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Just moved from NYC and wanted to know for those of you living in Dubai, how long have you been living here and why do you like Dubai? To me this place is not fast paced enough(joking) lacking a cohesive culture and not really much to do here( no libraries driving sucks here(we dont do circles in NYC), malls and hordes of them). Plus a lot of the people here are....cold....just my perception of this place.

Oh. You don't seem to be having such a good time!
Well I don't live in Dubai but I do have a place here and visit as much as possible. I live in England.
I love Dubai. I'm not sure why. I can go out on my own and no one bothers me. The weather is great, I don't mind the summer either.
I agree the driving is horrendous but that's the ME for you, it's no different in Dubai from, say, Cairo.
There are libraries in Dubai, there is one on the Jumeirah Beach Road.
As for people being cold, I haven't found that. I have been to NYC 5 times and I found the people there cold but I put it down to living in a city and wanting to keep themselves to themselves.
I have found that if you smile at people, most of them smile back. There will be a few who just think you are nuts.

--- Feb 24, 2013 ---

BTW, I have had my place for 6 years but have been visiting for 13.

Dubai is "different", so you should prepare yourself for a sort of culture shock. You are right in saying it does not have a cohesive culture; in fact it does not really have a culture....yet.

People here are not cold, they are indifferent. They stay in their own little circles, usually depending on Nationality. The majority of them are here for one purpose only.....to make a fast buck, and clear out. This is what the Local Authorities think of them too, and treat them accordingly. Its a different thing if they soon realize they have got stuck here and are unable to move out. You will find a lot of people here who have spent 10, 20, 30 years.

The culture shock lasts for about two years; those who can not overcome it have left by then. Those who can, find themselves getting adjusted to life by a process of give and take. By that time, there is a pattern to life: 6-7 hours work, an afternoon siesta, roaming aimlessly in the Malls; doing useless shopping, once or twice a year vacations to the home country, where you can impress your friends with your glorious lifetime in the sun (yeah right )

As for following other interests: there is Golf, Tennis, a night life, sailing yachting etc. but then you will be digging heavily into your savings. Your timescale in Dubai is 3 years, the duration of your Residence permit, so whats the point if you spend it all and leave as you came

The heat and humidity will always follow you around. Some, like BMreformed, like that. If that is you too, then have fun. But its not such a big deal as the airconditioning takes care of all that. But remember, you have two kinds of weather here: Hot and hotter

Anyways, welcome, and hope to see you around on DF

Oh, and I've spent about 8 years in Dubai .....

lonelyndubai wrote:shock lasts for about two years; those who can not overcome it have left by then. Those who can, find themselves getting adjusted to life by a process of give and take. By that time, there is a pattern to life: 6-7 hours work, an afternoon siesta, roaming aimlessly in the Malls; doing useless shopping, once or twice a year vacations to the home country, where

YOU ARE CORRECT IN EVERYWAY.

Dubai is a artifical , temporary place. People are same.

Driving is a death wish here. so if you plan to live here migth i suggest to buy a military vehicle for your own protection.

libraries in Dubai ??!!! LOL

you can try camel riding , belly dancing , sheesha , drinking and f*king prostitutes. thats what most people do here

if i were you , id go back to NYC. thats a REAL city in a REAL country. even with the weak economy the US it is still the land of opportunities

Thanks for the reply guys.. where are you guys from if you dont mind me asking? Thanks Jonkers, you were spot on about alot of things in your post namely gettng over the culture shock and the weather. NYC weather was more suitable for me in terms of keeping me out and about plus the metropolitan nature and the extensive well built public transport system allowed me to be more mobile than in Dubai. I dont like the hot and humid weather here, not good for my emo.

As far as activities are concerned all those mentioned, I am afraid dont suit my fance. I miss the crisp autumns in NYC where I would go for five or six blocks walks to get oraganic food, visit the park, the library, pick out good books and come home for a reading/lunch. I also miss the fact that ovens use to work in USA, over here if I have to bake ANYTHING it is double the time and my youtube cooking channels dont do much service.



I wish I coud go back to NYC but for now i am to adjust here somehow.

lonelyndubai ,

I doubt if the Bossman will confess to where he's from!

Haven't you been able to make any friends yet?

Don't wish your life way Lonelyndubai, make the most of your time here, you will soon be on your way home.

lonelyndubai , I am a Canadian of Pakistani origin! BTW, I dont live or work in Dubai anymore. By the end of my 8 years there, I was getting comfortably numb, and knew I had to get out or fade away in my cocoon.

From your interests in baking, and other things you mentioned in your post, am I right in guessing you are a female?
In which case, your husband is your sponsor!

