Dubai, the second-largest emirate, evolved from a fishing village to a global metropolis. Boasting the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, it offers a luxurious lifestyle, iconic architecture, man-made islands, elite shopping, and vibrant nightlife. Aspiring to live in Dubai? Here are crucial things to know before embarking on your journey of living in Dubai.
Extremely High Standard of Living: with a Fast-paced Life Residing in Dubai can be quite costly on the pocket. The currency here is in Dirhams. As compared to other Middle Eastern cities, Dubai is considered wealthier. They import several products which leads to heavy taxes making everyday living costs scale up like groceries or even dining out. The property prices of homes in Dubai have skyrocketed over the years making the average house price very steep. Most of the house locations have ultra-modern engineering whether it is the chic buildings or the fancy villas or any other residences. Dubai has a strong public transport system. Much as it is technologically advanced, the traffic situation is no better than popular cities of the world.
Safety Aspect: Whenever you move to any new country, the first thing probably on your mind is how safe is the city you are going to be living in for the larger part of your life with your family. Recently, Dubai along with Abu Dhabi and Sharjah were considered amongst the top ten safest cities in the world. Dubai is safe for women as well. Anywhere else in the world there is some form of pickpocketing and robbery but in Dubai it would not be unusual if you randomly saw any expensive item being forgotten somewhere by someone, but it would not have been picked up by anyone, for the owner to perhaps come back to it and retrieve it easily. Dubai levies very high fines, extreme punishments, and jail sentences for unlawful activities. Hence, the locals as well as the tourists are cautious to not break any rules and get into trouble as there is also undercover police everywhere with their vigilant surveillance.
Climatic Conditions: Dubai’s scorching heat is the only drawback that has temperatures mostly around 40 degrees or above in the sweltering summer months and the humidity also goes around 90 percent which makes it even worse outdoors unless one is always in a swanky vehicle confined to the AC. The winter months the temperature goes down only till about 20 degrees and may not go down lower than that. Hence, you cannot expect extreme winters or snowy situations like in the West. Thankfully homes too are well equipped with modern gadgets and machines to combat the hot weather.
The Neighbourhood: Dubai has built an excellent friendly community over the years where people across all nationalities, ethnicities and backgrounds co-exist and live peacefully and in sync with each other. They live their life harmoniously without hassling the neighbour and people are willing to extend help to each other in times of need. It is a healthy situation to live here with decent families around to befriend and engage with.
Communication: Arabic and other Middle Eastern languages are widely spoken in Dubai but English is well accepted in the Emirate. Language will not be a major barrier in Dubai to live and work here. However, it is recommended that one can pick up a local language to communicate and gel better with the people.
Work Rules: Most countries follow a working schedule where Saturdays and Sundays are days off for the week. Here it is different. Dubai having an Islamic origin, they consider Friday as a holy day and hence work is off on that day. During the holy period of Ramadan, the working hours are reduced to six hours a day. The best part about working in Dubai is that the UAE Government does not impose taxes on companies and individuals. The person can profit all the income they earn and they are not required to even pay taxes on property or capital gains. A person’s bank account has to be signed off by their organisation.
Medical Insurance: The healthcare system in Dubai is rather difficult as a process. In case of emergency or any medical illnesses, it is always advised to cover oneself with a medical insurance plan well in advance to be safe and if one has an employer, they may discuss the same with the management before being hired for the job.
More about the Rules: There are further aspects to note. You cannot take anyone’s photo without their permission. A person can be fined, jailed, or even deported. Banned substances are an absolute no-no in Dubai. Being in possession of any may land one into severe circumstances and the law will not spare the person. It is prohibited to eat or drink in any form of public transport in Dubai. You cannot swear in public and can never show your middle finger even by mistake as it will lead to harsh punishments. If you diligently follow the rules which are not difficult at all, it can be quite a breeze to live in Dubai once you are settled with a lovely home and a secured job with a responsible and beautiful family. It is overall spectacular to live in Dubai and a total win-win situation to lead a fabulous life.
