Two Questions on Dubai

[Peanutbutteryday]

Sorry if this has been done to death I’ve had a busy day and not been on mumsnet. Also sorry for just focusing on Dubai in my post. It goes without saying that I feel for everyone involved in all countries including Iran

1. I feel like the UK media is light on Dubai coverage given the number of British nationals there. Why? Is the Dubai media not releasing info? or am I just missing seeing coverage

2. I know we don’t have a crystal ball but do we think there could be a mass exodus of Brit’s living there? Or a huge change in the number of people wanting to move there?

Very few travel insurance policies cover acts of war.

I’ve seen so many Dubai based influencers bleat on about how safe it is right now, which is not the experience of the people I know out there. I reckon there’s a lot of saving face going on re justification of lifestyle choices.

I’m seeing more Instagram stories today where residents are accepting and explaining that the emergency seek shelter texts are stressful. Or influencers who have managed to leave and have admitted it was stressful.

I find the ‘lifestyle’ argument baffling too. I think it’s a terrible lifestyle compared to so many other places that a lawyer or finance professional could easily move to (Law and Finance are among the most globally mobile careers). Staying indoors 6 months of the year because it’s too hot outside isn’t appealing in the slightest.

Nope.

What travel insurance will – and won't – cover
Many travel insurance policies have wide exclusions relating to war, conflict or insurrection, according to the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) – meaning claims relating to delays and cancellations are unlikely to succeed.
Similarly, additional costs incurred while you're stuck abroad (such as food or accommodation) are unlikely to be covered by standard travel insurance policies, according to BIBA. The same is also true if you've decided not to travel

Absolutely. Having to go for a walk in a shopping mall in summer. Polluted, over-hot sea. Very poor air and (semi-desalinated) water quality. And the lack of seasons is far more depressing than I expected. And vegetation consists largely of unkillable thorny shrubs, date palms and unwell-looking little bedding plants stuck in municipal flowerbeds for a week or two before being thrown away and replaced, having been irrigated with imperfectly and expensively desalinated water.

The water quality is abysmal. So many people over in Dubai have problems with hair loss and skin conditions. And I certainly wouldn't walk on any lawns barefoot. They are irrigated with brown water yuk!

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/12/british-tourist-among-20-charged-in-dubai-over-videos-of-iranian-missile-strikes?CMP=GTUK_email

Yes, those temporary flower beds always stink penetratingly of sewage.

Is the hair loss still happening? It’s a while since I lived there and I wondered whether the desalinating process had been improved to the point where people were no longer washing their hair in bottled water.

The reliance on extensions and hairpieces isn’t something you see referenced by influencers…

A friend has 2 quantity surveyor sons living and working there.

The ones i know, like my brother, have properties here.

Trump has wrecked the ME countries trying to improve their image and boost tourism etc.

No one will want to go there for many years to come.

The latest I’ve seen is an influx of influencers who have left Dubai and now announced it after they left - a number saying how stressful it was vs influencers still there claiming how safe they are. I guess everyone has different riwk levels

Did you read the link I posted? It’s nothing to do with risk levels - if they’re still in the country and say anything negative about safety they are likely to be arrested and fined.

My boss has just managed to get back to the UK, and is considering going to another country for 6 months rather than go back to Dubai. He doesn’t feel safe there.