Brits who moved to Dubai, how's life?

[Southparkt]

I had several friends who moved to Dubai in the last 3 years and they are really loving it and have no plans to come back. We have been considering a move as we have young family and will be very thankful if we can afford to have nannies and driver etc as our friends have. They feel more relaxed in the sun and can afford big house with swimming pool etc. We are high earners here and used to have nanny for our oldest but if we keep spending at that rate, we can never retire here with the Cost of living increases.
I am looking to hear from Brits who moved to Dubai and how life feels like now?

This ^ Not to mention the women who are treated like shit.

OP this is the wrong demographic to ask.

We have completely lost the moral ground to be lecturing anyone on human rights and equality.

I know someone whose family live there, they were born there but they will never be Emirati, they are not allowed access to things that Emeritis are and their children have grown up and moved away

Modern slavery in United Arab Emirates | Walk Free https://share.google/NdR4tbXRPbVlEqp0a

You might want to read this.

Living somewhere where you can’t go outside 5 months a year? Fuck that

Couldn’t pay me to live there, full of vacuous superficial image conscious people who are able to turn a blind eye to the horrors of slave labour and atrocities, can’t think of a worse place to live

I couldn't do it.

Appalling human rights, no grass, no trees, fake lakes everywhere

Give me strength

Thanks. Imagine giving up all your human rights for a lifestyle. Maybe that’s ok for a single person to decide but not with children.

We looked at moving there as I had a job. We ended up doing a few months in another middle east country.
There are good and bad points.
My boss did 8 years in dubai with his family and also told me a few things from his perspective.
You drive everywhere, walking around the city isnt really a thing. There are some walking areas. I personally hated this about the middle east.
You have to be on guard there, sure you can be westernish in dubai, but its really not ideal to be constantly worried. In the country I was in it was even stricter.
There is no 'culture'. If you love old buildings and the cafes of europe, all you will find in dubai and the new middle east cities is modern expanses and plazas. Like living in canary wharf with no end.
You spend a lot of time indoors. Its too hot otherwise.
But there are good things, weather if you love the sun and all the glitz and glam and stuff to do if you have the cash.
We also moved to another country in asia for a year and it does hurt being so far away from family.
I would say the low paid workers are generally treated like shit over there and your nanny, she will likely have kids of her own back home in the phillines being looked after by family while she is sent by them to earn while she is young.
I couldnt get on board with the nanny situation, to make it viable you pay them peanuts. It just felt wrong to me. I trialled a couple and I couldnt do it and pay them nothing while they lived in my basement.
I overheard some phillipino nannies talking while buying water in the middle east country I was in and they were talking about the fact their employers wouldnt allow them to drink their water and they had to buy their own.
Ultimately I abandoned the idea as I wasnt sure i wanted to support that kind of economy that exploits workers and is built on slaves.
However, i recognise that as a british person, I am living in the aftermath and enjoying the proceeds of the same. Ivory towers and all that.
I would say if you havent lived abroad then its exciting to try. Have a plan to be able to return in a year if you dont like it. Nothing ventured nothing gained and no regrets.

And side note:

It also seems to be full of (British) criminals. It’s the new Spain for retired crooks and drug dealers.

@Southparkt what's your AIBU?

I think some people are quick to judge (perhaps rightly so) but it’s a bit more nuanced.
we have family who live there, have done almost 20 years, kids there etc who have a lovely life. Nanny, loads of cars, constant sun, nice house etc. they kept enticing us to come over to DH went to visit.
he had a lovely trip, it’s very clean very glitzy, good golf great food! So easy to get swept up!
BUT we did the maths and firstly it’s £££. Secondly you pay a fortune for private schools for an education that experts there admit is like a good primary school in the UK. You have to turn a blind eye to exploitation everywhere. Kids naturally are much more consumerist than here I find- less nature, more competitive, more shopping and brands and tech. Nanny culture really impacts behaviour. Working hours are long and then ‘play hard’ weekends.
I do get why some people do it especially if financially it’s better than the UK. It just didn’t work for us. My job didn’t translate there and I really worried about kids in that environment. The UK is far from perfect but it’s tolerate and fair in a way that the UAE just isn’t. They also have an innate sense of Britishness and belonging which our relatives third culture kids won’t have. I wonder where they will end up as their lives will always be dependent on their visa, you can’t become a citizen.

