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I lived in Dubai for quite a while...

all those pictures look so pretty, but do you know the underbelly?
http://uaereport.homeblock.com/

(I would never go back there)

simoneschmittner wrote:I lived in Dubai for quite a while...
all those pictures look so pretty, but do you know the underbelly?
http://uaereport.homeblock.com/
(I would never go back there)

Yes, I know. So what? As long as those are not bothering me and my family, we'll be fine. We all live in other's house, we all should learn how to behave and respect. If you don't like it, stop moaning, and get the first flight back to your country. As simple as that. And no, I'm not local.

Surely on the advantages side you should put that very rarely does anything in the disadvantages side happen to most people!? Indeed, having been brought up in the UK there would be a much higher chance of me being mugged or assaulted

Pro-death penalty and anti-abortion too here, that certainly wouldn't happen anywhere in the West. Sorry, what was that Mr Bush...?

i think simon needs one quick session of paintball

Bleakus wrote:i think simon needs one quick session of paintball

HAhahahhaha.

Yep.

Why are you trying to turn us all off living in Dubai, Simone?
I know I'm definitely going back.

I think it's true to say there are considerable advantages and disadvantages of living anywhere!

I am currently in the UK, looking to emirgate to Dubai ASAP (awaiting job offer)! I love England it's my home, but there is so much CRAP going on here - assults, burglaries, car crimes etc etc etc.... AND, quite frankly we do NOTHING about it!!! People get away with almost everything here! I am sick of it.... and with a small child to consider I feel refreshed to here there are still disciplined countries in the world, that do punish for crimes!

REFRESHING to have a country with rules that they uphold!!

Can't wait to get out there!!

English Girlie wrote:.... and with a small child to consider I feel refreshed to here there are still disciplined countries in the world, that do punish for crimes!

I couldn't agree more about the security. That's one of main reason I and my family choose to stay in Dubai (and too in a couple other countries in Middle East).

However, we're still not convinced that Dubai is a good place for children for longer time. The city is growing too fast (all the parents think is to work work work), lack of good & affordable neighbourhoods (remember when we were kid, learned to ride a bike in the neighbourhood in front of our home with lots of friends), and expensive education.

xty wrote:

English Girlie wrote:.... and with a small child to consider I feel refreshed to here there are still disciplined countries in the world, that do punish for crimes!

I couldn't agree more about the security. That's one of main reason I and my family choose to stay in Dubai (and too in a couple other countries in Middle East).

However, we're still not convinced that Dubai is a good place for children for longer time. The city is growing too fast (all the parents think is to work work work), lack of good & affordable neighbourhoods (remember when we were kid, learned to ride a bike in the neighbourhood in front of our home with lots of friends), and expensive education.

On the kids front, Dubai is cheaper for nursery and private schooling than the UK (though obviously there is "free" education if you want it between 5 and 18 years old), so is a good choice for Brits. There are good neighbourhoods and my daughter is outdoors here much more than in the UK, even in the heat. Definitely a lot going for it as a place for families to live.

As for the work, well, having worked in many different countries I think Dubai is still behind the US and UK for a long-hours culture, though clearly it is an issue. That said, I have much more freedom to enjoy spare time here thanks to cheap availability of maids, gardeners etc. that relieve my need to do chores, plus the abundance of things to do which make it a fun place to live.

English Girlie wrote:I think it's true to say there are considerable advantages and disadvantages of living anywhere!

I am currently in the UK, looking to emirgate to Dubai ASAP (awaiting job offer)! I love England it's my home, but there is so much CRAP going on here - assults, burglaries, car crimes etc etc etc.... AND, quite frankly we do NOTHING about it!!! People get away with almost everything here! I am sick of it.... and with a small child to consider I feel refreshed to here there are still disciplined countries in the world, that do punish for crimes!

REFRESHING to have a country with rules that they uphold!!

Can't wait to get out there!!

Be prepared to be ogled at by 200 "bachelors" every time you step onto the streets. Keep a strongly-worded letter in hand from before about how they are a menace, to send to the local papers.

scot1870 wrote:There are good neighbourhoods and my daughter is outdoors here much more than in the UK, even in the heat.
That said, I have much more freedom to enjoy spare time here thanks to cheap availability of maids, gardeners etc.

I assume you live in a nice villa with garden in a good neighbourhood (Springs? Meadows? Ranches?) which unfortunately most of us can't afford. Lucky you

Yeah.. I agree. Dubai is fun, lots of choices, offers good money, opportunities, competition. While those are good, but that's it (for me). I don't see myself here after 5-10 years... yet. When it's good for my family, it's good for me. Let's hope.

scot1870 wrote:On the kids front, Dubai is cheaper for nursery and private schooling than the UK (though obviously there is "free" education if you want it between 5 and 18 years old), so is a good choice for Brits.