I guess the main reason people like Dubai is because of how you can spend your money lavishly. Dozens of malls, huge skyscrapers, exquisite brands, cheap cars, cheap gas, no direct tax. I like Dubai for some of those reasons however I also like how there are many luxury cars on the road, and I am a gear head so that comes as extra eye-candy for me The people here are nice as well, most of them have a very liberal outlook(at least most of the poeple I meet).

Jonkers wrote:lonelyndubai , I am a Canadian of Pakistani origin! BTW, I dont live or work in Dubai anymore. By the end of my 8 years there, I was getting comfortably numb, and knew I had to get out or fade away in my cocoon.

From your interests in baking, and other things you mentioned in your post, am I right in guessing you are a female?
In which case, your husband is your sponsor!

Spot on correct again, although there are male chefs and what not(excellent chefs for that matter). Am I to assume you have now returned to Canada? How is it working in Dubai? Are there much work ethics or dependng on where you work, also how do you circumvent the school problem for the children

BMreformed , im from mars on a probing mission.

sleep tight .

--- Feb 26, 2013 ---

Jonkers , get the hell outta here before you get some disease. this envroment in not suitable for human existance. its a friggin desert!!!

also its hard to build your credibility in UAE. after 8 years , you are worth NOTHING, you are the same as you entered yesterday.

Canada is one of or the best country on this planet , you can actually build yourself there. if i were you id go back to canada, and burn my filtistani passport.

--- Feb 26, 2013 ---

lonelyndubai , WORK ETHICS IN DUBAI?!!! WAHAHAHAHAHA

you can mix spit and shit in the food and get away with it. there are chemicals right now in your processed woulds that are available in UAE that can give you kinds of cancers. these chemicals are long banned in US/europe . working in dubai is like working in a slave prision system. your salary at first may look like a lot , but in time you will notice that it all fizzles away at the end of the month, you are left with NOTHING.

Credibility in UAE is also issue, after ten years they treat you like you entered yesterday.

school for your kids, yeah , they will get rubbish education which may not be recognised for Dhs 50,000 per year.

you made a mistake coming here, you may not realize it now , but in 3 years you will thank me.

bossman, what chemicals are you talking about it and which processed foods, care to elaborate? perhaps they can be avoidable and why are you so bitter about living here, where are you from and why cant you go back there if this place is so horrible?

prowheels , your living in lala land. you can have better cars in the US. you can actually design your own car over there register /drvie it around.

try to do that over here. they will not even allow a simple turbo unit to be installed on your ride without causing a ton of fuss.

what are you going to do with a huge skyscraper? look at it? i dont find anything great about a f*cking skycraper.

No direct tax, yes i agree with you there. BUT you will be RAPED with INDRIECT TAXES!!!!

Malls ? are you a f*cking woman?! i hate malls with a passion. they are birghtly lit up, they have too much extravagant styling everywere on walls , clielign , floor (that makes your head spin). everythng has a super bullshit price. malls are headaches.

exquisite brands LOL, All the shit made in china , they bring it in jabel ali , rename it to some GAY ITALIAN person and sell it to you for 1000% intrest. more expensive that what you get in europe + tax

people are nice to you here because they can get something outta you , thats the only reason why they may be nice. if your a woman , they are nice for your tiger.

--- Feb 26, 2013 ---

lonelyndubai ,

you see food importers here have one thing in mind here , to get everything as cheap as they can even if they have to relabedl and create fake brands.

most of the foods are imported from china. there is an agent in processed meats that is basically a red coloring. they add this to meat to give it the nice red coloring. this coloring agent is from china , hence the nickname chinese red. its banned everywere except here. this causes cancer.

there are tons more of food additives that are banned but they get away with it by adding it here.

also food storage in UAE is not the best. in hot summer time. the freezers are mostly undersized , so you get alot fo rotting in the storage facilities here. thats why you get so many reports of food poisoning. you will get food poisioning a few times here , dont worry.

why am i bitter? , wait a few years you will be bitter too, its just everything starts to look fake and bullshit. you realise many things that are wrong .

i will be out in a week time. im going to the US (california). i spent many wasted years here in UAE.

yikes, no wonder the first time i came here i actually did get some food poisoning which I was shocked about. Cali, huh? lucky for you, they have a very natural organic friendly culture there so food items will be real. Despite the red coloring dye you mentioned, I dont see many cases of cancer in the middle east. Everybody and their grandmother(God forbid, just exaggerating here) has cancer in the US, maybe they have better healthcare to diagnose cancer. The number one thng I miss about USA above all is the healthcare related stuff(even though back home we are always complaining about the healthcare system and what not).

