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Hi everyone,

I have been researching on whether or not moving to Dubai (1-2 years) to work is something that "fits" for me. I'm from Toronto, Canada and my question is...are there many Canadians living and working in Dubai or any of the other surrounding citys? Any advice you have to offer will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

milo99

There are quite a few Canadians....

I see Canadian flag stickers on many cars here in Dubai and have seen in other Emirates.

Hello Milo99!

I've heard that there are some 7,000 Canadians here in the UAE. I'm one of them.

How is life over there?

Thanks.

This is a great country. Many things to do.
Great people (for the most part).
Good money.
Awesome weather for 2 months of the year. Good weather for 7 months of the year. Crappy weather for the remainder of the year.
Come and see what the fuss is all about

I really like it so far, and am learning a lot about about how things work here as opposed to Canada or other countries I've lived in. (I've been here less than two months.)

The weather is gorgeous right now (don't know about summer!), and it is very multicultural! Lots of beautiful desert, water, and golf courses

Traffic and driving standards are bad, and apartment/villa rents are high.

kanelli wrote:Hello Milo99!

I've heard that there are some 7,000 Canadians here in the UAE. I'm one of them.

7000 registered Canadians. There are much more who are not registered at the embassy or consulate.

milo99 wrote:Hi everyone,

I have been researching on whether or not moving to Dubai (1-2 years) to work is something that "fits" for me. I'm from Toronto, Canada and my question is...are there many Canadians living and working in Dubai or any of the other surrounding citys? Any advice you have to offer will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

milo99

Hi, I've been in Dubai about 18 months, lived in Toronto for 15 years, Dubai reminds me alot of Toronto, I like it and am enjoying my time here.

I also live in Canada (originally from South America). I have been in Canada for 6 years now. I find it so hard to make friends here. I move to a town close to Toronto 2 years ago, and I only know a few people from work, but I dont even consider them friends. Canadians dont seem to like inmigrants, and inmigrants only mingle with people from their own country. I am from Colombia, husband is from India, and it seems colombians and indians dont like this combination either. How is in UAE?. Husband grew up in Abu dhabi but his parents were too strict so he did not enjoy, now we are moving there since his parents have a business and want to pass it to us. would it be easier to get friends there?. We are late 20's, like parties, trips, culture etc (not picky I would say as long as drugs are not involved). Thank you

Indi, I find it strange that you are having a hard time finding friends in Canada. Everyone in Canada comes from somewhere else. Yes, some new immigrants stick to their own culture groups at the start, so you might have a hard time breaking into one of those groups. I have friends in Canada from so many cultures, so there are Canadians out there who don't stick to their own kind - you just have to get out there and meet more people. How do we know if you are a more solitary kind of person, or picky about who you want to be friends with or not? Perhaps Canadians aren't, in fact, hard to become friends with.

In true fact, Canada has got to be the most tolerant Western country. Thats whats great about it.

But the weather sucks major a$$...

I'm also another Canadian who recently moved to UAE. I like it a lot.. but you'll definitely miss Canada A LOT, I know I do. Can't wait to go back for a visit for some sanity -- because there is a lot of INsanity here.. crazy drivers.. crazy behavior... crazy buildings.. crazy cars.. and some people have crazy money! .. everything is crazy here... sometimes that's good, and sometimes that's bad.

But all in all, i'd recommend the move.. make sure you prepare yourself to become NON-RESIDENT before (or shortly after) the move so that you don't have to pay taxes to Canada while abroad.

kanelli wrote:Hello Milo99!

I've heard that there are some 7,000 Canadians here in the UAE. I'm one of them.

