair I would rather work behind a till in M & S than live in Dubai, but horses for course hey....?

Like most posters here, I know ENOUGH about Dubai to know I would NEVER want to live there. Or even visit!

.

If you’re not “moral posturing” about Dubai I think some reflection is needed.
“Normal life” to be had by whom? A white Western ex pat, maybe & hope that nothing ever goes wrong.
A guy from a poor area of India who was lured over with promises of this & that and than has his passport taken by his “sponsor” so he can’t leave.
It’s possible to have a “normal life” anywhere if you are prepared to overlook human rights abuses.

Funny how many people only seem to realise we're they live all of a sudden next thing they will be surprised its Muslim would not go one no money two nothing for me there to hot nothing to do

The UK might be wet & grey but it has human rights for workers including low paid workers. Your friends fab lifestyle is provided by those workers and the abuses against them are well documented.

UAE destroy whole habitats, sometimes with people in them, to build their insane and tasteless projects - mainly shopping malls and playgrounds for thick rich westerners. They use slave labour to do this, and treat people who work for them worse than we treat battery chickens here. They can (and sometimes do) imprison anyone for sex out of marriage, and for public displays of affection. Homosexuality is illegal to the point of being punished by death. But yes, UK is worse because of Mendelson.

…checks range of Iranian drones and missiles🙄

However the tourist areas are nowhere near these borders 🤦‍♀️

I imagine your husband’s company will pull the plug on the move in the short term! They may well bring all their in Dubai home as it’s not going to settle any time soon! I’d be thankful you’re not trapped out there currently!

Me and my ex boyfriend moved to Manchester when we were about 18. Total southerners. The first time we saw the weather forecast on TV we were ASTONISHED. We thought we were up near Scotland.

I also once took my dad by boat from South Korea to an uninhabited island because I thought it was the Japanese mainland.

Fuck maps!

You do you, OP!

Has DH's employer not given him a briefing on what to expect, laws and local customs, etc?

At the multinational my bro-in-law worked for, spouses were invited to attend briefings on culture, lifestyle etc if the employee was offered a post abroad.