Perhaps a tenuous link to the expat chat, but I really recommend Morocco as a place to live for families moving abroad. Lovely people, and the culture is so child and family friendly. I have found it thoroughly un-pretentious, welcoming and peaceful. The working day is even structured around family life, with a 2 hour gap for lunch in the middle of the day.-which everyone, pretty much, takes. Public education and infrastructure are rapidly improving ( though perhaps not fast enough as the Gen Z protesters are saying atm) and private education and healthcare are affordable, and often part of employment package. A lovely buzz in the country as the World Cup beckons. I don’t miss the UK as much as I thought I would. Just the lush greenery… and the tea.

BIL trained as a teacher in the UK but then couldn't get a job here and he eventually found a job in Oman training army conscripts. One night he was driving home and through no fault of his he killed a road worker on an unlit stretch of motorway roadworks; the worker was Indian and the culture in the Middle East saw him as disposable.
I couldn't live in a culture like that regardless of how it would benefit me financially. BIL left the Middle East as soon as he could.

Yeah this. Haven’t lived there but have visited Dubai and KSA as a transient worker (ie 4/5 day stints).

Wouldn’t live there for a gazillion pounds. The racism and misogyny is off the scale. Two tier policing/justice. Still weekly executions in KSA.

Sure it’s glossy and sunny but Dubai is just a big concrete jungle in the middle of a desert. Go up the Burj Kalifa and prepare to be completely underwhelmed by the “views”. There is also an undercurrent of unpleasantness from the Emirati towards foreigners of every creed and colour.

You’d likely be living in an expat bubble which might look great at first glance. But I’d be shit scared about doing anything which could be construed as “illegal” and ending up in jail - they manipulate the laws to suit themselves in my experience. It’s a completely morally bankrupt place.

So it’s a big “no” from me. All that glistens is not gold and all that.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/03/questions-and-answers-migrant-worker-abuses-uae-and-cop28

edited to add - if you’ve a strong stomach, google Dubai porta potty - is this the kind of people you’d want to be around?

I know someone whose family live there, they were born there but they will never be Emirati, they are not allowed access to things that Emeritis are and their children have grown up and moved away

Yes, because Britain absolutely upholds human rights around the world, does not support and fund genocide, does not have 31% of all children loving in poverty, does not have a hostile environment towards people of colour. I could go on

Its not just trafficked people being used as sex workers (which is vile on its own, and these innocent people don't have a choice).

Op, or anyone else, if you've ever wondered how influencers manage some of their lavish holidays in Dubai and lifestyles, google Dubai Potty Parties. These people are paid £10,000,just to arrive and then bigger sums to be pissed and shat on...... (the side of insta they don't want you to see/know about)

@CombatBarbie blimey , every day is a school day on here !

Because the UK doesn't have a problem with human trafficking specifically for sex?

Teenagers in Dubai have to be very careful how they behave. No room for rebellious behaviour.

Yes I lived in the UAE for 8 and a half years. I left when my daughter was nearly 4 (she was born there), because school was so expensive and I knew I’d never be able to have a second living there. Some jobs offer subsidies for school fees which is essential as schools are far far more expensive than independent schools here. I loved my time there as a single person but once I became a mum I missed “normal” things and kind of got tired of all the glitz

I’m sure you can have a great life there, if you are high earners. As long as you obey the rules (and the penalties are harsher than here for breaking what would be seen as a minor infraction in the UK), don’t mind not living in a democracy (which some people don’t mind at all, so that isn’t a criticism) and hopefully one of your kids won’t turn out to be gay. If you go into it with your eyes wide open, why not?

Imagine that! I love the hooligans on their illegal mopeds who have no respect for the law in the UK. I especially love the smell of weed in open spaces and the patriotic rioting that we have which would not be complete without a Greggs being smashed up. Bring on the rebellious teenagers