Bossman wont be happy anywhere with an attitude like his.

bossman , We all don't have time on our hands to build our own cars.

In regards to the skyscraper comment- what else can you do(except go inside) other than look at it, genius?

Indirect tax, that's a bit hyperbolic don't you think? It's way calmer than the French rich tax(75%).

Wow you must have no social life, I love malls and I'm not a woman. For the record, I don't always go to the mall to buy stuff I go there to watch movie with mates and sometimes bowl.

Made in China makes no difference(in most cases). Foreign companies base their factories in China due to the fact that you can get cheap labour. Same materials, however there are Chinese people working in the factories. I've visited more than nine countries in Europe including Italy over the past two years and the prices of luxury items and fashion accesories are roughly similar or more expensive than Dubai. Get your facts right.

As for the 'people are nice to you comment', you must have never been the friendly type, judging by your online persona and your lingering negative attitude so I don't see how people would NOT want to double-cross you.

prowheels ,



lol, I must say I am enjoying this conversation

prowheels ,

you can get the cars custom built , you only have to keep an eye on the project from time to time, Jay leno got a car built with a tank enegine.

f.. french , im talking about US .. their taxes are sensible as you get your rights, mdeical, education, securities, own land, business, etc anyways everyone pays there , so its normal if you are a citizen there.

Yes made in china , i know more about china as i deal with them by million per year. now chinese have quality and grades system. i always get the best grade possible, and the prices end up being abotu 20% cheaper than europe. now if i go down in quality i can get low grade for 60% less. NOW the problem in these Gulf countries is that they have NO control system on quality. so they can sell you the worse toxic sh*t and get away with it.

Dubai has no reason to make items sold in europe same price or more expensive, UAE is in no way better than americas or europe. they should sell it cheaper to satisfy their Dirham making citizens.

Social life in a f*cking mall?!!! are you mad?! if i want to go for a social place i will visit a gym ,exhibition, club , bar , strip club or a sporting event. Not A fu*cking mall, i think you have to imporve your social skills yourself!

--- Feb 26, 2013 ---

lonelyndubai , stay around , you will like it alot more

lonelyndubai wrote:Am I to assume you have now returned to Canada?

Yes. BTW, the only thing I bake is a Salmon! Yummy. I have recently turned to making a pan seared Salmon (in olive oil), that tastes even better

lonelyndubai wrote: How is it working in Dubai?

The culture shock that I mentioned earlier, follows you to your workplace. And that is where it causes the most problems for your intellectual well-being. It is not what you do or not do that matters, but what the "Local"(Emarati) thinks about you, because he is all in all in Dubai. And then you have to do some mental gymnastics in order to accommodate a VIP's wishes.
Here is a story to illustrate my point: There is a Medical University in Al Ain. They get some very highly qualified people on contracts, and they pay them exorbitant sums of money. One such was an Australian Plastic Surgeon, recently arrived.

A local Sheikh, a small time VIP (or VIB as they call themselves), the worst kind of VIP to come across, had some minor chronic skin problem. Someone mentioned the new Australian Plastic Surgeon to him, while the Sheikh was banquetting in the desert, so he called the Head of the Al Ain University, another foreigner, to send the Plastic Surgeon to see the Sheikh at midnight! The Professor remonstrated, saying since it was not an acute emergency, the patient could come to the Hospital in the morning, and he would see him in the proper setting. The University Cheif knew what he was up against, and requested the Prof to go right away. So he went. He was made to wait outside the Sheikh's tent, then while was examining the Sheikh's leg, the Sheikh was busy gabbing away to his colleagues about his exploits. The good doctor felt very insulted and belittled. He prescribed some ointment for the Sheikh, and turned on his heel and left. The Sheikh didn't like this attitude. He called the University Chief to terminate the services of the Professor right away! The Prof was unceremoniously bundled into the next flight home!
This is a true story from about 10 years ago. Just to illustrate the general thinking, although this sort of thing may not be as common now, but it is still there.

And Bossman is right about one's credibility. The longer you stay, the more apparently the Locals think less of you. In fact, a new arrival starts at a higher level of "Credibility" than one who has been around for 10 years! This is what causes all this resentment. By International standards, you might have moved mountains, but the VIP's give you no credit for this at all. And there are other things too.

^^^you sound just like FF!

Although the working ethos of the local Emirati left much to be desired, I was always treated with the upmost respect.
I always liked it very much in Dubai. It will always be a special place on our marble for me. The international environment, the opportunities, never a dull moment, interesting people with a story to tell, warm people, almost no street crime to name a few.
When a good offer would come up again, I will have little doubt to jump on it.

