Living and Working in Dubai

Jaye and I have been living and working in Dubai since August 2008.

We moved here after a period of Teaching English In Taiwan. We wanted to experience something new. My sister was already living here and had suggested that we come.

At first I was ecstatic to be here, wonderful weather, beaches, English spoken everywhere, familiar foods and brands in all the shops (compared to Taiwan where I barely knew my a** from my elbow).

However, once the initial euphoria of living and working in Dubai had faded, I started to find fault with the place, heavy traffic, construction sites everywhere, some rather draconian rules, but then I just had to kick myself because c'mon, there is always a bad side to every city. On balance, the good far outweighs the bad.

Living and working in Dubai has been very good for us. There is a lot to celebrate about the place, and a lot of things that I can choose to connect with.

Climate in Dubai

The weather in Dubai is nothing less than FANTASTIC! I love warm weather and it sure is warm here. For around 4-6 weeks in mid-winter it gets a little chilly, dropping down to around 11 degrees (celsius, all my temperatures are in degrees celsius) at night and in the early mornings, however by mid day the temperature has risen again to around 22-26 degrees.

You can almost ALWAYS sit outside in the sunshine in winter. And the cold is short-lived. By early February it is already substantially warmer, and by late February it's reaching 28-30.

Summer is pretty hot. The temperatures seem to range from 35 to 45 degrees.

Every building has air conditioning so this is a lot easier to deal with than say Cape Town in February, where it is often 40 degrees, but barely any homes are equipped with air con.

Living and Working in Dubai: Beautiful Beaches

A major perk for me about living in Dubai is that I get to spend lots of time on the beach, and it is amazing. We live in an apartment (on the 29th floor) overlooking the ocean and we wake up to the most spectacular view. The water is cool (except in summer when it's more like a warm bath), crisp and clear, and the sand is soft and white. There is often amazing visibility if you are into snorkeling.

Most of the hotels have their own private beaches which non-guests can access for a fee. We live right on the most beautiful public beach (seen below). The beaches are perfect for swimming and most water sports, although there isn't much happening in terms of waves so surfing isn't big right now. In winter for a few weeks there are some waves to surf. However if you're into Stand Up Paddle Boarding you're in for a treat for most of the year!

Cost of Living in Dubai

The cost of living in Dubai is fairly high, but it's relative to the salaries here. Rents are comparable to any big city, and in fact are generally FAR more reasonable than cities like London or New York (though a couple of years ago this wasn't this case!).

Rents have come down quite significantly since the recession hit, and the practice of landlords demanding rent a year in advance (ludicrous isn't it?) is falling away as people refuse to put up with these terms.

For a two bedroom, spacious, beachfront apartment with AMAZING views, you're looking at roughly $2500 a month (as of March 2011). Not bad I say!

The price of fuel is EXTREMELY low, it costs me around 60 dirhams to fill my tank (roughly $16) and that lasts me for about 2 weeks. The only downside is that there are so FEW gas stations, so when you take your car to fill up you can nearly always expect a queue and a wait of anything from 15 to 45 minutes!

Working in Dubai

The job market was still fantastic when we arrived here, but of course it did take a knock from the recession along with the rest of the world. However, people are still being employed and there are still job vacancies being advertised all across the Emirate, so if you wanted to explore the option of living and working in Dubai don't let the economy deter you, start putting feelers out.

Living and Working in Dubai: Tax Free

A very significant perk for living and working in Dubai is that it is TAX FREE! This is pretty major indeed. What you earn, you earn. You get EVERY PENNY! So this is definitely something that entices a lot of people to come here.

Living and Working in Dubai: Getting Around

Most people living and working in Dubai have cars, hence the large number of cars on the road!Cars are slightly cheaper here relative to other parts of the world, so people often are able to afford better models of cars than they were able to in their home countries.

Visitors to Dubai are often shocked at how many awesome cars there are on the road, you hardly EVER see any old cars, and seeing small cheap and cheerful cars are the exception, most cars are of the high-end variety, and there are plenty of VERY high-end cars. So if you're a lover of Ferrari's, Porche's, Lambourghini's or other fancy cars, you're in for a treat if you visit Dubai.

Most people seem to buy their cars new here, so the secondhand car market is quite saturated and under-supported. So if you were moving here, you'd definitely be wise to look into buying a second hand car, you can definitely pick up a great deal.

Taxis are cheap relative to the UK, but if you are using a slightly weaker currency you may find them quite pricey. We found the taxis very expensive coming from Taiwan where they truly are super cheap.

The problem with using taxis is the unreliability. During rush hour you can wait a really long time for a taxi. In my first couple of months before I got a car, I was waiting up to two hours in a taxi queue every evening to get home, and then paying 100 dirhams ($27) for the trip.

Considering that to rent a car costs around 2300 dirhams a month (for the cheapest model), it is more worthwhile to hire a car than it is to use taxis if you are going to be using them frequently.

The obvious benefit of a taxi is when you don't know your way around the city. Dubai's streets are constantly changing due to development and construction, and it is not like other cities where if you miss your turn off, you can just take the next one, or turn around. Oh no. If you miss your turn you are well and truly lost and it could take you a good two hours to find your way back. This is a very common complaint in Dubai.

Even though I have been living and working in Dubai for quite a while already I still don't know my way around very well. However, my sense of direction is well and truly challenged, so perhaps this wouldn't be such a concern for you.

Walking isn't a very good option as this city is decidedly not pedestrian friendly. It is also decidedly NOT bicycle friendly. It is a much better idea to ride your bicycle somewhere outside of the city.

Many people are killed each year crossing the streets, as there are plenty of streets with no safe places to cross, where pedestrians have no choice but to make a mad dash across the street. So it is wiser to hire a car or a taxi.

