One year in Dubai. 10 Positives.

Well as I type this, it’s coming up to a full Calendar year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

So I thought I’d lay down what’s good about the place. Following the principle laid down my Grandma, who used to say,

“If you can’t say something good, don’t say anything at all.”

For those who know me, I made the possibly crazy call last April to wave goodbye to the UK for a little while and take on a new experience and see what the Middle East has to offer.

So, I got on a plane, networked with a few contacts and landed a role with Flip, a Digital Consultancy that is part of the Publicis Groupe worldwide and implements Digital Transformation projects, including now that I’m here, CRM.

So, while I’m briefly back in the UK to attend my daughters 18th Birthday week, I thought I’d capture some calm reflections for you on the upside of Dubai. Don’t worry there are plenty of downsides, I’ve worked through most of them now.

I will also try to sprinkle some reality throughout each positive!

Anyhow, I’m a glass half full kind of chap generally, so here you go.

1. TAX Free Salaries – Well, let’s get that one out there straight away. This is why at least 250,000 Brits live and work in Dubai, the largest European Expat population. Do the math, but even earning the same, with a bit of care you should come out up over a few years – we’ll see, I can report on that one in a couple of years, Dubai throws plenty at you to drag that money from your pockets. With white wine at £80 a Bottle at restaurants it’s a challenge my wife and I are willing to endure for a while.
2. The Weather – Yep, that’s got to be the second best reason. I’ve had a great Winter here with temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees, I’ve sailed, ridden a motorbike more than I ever did in the UK and even walked the beach with my wife on Christmas day. I’ve counted 7 days of Rain over the entire season, and yes, they do get rain and even storms on occasion – chaos of course ensues. But Dubai gets around about 360 days a year of hot, warm, humid and dry. The summer is pretty gruesome when temperatures can hit 49 degrees C – it never officially goes above 50 degrees here, but when it does you can literally burn your hands touching the steering wheel of a car, it’s the high humidity that’s the killer. Still overall a huge positive for lifestyle and aging bones. 
3. The People and Cultures – Dubai and the UAE is a real melting pot. Some 90% of the population are Expats and while I work with some Brits, the variety of cultures and people you get to interact with here is fascinating. I’ve made friends and have colleagues from the US, Canada, India, Pakistan, Syria, The Lebanon, Australia, Venezuela, Egypt, Greece and many others. I’ve worked through a real Ramadan, been to an Iftar feast and been exposed to the reality of the Middle East through conversations, meals and interactions. Of course, I’ve also interacted with Emirates, Arabs and native born in Dubai folks, eaten a lot of Arabic food and enjoyed learning lots of new perspectives and views. 
4. New Places and Things to see – Dubai and the UAE is full of interesting things to visit and places to see. In a year, I’ve ticked off a variety of the best already, with a list as long as my arm, to do next. I’ve been to the top of the highest building the Burj Khalifa, visited Abu Dhabi and the Emirates Palace, sat on the beach at JBR, watched the fireworks over the Palm for new years Eve. Been to the Wild Wadi waterpark and the Rainbow Sheiks Car Museum near Lewa, I’ve camped in the Desert and Dined in some great locations, both high and low including the F1 track on Yas Island.
5. Activities and Events – Dubai is full of things going on. If you blink you can miss it, and sometimes it can become a little overwhelming, making you feel that you are missing out. Every weekend sees something big happening in Dubai. I’ve not actively sought these things out, mostly because I’ve found life and activity at the Dubai Sailing Club to keep me busy at Weekends. But if I reflect, In the year, I’ve visited the Drones for Good event, where Sheikh Mohammed presented a $1m cheque to the winning team, spent a couple of days at the Dubai Cycling tour where I rubbed shoulders with my cycling idle Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish. I attended the Dubai Classic car show and seen Sting and David Gray perform in the Media City Ampitheatre. Not bad without really trying. Dubai Calendar of Events
6. Health and Diet – Yep, I have to add this one fairly high up. Living in a country where you can exercise through Winter is a definite plus. I’ve Swam most days before work, cycled several tracks including Motor City and Al Qadra 50km loops in the desert. I’ve also adjusted my diet and stopped gorging on Winter foods and snacks as you simply don’t need to when your body is warm and at rest. Net Net, I’ve lost half a stone, which goes against the Stone most people put on when moving as they get sucked into “Brunch culture” – one for another article.
7. Cheap Cars and Cheap Fuel – Both are cheap. Cars are cheap because Tax on new cars are low, which knocks on down into second hand cars. Plus in general Dubai doesn’t really do second hand! Suits me. People are frightened about breaking down in an old motor in the heat, makes sense, so as a result prices tumble. Fuel is also of course cheap, my V8 Volvo guzzles away, but at £19 a Tank it really doesn’t hit the pocket in the way that it does in the UK. Though it’s nice to see the oil price bringing fuel down to £1.10 a litre in the UK either way.
8. Delivery Services – Pretty much everything can be delivered to the door. From a Bottle of Milk and some Fruit to any food you care to mention. Bizarre but the local supermarket will cycle over with anything you run short of. I’ve also ordered many an Arabic meal when my culinary skills are challenged.
9. Taxis and Public Transport are cheap – Two factors here, cheap fuel and cheap labour. It stands to reason that because fuel is cheaper than bottled water, then Taxis will be cheaper. It makes moving around Dubai easy. For example a Taxi from The Greens where I live to work in Media City is around 15 Dirhams – around £3. That makes for easy access and cheap movement. The Metro, which runs from the Airport all the way down Dubai is also cheap, a NOL Card can be charged up and most journeys run from £3 or £10.
10. The Happiness Index – This one certainly hasn’t reached the UK yet, but Dubai has a Happiness Index. In fact Sheikh Mohammed recently announced a Happiness Minister, a Lady to oversee all things that impact UAE residents Happiness. While, in blighty you might scoff and think, what nonsense and I wouldn’t blame you. The fact that they are forward thinking and are measuring every government department on the impact they make to resident Happiness is in my eyes a smart move and one that many countries could take a lesson from. Happiness Minister Appointed

There you go, 10 positives from my year in Dubai. By all means, debate and comment and I hope it helps those who know me understand why I thought the leap made sense.