Jonkers ,



baked fish is the best, you can look up the recipe on youtube but basically use mayyoniase with lime/lemon squeezed into the mayyoinaise, rosemary, thyme, and a little salt and petter, I also add bay leaves and green bell pepper. put in the oven and then let it bake for 20 minutes or so, comes out like heaven.



The working environment you described is actually quite indicative of most of the middle east, yikes because healthcare is my field :/

Thanks for explaining the losing credibility part because I was like what are you guys talking about. That is indeed sad

so they are always looking for fresh people but that is not really good for the overall stability of the heatlhcare system or region. What about your family doctors etc etc.



FlyngDutchman, thanks for your reply, I have yet to meet interesting people with a story to tell and warm people, hopefully when I venture out to drive in this place..until that time, I will be reading you guys' stories.

--- Feb 26, 2013 ---

doesnt dubai have all these different filmography, people making films here? There was a saudi film I think made here called Keif El Hal. It was pretty good for an arab film that is(lol) I dont watch much arab flms but they tried to make this more westernized. It was directed by a Lebanese canadian guy.

Also a lot of pakistani dramas get filmed here and I am huge pakistani drama fan.

lonelyndubai , if you want real drama , youtube JERRY SPRINGER.

FlyingDutchman wrote:Although the working ethos of the local Emirati left much to be desired, I was always treated with the upmost respect.
I always liked it very much in Dubai. It will always be a special place on our marble for me. The international environment, the opportunities, never a dull moment, interesting people with a story to tell, warm people, almost no street crime to name a few.
When a good offer would come up again, I will have little doubt to jump on it.

I can relate to what you say FD, Dubai is a special place for me too. Maybe one day we can have a Heineken in some dodgy bar some time!

I found a couple of dodgy places on my last visit

BMreformed wrote:^^^you sound just like FF!

Do I?
Should this go in my CV?

--- Feb 27, 2013 ---

lonelyndubai , Well, you sound like an intelligent being and I am sure you'll find your way. I didn't say Dubai was bad, notice, just different. You have to be clear about what you want from it, and then you will not be one of the disgruntled ones like those staying on for decades and not liking it

BMreformed wrote:I can relate to what you say FD, Dubai is a special place for me too. Maybe one day we can have a Heineken in some dodgy bar some time!

Oh, how I am longing for nice cold one. Place the glass with a 112 degrees angle on my mouth, and slowly let the yellow liquid slide on my tongue into my throat and feeling the sensation.

I found a couple of dodgy places on my last visit

FlyingDutchman wrote:

BMreformed wrote:I can relate to what you say FD, Dubai is a special place for me too. Maybe one day we can have a Heineken in some dodgy bar some time!

Oh, how I am longing for nice cold one. Place the glass with a 112 degrees angle on my mouth, and slowly let the yellow liquid slide on my tongue into my throat and feeling the sensation.

I found a couple of dodgy places on my last visit

Hahaha

Not long till you can have a pint FD!!!! Keep up the good work. X

Lonelyndubai,

Where are you from? I know you stated that you just moved from NYC but in my travels I've never heard a 'New Yorker' say 'spot on' or 'autumn'...does not make you a bad person but...

Sounds like lonely is from Concord, Cali.

Ambassador wrote:but in my travels I've never heard a 'New Yorker' say 'spot on' or 'autumn'...does not make you a bad person but...

Welcome Ambassador! LTNS.....(I was Frequentflier, and FF2, in the past and now this!)

Ever heard of a movie called "Autumn in New York"?? Its a good one and recommended! Richard Gere and Winnona Ryder etc.
And "Spot-on" is a British expression, I believe, but not unheard in NYC, I am sure.
lonelyndubai sounds like a good person to me

Ambassador wrote:Lonelyndubai,

Where are you from? I know you stated that you just moved from NYC but in my travels I've never heard a 'New Yorker' say 'spot on' or 'autumn'...does not make you a bad person but...

I believe it's 'fall'.

--- Mar 02, 2013 ---

Jonkers wrote:

Ambassador wrote:but in my travels I've never heard a 'New Yorker' say 'spot on' or 'autumn'...does not make you a bad person but...

Welcome Ambassador! LTNS.....(I was Frequentflier, and FF2, in the past and now this!)

Ever heard of a movie called "Autumn in New York"?? Its a good one and recommended! Richard Gere and Winnona Ryder etc.
And "Spot-on" is a British expression, I believe, but not unheard in NYC, I am sure.
lonelyndubai sounds like a good person to me

I don't watch films, or should I say 'movies'. I don't say 'spot on' either, that's a bit posh for me.