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Original poster

Dubai/UAE - where did you think you were?

622 replies

WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing · 01/03/2026 19:29

I’ll preface this by saying I wish the best for anyone out there, working or holidaying. I hope you are and remain safe.

but do people go there with next to no concern for where in the world it’s located? Do they pay no attention to news or the general geopolitical situation, it’s hnot exactly a secret.

are we really that dense that most people don’t look past the bling, the weather, the tax perks, the bloody influencers?

OP posts:
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19
savvy7 · 02/03/2026 13:19

WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing · 01/03/2026 19:29

I’ll preface this by saying I wish the best for anyone out there, working or holidaying. I hope you are and remain safe.

but do people go there with next to no concern for where in the world it’s located? Do they pay no attention to news or the general geopolitical situation, it’s hnot exactly a secret.

are we really that dense that most people don’t look past the bling, the weather, the tax perks, the bloody influencers?

Dubai is a major airport hub so people can be just transiting through

nearlylovemyusername · 02/03/2026 13:20

ParmaVioletTea · 02/03/2026 11:39

Quite.

I have VERY limited sympathy for British citizens who work there for the tax perks, and will now be whinging about being transported back to the UK - at our (actual taxpayers) expense.

Not a place I'd go on holiday to, either.

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do you feel the same about British citizens who don't work when they can or work min hours and chose to live on welfare? so not paying any taxes at all but still whinging about being poor and not getting enough support?

Donury236 · 02/03/2026 13:21

WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing · 01/03/2026 19:29

I’ll preface this by saying I wish the best for anyone out there, working or holidaying. I hope you are and remain safe.

but do people go there with next to no concern for where in the world it’s located? Do they pay no attention to news or the general geopolitical situation, it’s hnot exactly a secret.

are we really that dense that most people don’t look past the bling, the weather, the tax perks, the bloody influencers?

My partner was out there working in the Persian Gulf, not far from the Strait of Hormuz from Aug - Jan and even then he was bloody nervous about where he was. They could see Iran from the jackup.
It was suggested by the company man that he look for roles out there, and he was like no fing way, too volatile.
He's told work he's not going back there if there is another contract as he doesn't feel its worth the risk.

That said...we are like 208km in straight line from Faslane, and on the east coast of Scotland, so prob not the safest either - but I doubt they want to attack the Forties pipeline.

scottishgirl69 · 02/03/2026 13:25

nearlylovemyusername · 02/03/2026 13:20

do you feel the same about British citizens who don't work when they can or work min hours and chose to live on welfare? so not paying any taxes at all but still whinging about being poor and not getting enough support?

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Oh right - we're now doing the benefit bashing equivalence posts

Do you understand that for someone in the all work group on UC don't just get sitting on min hours and topping up their UC - particularly if they are single without kids?

Whinging about being poor? A single person over 25 on UC gets just over 400 pounds a month - to pay bills. In some cases rent shortfall as well - travel to the dwp as well.

Someone under 25 gets 316 a month. I forgot how much some people on this site dislike people on benefits

WitchesCauldron · 02/03/2026 13:25

Westcott313 · 01/03/2026 19:37

Bored of the 'how they treat women' rhetoric. I personally don't like the bling etc but it's much safer than the UK.

What a strange comment.

ColdLittleHeart · 02/03/2026 13:26

NoSchadenfreude · 02/03/2026 12:28

Haven’t RTFT but finding the smugness of people unbearable. Know exactly where the UAE is but balanced the risk of possible conflict and recent history with wishing for some sun for my family after surviving toddler starting nursery and ending up hospitalised and every illness under the sun, return to work in a stressful job, miscarriage and the miserable British winter. Add on a direct flight of 7 hours, somewhere with guaranteed sun and so child friendly and the first week of our holiday was paradise.
really sad at the situation we are now in and just hoping we can get home soon, but seeing such a sad side to humanity revelling in other people’s anxiety.

Not revelling in anyone’s misery, never would and I hope you get home safely soon. My husband works in Iraq and is currently locked down on an oil refinery, so I understand the anxiety of it all. Like you we assessed the risks of him travelling to and from there and made a choice we felt comfortable with.

I think what people are finding hard to understand is just how many people seem blindsided that anything like this could ever happen in Dubai. How they could be so naive as to think they’d be completely safe in a country that borders Iran and is an ally of the US.

