To ask why people like Dubai so much?

[moreyoudoknow]

I know loads of people who now say it's their favourite holiday destination?

What's so lovely about it? Looks too hot to me? Can go above 45 weather wise!

I like the Canary Islands because the sun burns down but it has a cool breeze... a hidden gem if you hate sweltering heat

From pictures, it looks like a city like London that just has pools?

Yes. Do you want to check my receipts? It's not usually, a decent stand alone the aize I need is that, it depends on your package if you have ro subsidise it.

Not unusual

I know, I've lived in Qatar.

No one I knew paid £10k a month rent.

But our salaries also are obviously tax free so if you both have decent jobs, it's not unusual. A primary school teacher averages 4k pounds a month tax free plus housing and flights so more niche operational specialities earn way more.

We don't pay it. Or school fees. But it's what it costs for a stand alone in West Bay. World Cup has inflated prices. I assume you were there for the money as you dodnt like it so we're not on NMW?

What in God's name are you talking about?

Did you type my username by mistake?

As it's so new there's not enough " culture " I go on holiday as a way to expand my knowledge and we spend a lot of time visiting museums and archaeological sites.

Here's my first post on this thread, so anyone judging me for not going to Dubai would be rather wide of the mark

Sorry, you can't really think that it's normal to live in a standalone in West Bay (Lagoon presumably) surely? Of course you can pay 600kAED/QAR a year on rent - it's hardly common though! You can also pay GBP 10k (or much more) monthly rent in London - not many people do though, even amongst the expat community.

I’m not at all saying anyone should visit Dubai. The comments about the treatment of staff and Dubai being built on slavery are justified. But, we forget our own history so easily. The UK was built on the profits of slavery. The Royal African Company (RAC) transported slaves to Bristol, where they were branded with the RAC logo. Bristol was a hub for the global slave trade.

Britain formally abolished the slave trade in 1807, but only outlawed slavery in 1834, after the Slavery Abolition Act was passed by the parliament the year before.

The British government paid the slave traders 20 million pounds in compensation. The government took out a loan to pay it, which was only paid off – by British taxpayer money – in 2015.

That means that living taxpayers in the UK paid billions of pounds to slave traders to stop them from trading in human lives, and to slave owners for the loss of their “property”. The British government, using public money, paid slave owners but not those who were enslaved. We can’t exactly claim the moral high ground here.

I know you don't pay it or your school fees, I lived there, I know all about how things are done.
I moved there due to a friend loving it, living his best life! 😂 It wasn't our best life and we stayed for a few years and left. The money was good, the holidays were fantastic, but everyday life was pretty bland. If you like coffee shops and 5* hotels then you're made up. I prefer pubs and walking about city centres with cute shops and no weirdness about women in short skirts or a bit of boob showing. I also like to hold hands with my husband. And I most certainly didn't enjoy the hierarchy system when it came to driving. I also didn't appreciate paying 30% more for last seasons clothes in the shops. It was a nice experience and I enjoyed some bits, I'd live there again if the right job came up but it would certainly have to have really good benefits to outweigh the sacrifices made. With saying that it was the best school my son ever went to. He certainly was living his best life. Lol.

@BadLad yes sorry wrong tag

Because they are soulless ghouls.

So a gay person not wanting to go to a place where homosexuality is illegal must be racist? Quite the leap of logic.

It's my package that pays, not my husband. Funny with all that hatred for women. My boss is a local female also. And it's not exactly an office based job.

I'm not sure what difference it makes that your boss is "local female". What do you mean by that. I find some of your posts a bit hard to understand if I'm honest.

I think, as PP's have said, almost every country had slavery in the past, but we are talking about the present.

I can see both sides of this. Ethical travel is such a tricky and complex thing, like ethical consumerism. I doubt I will ever be able to travel completely ethically because my mum lives in India and my sister lives in Texas! ( hope not too outing) But I can see some posters would like to attempt it.

I've lived in Dubai for 10 years - I'm the furthest you could be from an Instagram/influencer type, I'm a homely middle aged woman with cats. I love Dubai because it has something for everyone. Yes the glitz and glamour is there for those who want it, but there's also a thriving cultural scene, loads of galleries and museums and some amazing architecture – I’m always discovering new things. It’s one of the safest places to live in the world, and has a wonderful mix of nationalities.

To those objecting to Dubai for moral reasons, that’s your right of course, and there’s no doubt the country has issues in that regard, but so do many others that don't get talked about as much. For my part, I always tip generously and pay over the odds for good service when I can afford to, and treat everybody how I would want to be treated, and so does everyone else I know - which I’d like to think has more of an impact than tutting about human rights on a message board from 3,000 miles away.
I refuse to feel guilty for contributing to an economy that provides jobs for so many workers from overseas who would struggle to provide for their families otherwise.

My boss is a Qatari woman. She works on site and is highly effective. No being or high heels.

Funny with all that hatred for women. My boss is a local female also

That sounds an awful lot like you think women are treated as equals there?

Tell me your experience of 23 years in the Gulf working under your own steam not as a trailing spouse. Were your experiences different? Certainly my time in other countries were hard and mainly from the 9ld guard of Aberdonian engineers who had lived abroad since the 1970s and thought it was a good way to escape political correctness going mad. Nigeria was also not great fun, didn't stay there long. Being a woman 8n industry seemed to give people (men and women) the rage.

Great to read a more balanced view of Dubai.

What is that suppose to prove? I'm not sure of the relevance. Qatari men and women do work, mostly because they have to do service to earn their money from the government. Its not really a choice in many cases, and that is obvious by their customer service skills. 😂😂😂

Yes but they don't have to be health ministers or high level engineers. That takes education and ambition, not just a high school diploma and a job on the traffic fines desk. Although I rarely find an issue, speaking Arabic probably helps.