Take a look on this:
http://www.gemsworldschool-dubai.com/server.php?show=nav.01p009001
Kindergarten-1 school with tuition fee of 53000 AED per year. Sweet
In my home country, with that amount I could get good quality of full undergraduate (4y) and postgraduate (2y) school.

That's about the most expensive place in Dubai tho. Anyway, I was paying more than that a year to have my daughter in nursery in the UK 4 days a week, what we pay now is less than half that for 5 days. Clearly for many countries this is still expensive though, that's why I said it was good for Brits and not everyone.

xty wrote:

scot1870 wrote:On the kids front, Dubai is cheaper for nursery and private schooling than the UK (though obviously there is "free" education if you want it between 5 and 18 years old), so is a good choice for Brits.

Take a look on this:
http://www.gemsworldschool-dubai.com/server.php?show=nav.01p009001
Kindergarten-1 school with tuition fee of 53000 AED per year. Sweet
In my home country, with that amount I could get good quality of full undergraduate (4y) and postgraduate (2y) school.

In your home country? You could pay that much and get a US degree! I used to pay 70k for a top-5 US engineering college in USA (with housing). Face it, if your kid is born stupid, no amount of money can fix it. If he/she is smart enough, he/she can end up in Harvard no matter which high school (or kindergarten) they went to.

scot1870 wrote:That's about the most expensive place in Dubai tho. Anyway, I was paying more than that a year to have my daughter in nursery in the UK 4 days a week, what we pay now is less than half that for 5 days. Clearly for many countries this is still expensive though, that's why I said it was good for Brits and not everyone.

I thought many developed countries in Europe and North America provide cheap or free but good schools? That's one main reason someday I'd move out from Dubai and settle in one of the countries there.

gtmash wrote:Face it, if your kid is born stupid, no amount of money can fix it. If he/she is smart enough, he/she can end up in Harvard no matter which high school (or kindergarten) they went to.

Fortunately (thank God) that since my daughter was born she is naturally smart comparing to others with the same age. She recently just got all A from her nursery school In fact we're starting to search a possibility to get her into advanced/special school.

So yeah, I agree expensive school doesn't mean it's always good. What I'm looking now is a good quality kindergarten school (with quality activities, teaching method, etc) which is not (necessarily) expensive. Is there any?

xty wrote:

gtmash wrote:Face it, if your kid is born stupid, no amount of money can fix it. If he/she is smart enough, he/she can end up in Harvard no matter which high school (or kindergarten) they went to.

Fortunately (thank God) that since my daughter was born she is naturally smart comparing to others with the same age. She recently just got all A from her nursery school In fact we're starting to search a possibility to get her into advanced/special school.

So yeah, I agree expensive school doesn't mean it's always good. What I'm looking now is a good quality kindergarten school (with quality activities, teaching method, etc) which is not (necessarily) expensive. Is there any?

Be careful. "Special" school here might mean for the mentally challenged. I've been in all levels of schools and colleges, and I've always had to pull my own weight to do well in any of them. Don't pay extra for anything below college-level. You'll notice that the smartest kids usually come out of those cheap Indian-syllabus schools because they are so tough. I never went to one, but all my buddies from those schools are smart as hell in terms of studies.

xty wrote:

scot1870 wrote:That's about the most expensive place in Dubai tho. Anyway, I was paying more than that a year to have my daughter in nursery in the UK 4 days a week, what we pay now is less than half that for 5 days. Clearly for many countries this is still expensive though, that's why I said it was good for Brits and not everyone.

I thought many developed countries in Europe and North America provide cheap or free but good schools? That's one main reason someday I'd move out from Dubai and settle in one of the countries there.

Yes, as in my original post I said you can get free education between the ages of 5 and 18 in the UK if you want, kindergarten is only covered 12 hours a week by the government though.

On the nature versus nurture debate, yes, intelligence is largely genetic but sending to a good school can greatly increase the grades your child gets, it's estimated the difference between a private school candidate and a "free" school candidate of the same ability is around one grade up per subject. So, even if your kid is stupid, they at least don't appear to be as stupid which can have advantages later in life!

On having "special" intelligence, I suspect you're falling in to the trap many parents do in over-emphasising your child's skills. Having done a consultancy project for the Department for Education and Skills in the UK on a related issue, you should be aware that special - or "gifted" as they're called in the UK - deal with hyper-intelligent children but often with a big lack in social skills, very close to autism in fact (think Rain Man). As Mr Mash says, let them find their way in normal schools and they'll rise to the top. Education is important, but social intelligence is equally important in life and that can't be taught in a classroom.