It sounds like you’ve had a really tough time of it recently and I am genuinely sorry your family break has ended like this.

scottishgirl69 · 02/03/2026 13:26

I think ex pats living in Dubai will have a very different standard of living than someone in the UK on UC

scottishgirl69 · 02/03/2026 13:28

I'm not revelling in anyone's anxiety. Not revelling in anyone stuck in the middle of a war.

scottishgirl69 · 02/03/2026 13:35

MxCactus · 01/03/2026 20:56

Genuine question - do people who think Dubai is safer than the UK know about their laws?

For example, I remember reading about a woman who was raped in Dubai who went to the police and was arrested and put in prison for three years for having "extra-marital sex" which is a crime there. Her attacker walked free because by the law there rape is not a crime unless it is witnessed by another man who testifies - it doesn't matter what the woman says.

How on earth do you feel safe somewhere with laws like that for women?

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Because they just want a holiday and don't care about anything else

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:39

nearlylovemyusername · 02/03/2026 13:20

do you feel the same about British citizens who don't work when they can or work min hours and chose to live on welfare? so not paying any taxes at all but still whinging about being poor and not getting enough support?

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I don't sympathise with benefit skiving.

I agree also that the thread shouldn't have happened at this time.

ColourThief · 02/03/2026 13:40

nearlylovemyusername · 02/03/2026 13:20

do you feel the same about British citizens who don't work when they can or work min hours and chose to live on welfare? so not paying any taxes at all but still whinging about being poor and not getting enough support?

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And in true MN fashion, here we have someone getting angry at the wrong people.

Punch up, not down. That is, if you have enough time in between reading The Daily Mail and watching GB News.

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:41

somanychristmaslights · 01/03/2026 19:42

How far do you go then? Plenty of people go to Turkey and that’s next to Syria, Egypt is next to Israel. Canada is next to America. The list goes on and on!

I wouldn't go to Egypt for one. I would love to but sadly I don't believe it's stable enough .

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:43

AlwaysPerplexed · 01/03/2026 20:04

Rape and domestic violenceDomestic violence is legal in the UAE because Islam allows a husband to chastise or discipline his wife and minor children. Sadly, when women go to the police to report violence the police don’t always take claims seriously, because they are considered a private domestic matter. Wives are obligated to obey their husbands. Rape victims seeking support can be, and have been, charged with illicit sex – which is illegal and criminalized in the UAE. In this respect, women’s rights in the United Arab Emirates fall short of other cultures around the world.

https://www.expatica.com/ae/living/gov-law-admin/womens-rights-in-the-united-arab-emirates-71118/

Yes really boring .....

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This.

I think the sex laws have changed though..

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:44

SideshowAuntSallyxx · 01/03/2026 20:16

I went to Dubai a couple of years ago, spent half of it with my sister on our own (the rest with the rest of family) felt perfectly safe on our own walking around at night and getting the metro and taxis. A man got on the woman only carriage and was immediately told to move to the other carriage.

Felt much safer there than I do in some places in the UK.

Edited

Yes, for expat women it's safe.

Not for migrant women who sell sex, often forced. And if they report abuse they themselves can get jailed as selling sex is illegal.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct854r

Not the royal princesses.
www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=www.newyorker.com/the-runaway-princesses&ved=2ahUKEwjTm96SqYGTAxXaU0EAHdLbA5AQFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2DRw5ySs6XVR1mSlQatUqd

not the migrant workers in general.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/25/kafala-labour-system-gulf-women-talk-about-life-as-a-domestic-worker-in-the-gulf

‘Every day I cry’: 50 women talk about life as a domestic worker under the Gulf’s kafala system

Denounced as giving a ‘veneer of legality to slaveholding’, the kafala labour code persists, allowing employers to abuse women, who vanish from society. This is the testimony of some of those workers, gathered over two years in a Guardian investigation

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/25/kafala-labour-system-gulf-women-talk-about-life-as-a-domestic-worker-in-the-gulf

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:46

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 01/03/2026 21:27

I had been planning to go to uae end of the month, one of the reasons I chose it as I felt so safe there last time I went alone with my son. And the sunshine of course. I never thought Iran would bomb uae I assumed all Muslim countries would be safe. Naive I see now! Gutted I won’t be there spending time with my best friend who has his moved there

Remember, not all Muslim countries, esp governments, like each other. Iran and Iraq are long enemies, they were at war in the 80s, remember?

And Iran hates Dubai because they're friendly with the US, who the first Khomeini called the 'Great Satan'.

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:48

Lemonfrost · 01/03/2026 22:04

That's not quite true.

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I think the law was recently changed- possibly? Need to check..

