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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Brits who moved to Dubai, how's life?

252 replies

Southparkt · 02/10/2025 13:31

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?

OP posts:
CleopatraSelene · 03/10/2025 04:37

CleopatraSelene · 03/10/2025 04:35

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Sorry, I see someone already posted!

CleopatraSelene · 03/10/2025 04:39

Hereforthecommentz · 02/10/2025 22:22

The fact we have council homes shows what a compassionate place we are. People get free housing if they struggle here. Not really comparable to kids walking miles to get some clean water is it. Adversity? Jesus wept you have no ideal of real poverty. Get out of your bubble and realise how lucky you are. I work in a school teachers don't last, it's stressful but in many countries kids don't even get to go to school especially girls. If you were dying in the steet an ambulance will pick you up and try and save you and you won't be presented with thousands of pounds of medical bills. My daughter has equal rights here and if one of my kids were to be gay they could hold hands in public and wouldn't be thrown off a building. There's plenty of things wrong here and improvements can be made but we are bloody lucky that's why hundreds of thousands emigrate here every year.

Edited
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👏 We need to stop succumbing to propaganda from these tyrannous countries that they are somehow better & cannot be judged.

CleopatraSelene · 03/10/2025 04:43

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 03/10/2025 00:50

Would you not be hiring your nanny through a British agency ? as surely you would want a qualified and trained nanny with a dbs / paediatric first aid etc.

The agency Kensington Nannies does nannies both in the UK and abroad.

And that would mean paying the nanny fairly, hopefully.

CleopatraSelene · 03/10/2025 04:47

AandPeggy · 02/10/2025 21:48

@DelleLdn What's the name of that Bangladeshi charity, if you want to share?

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I'd like to hear too

CleopatraSelene · 03/10/2025 05:00

Truetoself · 02/10/2025 18:59

@Southparktthere is a facebook group called British mums dubai which you will find helpful.

if you think you can command good salaries there , it’s a great place for a young family. You need to be able to trun a blind eye to the dark side but let’s not pretend there is no dark side here. Do also commit to saving as much as you can as you would want to move back here when your kids are teens to give them the opportunity to go to private school here and live in reality. With the savings, you will be able to afford the help you need to make your life easier.

Is the dark side here comparable to Dubai though?

CleopatraSelene · 03/10/2025 05:03

Lifecanbebeautiful12 · 02/10/2025 17:48

You do know Saudi Arabia is a completely different country, right?

OP, you’ll get lots of jealous and bitter comments here. I lived in Dubai around 10 years ago so was younger and loved the lifestyle. I have friends there still and go for holidays and I have to say it is a very different place these days. It is incredibly busy, lots of traffic, hard to find good quality foods in supermarkets etc. The schools are not particularly good if you compare to the top private schools in London. Personally I wouldn’t move my children there for those reasons. It is undeniable that workers from India, Pakistan, Philippines etc are treated very badly and work extremely long hours for very little pay.

on the plus side, is it incredibly safe, very low crime rate, women are very safe and respected despite what you’ll read on here from people who have never been! Alcohol is widely available and pubs, clubs etc are very popular and accepted - again despite what you’ll read here! No dress code is enforced these days. It is very liberal and westernised.

In summary - it is a great lifestyle, very luxurious, convenient, safe place to live. But it isn’t the place for a serious, long term life in my opinion as most people treat it like an extended holiday.

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Women are respected and safe? European women maybe. Indian housemaids were sexually harassed so badly the Indian government stopped them going.

And how are porta potties (often European women) respectful?

CleopatraSelene · 03/10/2025 05:04

CleopatraSelene · 03/10/2025 05:03

Women are respected and safe? European women maybe. Indian housemaids were sexually harassed so badly the Indian government stopped them going.

And how are porta potties (often European women) respectful?

Show quote history

Plus the lovely way the princesses were treated.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=www.newyorker.com/the-runaway-princesses&ved=2ahUKEwj44P6Mk4eQAxWeYEEAHZaKHl8QFnoECCcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2DRw5ySs6XVR1mSlQatUqd

https://www.google.com/url?opi=89978449&rct=j&sa=t&source=web&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fthe-runaway-princesses&usg=AOvVaw2DRw5ySs6XVR1mSlQatUqd&ved=2ahUKEwj44P6Mk4eQAxWeYEEAHZaKHl8QFnoECCcQAQ

Nestingbirds · 03/10/2025 05:38

The UAE has changed a lot in the last twenty five years. The all day brunch culture and vacuous vibe is enough to make me run a mile, but the ill treatment of workers and employees (removing their passports) is totally unacceptable. If you like superficiality and surface level wealth I guess it could work, but it wouldn’t be for me.

SatsumaDog · 03/10/2025 05:46

I’ve never lived there, but do have relatives who worked there for a few years. They found it to be amazing on the surface, the kind of place for a holiday, but living there was an uncomfortable experience. When they veil of glamour and money lifts and you see what lies underneath, you can’t see past it and if you have any empathy at all, it’s difficult to live there. That was their feedback.

DrowningInSyrup · 03/10/2025 06:23

SatsumaDog · 03/10/2025 05:46

I’ve never lived there, but do have relatives who worked there for a few years. They found it to be amazing on the surface, the kind of place for a holiday, but living there was an uncomfortable experience. When they veil of glamour and money lifts and you see what lies underneath, you can’t see past it and if you have any empathy at all, it’s difficult to live there. That was their feedback.

