Top five expat worries in Dubai
If a survey by the Post Office is to believed, it’s a pretty glum time for many expats in Europe, who are apparently worse off than their compatriots back home thanks to rising living costs and...
View ArticleCompetitive expat syndrome
I often wonder why it is that expats are so competitive with each other. Perhaps it’s because you need to have a certain drive in order to get up and leave the comfort zone of your home country in the...
View ArticleYou know you’ve survived 2013 in Dubai if…
You’ve become snobby about fireworks: unless there’s a pyrotechnical sunrise, a flying falcon and a 30,000 square metre firework flag – all set to music – it’s hardly a display, is it? You can talk...
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Sorcerers, brainstorms and boy racers – top Dubai stories of 2013
It’s hard to explain, sometimes, what life is like in Dubai. I often feel like the city is like a showgirl dressed up to dance on the world stage. With the eyes of the world on her, everything is...
View ArticleWhy Dubai 2014 is feeling a bit like 2008
Did you hear the story about the Dubai resident who was in a coma? After some time recuperating, he went for a check-up. “What year is it?” asked the neurologist as part of his tests. “2008,” said the...
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Dubai life skills
There are certain life skills that expats need to learn when they arrive in Dubai. The ability to mind-read when driving would be a good example. How to arrive at a meeting in July without sweat...
View ArticleWhat keeps Dubai’s expats awake at night?
When you first move to a foreign country, your worries tend to be of the immediate and practical variety – whether you’ll manage to find somewhere to live, whether you’ll get the children into a good...
View ArticleDubai expats ask: Can we afford to stay?
With the school year about to finish, it’s time for another round of expat goodbyes in Dubai and, as we exchange sweaty air kisses, the addendum on everyone’s lips this year is “you are coming back in...
View ArticleBrits in trouble in the UAE
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. The annual British Behaviour Abroad report is out and it’s bad news for Brits in the UAE: despite 30 per cent fewer British tourists visiting the country in 2013 compared to...
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“Do I need a four-wheel-drive?” and other new-expat questions
It was dog-eat-dog at my local supermarket on Saturday. I hadn’t even been able to park at the bigger supermarket down the road – after two laps of both the street-level and underground parking had...
View ArticleThe hidden costs of life in Dubai
Nearly 1,000 business school graduates from 35 countries have voted Dubai as the best place in the world to live and work. And, really, I can’t argue with them: the emirate is dynamic, it’s politically...
View ArticleA few things you may not know about expat life in Dubai
After carrying out a survey that covered 14,000 expats in 160 countries, expat social group InterNations has revealed seven things that you might not know about expat life. These included the fact that...
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