OH YEAH 7000 only!!!!!!!!! We have to OUTNUMBER the Brits!!! Brits treat UAE like thier colony. By the time I reach there Canadians must be above 10000. Yes I will bring loads of talented Canadians with me and take over the Brits and ah dont worry about the Americanos cos there are enuf ppl there to kick their @ss.

hussam wrote:I'm also another Canadian who recently moved to UAE. I like it a lot.. but you'll definitely miss Canada A LOT, I know I do. Can't wait to go back for a visit for some sanity -- because there is a lot of INsanity here.. crazy drivers.. crazy behavior... crazy buildings.. crazy cars.. and some people have crazy money! .. everything is crazy here... sometimes that's good, and sometimes that's bad.

But all in all, i'd recommend the move.. make sure you prepare yourself to become NON-RESIDENT before (or shortly after) the move so that you don't have to pay taxes to Canada while abroad.

hahahaha Crazy is a good way to describe DXB, especially crazy A$$ money.

Sorry to hear you are having trouble making friends in Canada Indi, but like Kanelli I have friends from all walks of life in Canada, From Colombia, to Korea and it is not unusual to see a group of friends who are of all nationalities hanging out, I have noticed that many new commers though are a bit timid and hang out with "their own" as a sense of comfort, you just need to get out there and hopefully things will work out.

Enjoy your time in Abu Dhabi

Is crime a problem in Dubai? I read that is it relatively crime-free, however I understand it is a growing metropolitan city, so I imagine there is some crime committed. Any thoughts guys?

Indi,

Canada is probably one of the of few remaining countries with minimal discrimination. In fact, other countries like France, Uk etc. are taking the Canadian's integration system as an example for their own country.

Sorry to say, but if you didn't manage to make friends within 6 years in Canada, you probably wont have more friends in Dubai. In fact, making friends is all up to you, regardless of where u live.

Maybe you should have tried Montreal, they have a big hispanic community ( because of the french language ). ( Not sure about that, but i guess that there isnt many hispanic expats in dubai or in the gulf region..)

So please, dont bash Canada because i know for a fact that South America is MUCH MORE intolerant than North America ...

I am not bashing about Canada. I used to live in Winnipeg, I went to school there and I had friends there since it's easier to get friends in school, I even met my husband there, but everyone moved. Once I moved to Ontario and I started working I see it's difficult to make friends. Canadians already have theirs friends, and immigrants tend to be with their people. My question was that in UAE since eveyone seems to be new if it was easier to get friends. I did not say that Canada was not tolerant, that has nothing to do with making friends, do not confuse and miss my point. Canadians do not treat immigrants bad, I just said many of them do not seem to like to be friends with inmigrants which is different. And for your information in south America is way easier to make friends, and I know that, even if you are a foreigner. Tolerance is something else.

Hi milo99, I'm also a fellow Canadian that moved from Toronto 9 months ago and don't regret it. Yes the summer was the hottest experience that i've ever encounted but everything is airconditioned so you really don't feel it except if you spend lots of time outdoors. however the flipside is by the end of August it started to get batter till now and will continue till April they say...you know how damp and cold it gets in TO, beleive me i would not trade the U.A.E for TO in a heartbeat at least for now. We do have Second Cup no Tim Hortons though, thats when i really felt at home. Yes everything is a bit extreme here, massive construction projects, the driving is crazy here and life moves quickly, but you learn to adapt quickly or else you will end up hating this place. Come with an open mind to experience a new culture and life and you will enjoy it.

Thanks Littlefeach. I'm amazed at all the positive feedback I get from talking about the U.A.E.! Perhaps I should visit there for a couple of weeks and see what it's like. Thanks.

I can't believe the amount of positive feedback I get when I mention that I'm thinking of moving to Dubai! Everyone I have spoken too here in Toronto, and even the people here in this forum have nothing but good things to say about life in Dubai. I'm really excited about this whole idea, and I have my friend here at work to thank for that. I wonder though, I would probably need to go over there with some money in my pocket for unexpected expenses don't I?

I wanna see more straight canadians in Dubai when I reach and I dont prefer ppl like Liban and his rainbow gang

Sniper, behave yourself