Dubai Great Place to Work Terrible Place to Live

Summary: Is living in Dubai all it's cracked up to be or is the emirate an all work and no play destination?

Dubai is the most moderate of the United Arab Emirates in terms of the way of life Western expats can enjoy.  You can drink alcohol in your own homes and in some hotel bars and restaurants for example, women can work, walk around unaccompanied and wear pretty much what they want in Dubai, (within reason), and the social side of life is varied, exciting and pretty much unrestricted – so is it fair to say that Dubai is a great place to work but a terrible place to live?  Because this has become a common thread in various forums and on certain blogs of late...

The problem with Dubai could be its success...so many people have been attracted by high income, low tax job offers and the thought of living in a playground in the sun that there are overcrowding issues plaguing the emirate and causing some expats to regret their relocation.  If you’re thinking of moving to live in the UAE let’s discuss whether Dubai really is a great place to work but a terrible place to live.

The issues plaguing those currently living and working in Dubai mainly relate to the cost of housing and infrastructure breakdown caused by the speed at which the emirate has grown. 

With excessive volumes of traffic on roads not designed to cope with such heavy flow particularly around rush hour, getting to work and getting children to school in Dubai can be a nightmare.  And with housing close to the main business districts often the most expensive to come by, people are moving further and further away from their offices to afford more realistic rental rates.  This puts further stress on more of the road network and can occasionally result in grid lock.

On one funny forum thread recently flagged for our attention, a resident of Dubai was bemoaning the length of time it takes him to drive an incredibly modest distance to his office.  Someone from another nation commented on how dumb the post was, why didn’t the guy in question walk or bike such a short distance?  Well, of course in Dubai in the intense heat of the long summer this is quite simply out of the question.  The guy would have died of heatstroke before he made it to the office!

So, there are certainly downsides to living in such a fast expanding community. 

You can add to the traffic problems and high cost of housing a high cost of living, a high cost of schooling and a high cost of travel to and from the emirate.  And you can add on the disruption caused by construction that goes on round the clock.  But then you can negate at least some of these issues with the attractive salaries many of those working in Dubai enjoy, and the tax free element of the income too!  But this is sometimes just not enough to keep people happy – because workmanship in Dubai can be shoddy, the heat in the summer can be unbearable, despite the emirate being the most relaxed in the region it is still restrictive compared to living in London, Paris or New York for example – and the pace of life is not conducive to relaxation either.

I think it depends on who you are, what you want out of life and the elements of your work and social life that make you tick as to whether you see Dubai as an all work and no play location in which a high salary comes at a high cost, or whether you see Dubai as a fantastic party town where you can work hard, play harder and really get a lot out of life.  If you’re wondering about relocating to the emirate there is only one thing for it.  You need to get on a plane and get out there and experience Dubai – warts and all.

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