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Let this be as it is intended!
What do you guys like about Dubai?
Personally I think it is a great place to live where everyone can be satisfied.
Awesome natural scenery and a load of outdoor activities and sports you can indulge in. Great beaches and parks.
Shopoholics are even catered for with huge malls and shopping centres and glitzy shops and mega sales.
Eating out is fantastic too, catering for people on a tight budget to those who want to splurge.
I don't think the shine will ever wear off this place.What do you like?

I agree with everything you have said, and I have no real plans to leave here for a good few years yet, however, I still believe that this place has no SOUL!

There is just something lacking in it. It does have a lot to offer, but ....................................

Reminds me of a song (Led Zepplin)!
Soul isn't indicative of the place, surely it's who you mix with! And let's face it Dubai certainly has cultural diversity. I've met some great people. Also such diverse areas in Dubai like Karama, along the creek, the old souks, the beaches at Jebel Ali and Jumeirah, desert, great buildings and architectual feats.

If I were "Local" then I guess there is SOUL or something, but by not being here that long, there does appear to be something missing.

Everybody here who is not local is here for a reason, mainly work, and by work = money. Dubai for all its good points is becoming a rat race. I don't mind this, I am used to it having lived in Hong Kong.

I like Dubai. I would not say I love it, as I have not been here long enough. I enjoy my life here and the diverse cultures/sights etc that it has to offer, but you know that most people here are here for one reason only.

I would honestly say that I could quite happily live here very, very long term. There's nothing wrong with dubai, even though I have stated that it is "artificial", which I still believe to be the case. I just think that for most people, longivity is not there.

Agree with yorky,

People come here to earn money, but dubai takes everyone along when it moves ahead, it misses that home factor, but still its a great place to be in.

I loveeeeeee shawarma:) lol

cheers,

jerry

Interesting that you use the term longevity when I've spoken to countless of "expats" who have been here for between 5 to 25 years!! That's a pretty damn long expat stint...I'm used to the 2 to 3 year turn over thing-you make friends quickly because they'll be gone tomorrow!! I've been here less time than you and love it!!

A positive thread about Dubai - I think we should keep posts in this thread positive rather than talking about soulessness etc..

It counterbalances the sea of posts on issues in Dubai.. a major downer for people like me who are coming to Dubai and end up wondering what they have let themselves and their families in for!

That said, the other posts are good for setting expectations.. but there are a smaller number of posts on the positive points.

For me (having only visited Dubai) the good points will include..

- good place to raise children
- safe
- opportunity to practice Islam should you wish to (mosques everywhere).


Cheers,
Shafique

Yes, it is a good place to raise children, but you are then caught out by:

High cost of education,
Expat kids are known to be "spoilt" as the competition between kids for things even better than their mates is huge i.e. they get what they want. And NO, its not easy to say NO.

education is good here, but as i said, it comes at a cost.

Gab

IMHO you summed it all up in your initial post

I have visited many countries of the world in my lifetime and for me Dubai remains and will remain the top of the list.

You been to South Africa?

Ok, I left in '88, before Apartheid finished, but that was the BEST place in the world to grow up. Now, take away the crime, it will still be one of the best places to live, in my view anyway.

no yorky not been to S.Africa. Got friends there and friends who have visited and they say exactly same as you, take out the crime element and it would be wow-eeeeeee

Was there for 13 years Sir, and i would love to go back, but crime ................................ My parents are still there and will never leave.

yorky500 wrote:Was there for 13 years Sir, and i would love to go back, but crime ................................ My parents are still there and will never leave.

mmmmmmmmmm diamond business? I know how addictive it can be
mmm i have dirty plan in my mind. Kidnap yorky and ask for ransom.....

Sniper,

I wish there were in the diamond business. They retired some years ago to become farmers! They live off what they produce, that includes milking cows and slaughtering sheep, pigs and chickens, rabbits etc.

yorky500 wrote:Sniper,

I wish there were in the diamond business. They retired some years ago to become farmers! They live off what they produce, that includes milking cows and slaughtering sheep, pigs and chickens, rabbits etc.

mmm ppl underestimate the pleasures one gets in gardening. Trust me they are enjoying more than an investor investing in diamond business. I bet they are having a good time and I envy them......

Yeah, they both retired when they were 50, that was nearly 15 years ago. They have a great lifestyle and are both fitter and healthier than you and me. Its not easy though, it is a tough life for them. They have sold part of the 170 acres they had before to help cut down the workload. They now have 70 acres and a lot less animals to feed.

yorky500 wrote:Yeah, they both retired when they were 50, that was nearly 15 years ago. They have a great lifestyle and are both fitter and healthier than you and me. Its not easy though, it is a tough life for them. They have sold part of the 170 acres they had before to help cut down the workload. They now have 70 acres and a lot less animals to feed.

I wish to spend last days of my life farming, gerdening, fishing and hunting.

You can do my gardening! I miss the bulbs eg. daffodils,especially fresias because of their scent. I miss the roses too. I've seen people fish at the beach and along the creek (what would you catch in there?).
The point has been made that expats are expats because of the money but it doesn't matter about the money at some point- if the place is a dive to live in-there must be something that attracts people to stay here long term and, really long term. In my experience (being old) Dubai must offer people something different to a lot of other places for people to stay decades. Sometimes I think you guys need to get out more and mingle!!
I like it here-yeah, I b#tch about the traffic-I do at home. I even moaned at the hot weather when we arrived (coming from winter it is understandable-I think I whined about the cold weather before I left!) but overall this place has a lot to offer. I've got great friends, I've met some fantastic people, I enjoy the lifestyle here. I realise it can be expensive but this place caters for all-super beaches where you can go for free!!, great parks to enjoy and for free!! (Safa park isn't the only park and you can roller blade, have a picnic or hit the swings!!), it's kid friendly (your children are safe and I feel safe at night-I wouldn't put the rubbish out at home in the dark!)-it caters for a wide range of people with different interest and a wide range of people with varying incomes.
If weather and traffic are our only gripes Dubai must be pretty good!

Umm getting back to the orig. post, I do not hesitate to accept that I am totally obsessed with this place. what I love about this place is that it is..

amazingly safe.
Its infrastructure... tidiness
Its trendy
Eating out without worrying about the 'Halal' factor and hygiene standards are high.
You can find anything and everything here.. in terms of shopping, sports, outing..
Priority, and respect for women.
The best and my fav. You can get both, the west, and the ‘Islamic’ cultural blend here! Girls can wear an abaya or a tiniest outfit without feeling alienated.