There are buses, however standing at a bus stop in the full heat of day may not be so much fun.

The metro is GREAT! For a few dirhams a trip it is cheap and reliable, and a pleasure to ride. It gets quite busy during rush hour, but nothing close to London tubes, you generally don't have to stand with your head wedged into someone's armpit, thankfully.

Below: On the metro during a quiet time in the middle of the day.

Living and Working in Dubai: Parking

There is plenty of parking and it's usually FREE! All the major shopping centers have tons of parking and you never pay for it. There is usually plenty of free parking everywhere you go and if you did struggle to find a parking (such as in the center of town) you could valet park for a nominal fee.

Food in Dubai

As far as food is concerned, you'll find that living and working in Dubai you can get everything you would expect to get in any first world country, there are lots of major supermarket chains, such as Geant, Carrefour, Waitrose and Spinneys.

The fresh produce is imported in from all over the world. Food is expensive in comparison to pretty much every other city I've lived in, and organic food is astronomical. However, relative to salaries earned, it doesn't seem so bad and I've quickly got used to the prices here.

When it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables, because this is imported in, we usually have a pick of fruits from all over the world. So, for a few weeks we'll be getting mangos from Kenya, and then they'll be coming from India, and then from Pakistan. Our watermelons will be coming from Saudi Arabia, and then from Oman, and then from Egypt etc. So we generally get our pick of great fruit from wherever it happens to be in season. The further it has traveled the more expensive it is.

We tend to favor produce that comes from nearby, it's cheaper and has less of a carbon footprint.

Living and Working in Dubai: Alcohol Ban

Alcohol isn't sold in any supermarkets and there are no bottle stores. For those living and working in Dubai you can apply for a special license in order to keep alcohol in your home. Most people just stock up on alcohol whenever they come through Duty Free.

We don't drink so we never applied for this license. For a venue to sell alcohol it must be attached to a hotel, so hotels have restaurants and clubs attached to them where alcohol is served.

As someone who prefers not to drink, I actually really appreciate the fact that alcohol isn't in my face everywhere I look. It is not that I would be tempted to drink it, it is just that I find it quite refreshing, in the same way I find it refreshing when I go to a restaurant and find that they have healthy options on their menu. It is refreshing to me that an unhealthy substance like alcohol isn't widely available.

All the restaurants we enjoy going to don't have alcohol on the menu as they are not attached to hotels. I also like the fact that there isn't any worry about drunk drivers on the roads, as the zero tolerance policy means that I have never heard of anyone drinking and driving here.

Alcohol is ENORMOUSLY expensive, so for those who do like a tipple, prepare to pay through your nose ring.

Things To Do In Dubai

There is tons of entertainment on offer whether you're living and working in Dubai or just visiting: great water parks, an indoor ski slope (yes you can go skiing and snowboarding dressed in multiple layers of snow gear, while its 50 degrees outside!), and of course the lovely beaches.

Here's some pics of me and Jaye snowboarding indoors, in the middle of a Dubai summer.

There is every type of restaurant you could imagine: an enormous array of Indian restaurants, Arabic, Thai, Italian, Japanese, whatever you can think of. Vegans and vegetarians are really well catered for, raw vegans less so. I don't think anyone here really knows what a raw vegan is! You can usually get a salad but that's about it. For vegans and vegetarians, there is plenty and it is GREAT!

In the pictures below we're at a water park called Wild Wadi, when we had first arrived in Dubai.

Living and Working in Dubai: The Creek

To get a feel for the city of Dubai, apart from the high end entertainment, the best place to go is to the Creek. Here you can take a ride on a dhow boat for 5 dirhams, you can visit the Dubai Museum, go to the Gold and Diamond Souqs, look at various arts and crafts or pop along to the spice market.

Below: On a dhow boat on the Creek.

The hustle and bustle of this area of the city makes you feel you are really IN the city, in the heart of the city.

Living and Working in Dubai: Religion

Dubai is very tolerant of different religions, but it is absolutely expected that if you are living and working in Dubai that you treat the religious culture respectfully. This is especially true during Ramadan where you may not eat or drink in public from sunup to sundown.

You also need to take a little more care in dressing and keep the hot pants and tiny halters for when you're actually ON the beach, with something modest for when you're walking around in town or going to the mall or any government office.

Certain malls have dress codes and won't exactly throw you out, but you might get given a little 'courtesy card' which asks that you respect the dress code, being covered shoulders and skirts/shorts not above the knee. I was given one of these 'courtesy cards' and wasn't too pleased, but I was wearing a boob tube mini dress, so I certainly can't say I was blameless. I learned my lesson after that, that It is best to dress more modestly so that I can avoid getting a slap on the wrist and annoying myself.

As I mentioned, we live at the beach, so things are very relaxed on this side of town. Lots of very short skirts and very short shorts and no one bats an eye.

It is also best to keep the public displays of affection to a minimum when you're out in public. You never know if you may offend someone, and if you do, they are entitled to make a complaint, and you could get into hot water.

I hope I am not making this sound very draconian, because it actually doesn't feel that way at all when you live here. You just have to show some consideration for other viewpoints and really that's not too difficult.

The Madinat Jumeirah is a good place to go to look for souvenir gifts, restaurants and pretty views. You have a great view of the Burj Al Arab, the most famous hotel in Dubai, from here.

Living and working in Dubai has been very good for us. I have had the opportunity to begin living my dreams and doing the work that I have always wanted to do. We absolutely adore the hot weather and having the beach at our doorstep. It actually feels like we're on holiday, a holiday where we just have to do a few hours of work each day.

I choose to connect with this city as my temporary home and to connect with the whole experience of living and working in Dubai. The city has been good to me, and if you should choose to visit or begin living and working in Dubai yourself, I hope that it will be very good to you too.

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