There is no way I could bring myself to watch that. The level of depravity in the world makes me sick. I'd honestly rather not be here.

Theextraordinaryisintheordinary · 03/10/2025 06:32

My friend is teaching there. It’s too hot. She said she’s trapped inside under air con and fed up of shopping malls. Misses trees. She can’t come home for another two years.

HeyThereDelila · 03/10/2025 06:36

I would neither live nor holiday there if you paid me. It’s a dictatorial police state built on slave labour. They treat black and Asian people abominably.

If you go, then return remember you’ll have dented your state pension entitlement here and maybe cheaper access to UK uni education.

Still, at least you’ll have had nannies and drivers to console you.

zazazaaar · 03/10/2025 06:36

I looked at moving there many years ago as DH could earn a vast amount of money compared to here.
We would have had a cushy existence but I just couldn't not once I found out about the human rights abuses. Also the fact that many of the Brits living there rarely learnt any Arabic but yet moaned about immigrants to the UK.
However I dont think the OP gives a fuck. Which is quite awful.

mjf981 · 03/10/2025 06:50

MN hates Dubai so I'm not surprised by the responses here.

As do I as it happens, so no good advice from me! It's the last place I would ever choose to live. The climate alone would put me off.

weatherkarma · 03/10/2025 06:52

Shufflebumnessie · 02/10/2025 16:51

I have absolutely no idea what Dubai is like but I recently saw an account on Instagram called insidefayeslife and the family has just relocated to Dubai (I think they lived there years ago too). You might find it helpful.

I’ve just looked at the account. How depressing. And so many people aspiring to have a life like hers judging by the comments. The planet and human race are completely fucked.

Liondoesntsleepatnight · 03/10/2025 06:53

Singapore would be better but very expensive and not sure on tax position. Abu Dhabi looks good too

I would also like a driver, if I got rich enough, can you imagine coming out of work/meeting:event and having your driver waiting, with drinks and snacks, big comfy seats and blankets!

Thedevilhasfinallycaughtupwithhim · 03/10/2025 06:56

My brother went and hated it. He couldn’t believe the level of exploitation, he said it wasn’t far off slavery.
Luckily, he didn’t move there; he’d just gone for a month for work. He’s never been back.

Nestingbirds · 03/10/2025 06:57

Liondoesntsleepatnight · 03/10/2025 06:53

Singapore would be better but very expensive and not sure on tax position. Abu Dhabi looks good too

I would also like a driver, if I got rich enough, can you imagine coming out of work/meeting:event and having your driver waiting, with drinks and snacks, big comfy seats and blankets!

Abu Dhabi is no different to Dubai. Singapore is boring - it is very limited. A driver is not that exciting.

savvy7 · 03/10/2025 07:00

I've been to Dubai a couple of times, once over 20 years ago and then again more recently. My DH was offered a job there when DC was young so we heavily looked into that also. What we discovered was that the best salary and benefits packages were to be found years ago - that ship had long sailed. So yes a tax free salary but now you are also paying for education. It can also be a very transient place - friends move on, so do teachers. It didn't feel like Dubai would offer a stable education for our DC. The traffic is awful - you can spend a long time taking kids too and from school. That was an issue for me as I would have wanted to work also. Then there is the place itself. Dubai was better 20 years ago IMO (and even then it wasn't great) but at least it had some authenticity. Now it is just a massive sprawl of concrete, manmade attractions, endless shopping malls and not much else. That's to say nothing of the contradictions of the place - where a young lad.can be jailed for having sex with his girlfriend but prostitution openly takes place; where sale of.alcohol is restricted but bottomless brunches prevail. And then there are the human rights issues that others have spoken of. We made the right decision to stay in the UK.

Nestingbirds · 03/10/2025 07:05

I remember going to the Burj. A lovely suite, back then, and I glanced up and realised there was the biggest mirror I have ever seen above the entire bed.

I realised then that I could never ever like the place. I actively can not stand the way women are treated like service animals to men.

We have been offered mind blowing packages to work there. You couldn’t pay me enough to ever accept. Brash, fake, becoming incredibly downmarket as they squeeze out the revenue. No chance.

Biskieboo · 03/10/2025 07:07

My work takes me to Dubai now and again and I think it's awful, I wouldn't live there for all the money in the world. However if you can read about the horrendous way certain people are treated there and still come to the conclusion that 'Yeah, but I'll have a nanny and a driver so swings and roundabouts', i.e. if you're a narcissist who only cares about money, then I'm sure you'll love it.

TorroFerney · 03/10/2025 07:23

OfKitten · 02/10/2025 17:03

Wow - harsh responses. @Southparkt Dubai is actually good, clean, and streamlined, but it is a significant change in lifestyle (eg if you are outdoorsy you may find it tough) and you have to be careful with money since you might end up spending more and more because there is that sort of culture (at it has been with some friends - they did not save as much as they thought). Also, the work experience you get over there may not count for much back in the UK if you are not going to work in the same company, getting a new job here may be tough.

Overall it's good but you have to make a careful and long term decision and plan it.

People really will excuse anything won’t they on the basis that it’s „clean“.

HPFA · 03/10/2025 07:24

Isobel Oakeshott loves it over there.

The same woman who has now come close to saying non-white people can't be English.

That would be enough to put me off.

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