SugarPuffSandwiches · 02/03/2026 13:50

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:39

I don't sympathise with benefit skiving.

I agree also that the thread shouldn't have happened at this time.

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On the contrary, I think it might make people open their eyes a little bit and/or maybe look at a map.
Not meant to be patronising, but a lot (not all!) seem to have genuine ignorance.

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:50

Effic · 01/03/2026 22:18

and in America, they’ve just passed a law that a women who seeks an abortion can be put to death. And men can marry children because the senators know “many women (sic) who were married as 13 year olds are happy”
so honestly FUCK OFF with the white western ‘superiority’

Edited

Before you bash the white West, check your facts.

That horrible bill did not run, let alone pass, as the man who wanted it couldn't get the votes!

https://tennesseelookout.com/2026/02/24/tennessee-republican-wont-run-anti-abortion-bill/

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:52

ZenNudist · 01/03/2026 22:19

I was going to mention Turkiye and Egypt. Seriously a lot of nastiness about dubai today on MN.

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Dubai is an immorally run country whose leaders indeed deserve criticism. It's illegal to criticise them there - I wonder why?

I agree Turkey and Egypt could also be strongly criticised though.

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:54

BubbleFree · 01/03/2026 22:20

My DH comes from Dubai, it’s just a city within the UAE. He was born in the UAE, grew up there and his family still live there. I’ve always been welcomed and never felt unsafe, we lived in Dubai for 9 years and I never felt oppressed or worried, 2 of our children were born there. My IL’s are wonderful and the most welcoming lovely people you’d ever wish to meet. Our children absolutely loved spending summer holidays in Dubai and we still visit every 6 weeks or so. I feel safer ambling around in Dubai than walking in Glasgow or Edinburgh tbh (we live in Scotland). Don't believe everything you hear or read online, a lot of it’s fabricated rubbish. People live there, it’s not about influencers, tax dodges, bling or the sunny climate for goodness sake - some people were born there. I seriously wonder about the intelligence of some posters on here…

Edited

I know there are plenty of decent people there. But you can't deny the dark side- acknowledging it doesn't mean it's stupid or made-up.

tedious, indeed.
.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct854r
www.google.com/url?
sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=

www.newyorker.com/the-runaway-princesses&ved=2ahUKEwjTm96SqYGTAxXaU0EAHdLbA5AQFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2DRw5ySs6XVR1mSlQatUqd

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/25/kafala-labour-system-gulf-women-talk-about-life-as-a-domestic-worker-in-the-gulf

Remember also it us illegal to criticise the rulers there- what do you think of that?

World of Secrets - Death in Dubai - 5. The reality of ‘Porta Potty’ - BBC Sounds

The story behind the viral “Dubai Porta Potty” rumours. We follow the trail

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct854r

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:56

Bearsdolovetrees · 01/03/2026 22:31

Is that a joke? I know of a work colleague and a friend (2 separate people) who were sexually assaulted and when they reported it were told it wouldn’t be logged and they should leave the country. There’s no crime because it’s hidden. Do you really really think the Middle East is a safe haven for women?

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This! Your poor friends.

SerendipityJane · 02/03/2026 13:56

Carla786 · 02/03/2026 13:46

Remember, not all Muslim countries, esp governments, like each other. Iran and Iraq are long enemies, they were at war in the 80s, remember?

And Iran hates Dubai because they're friendly with the US, who the first Khomeini called the 'Great Satan'.

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The Iranian people have grown up detesting the US and UK, after we inflicted the Shah on them, removing their democratically elected government.

That isn't likely to change any time soon, and will certainly temper any illusions of "Hooray !!! It's Uncle Sam" people may be expecting.

And the the fact Iran could prosecute a 10 year war against it's neighbour really should ring some alarm bells in the thinking classes.

In other news Putins "Special Military Operation" in Ukraine was supposed to take 3 days. It's not clocking in at well over 400 times over budget.

Bluedenimdoglover · 02/03/2026 13:57

I see your point. It's true, many people have no idea what is going on on the world if they live in their on-line influence bubble . Money to throw at things etc. I don't think many of them actually care about anything outside their little world - until something big like this happens. Then OMG - get me home to good old UK like YESTERDAY!!!! I feel for those caught up in the transit flights or simply on holiday. As for those who thought it a good idea to avoid domestic UK tax by working from an Arab state, or people who chose to work in high paid jobs in those states - that's different. Come back, by whatever means you can if you must, but pay tax here without complaining and don't beef about immigrants fleeing war zones to get to the UK. In