Debunking popular myths about Dubai
A reader of ArabianMoney.Net is moving to Dubai and sent me a list of questions about life here. It is always interesting to hear how outsiders see things, and to correct some of the myths that are current in the popular media:
Q. I heard about thousands of cars left in a hurry at the airport, people are leaving Dubai, it must be a bad place to live after all?
A. A nice story but completely untrue as far as ‘thousands of cars’ at the airport are concerned. Maybe a few dozen. However, repossessions of cars from those leaving might total that number – but then how many loan defaulters have lost their cars in London this year?
Q. Muslim countries like the UAE are not friendly to women, they are not free to do what they like.
A. Completely untrue. My wife would not live anywhere else.
Q. After work, there’s not really anything interesting to do in Dubai besides shopping.
A. Apart from outdoor sports, indoor skiing, restaurants, bars, clubs, the usual things for children, miscellaneous concerts and cultural events. Not much different to any big city really and long warm evenings in the winter to enjoy.
Q. Dubai has no sustainable economy, it’s more like a mirage which is going to dissapear as soon as they are out of oil.
A. If that were true the UK would not be the second largest economy in Europe. The service sector is where the money is these days and that is Dubai with its trade, tourism, aviation and financial sectors.
Q. Dubai is hot! You have to stay inside for 6 months a year.
A. Yes but then the UK is cold and gray and you have to live indoors six months or more. The warm winter is a great compensation.
Q. The UAE must be supporting torture, why can a sheikh torture people without being held accountable?
A. Absolutely untrue and completely groundless. That sheikh has been held accountable. This sort of behavior is not tolerated but punished as in any civilized society.
Q. Some expatriates are being held in Dubai against their will because of debt issues, they are not free to go where they want?
A. Mr Polanski is being held against his will in Switzerland because he faces criminal charges. This is the normal process of justice in any country or the accused will run away (like Mr Polanski did).
Q. Dubai leadership is pretending its plans are real but it’s a scam in order to enrichen themselves.
A. You can see the Dubai Vision all around you in Dubai. And the boom going bust hardly leaves the leadership enriched at the moment, the debts are massive.
I want to know where is the world’s best climate in an English speaking country. I know that it is not Dubai. I’ve been to Southern California and would suspect that San Diego is up there with the best. I’ve read that in parts of Australia, you seldom need to use the heat or cooling in your home. I’ve been there on the amazing Google Earth streetview. What an invention! New Zealand is some beautiful country.
So where does it never get hot and humid during the summer, and seldom freeze during the winter? I’ve read a lot of comments on the web, and people say that the mild Southern California coast is hard to beat. Australia is a lot less crowded. So, you win the lottery, where do you buy one of your new homes?
Don’t send me anywhere where it is always cloudy.
Actually, if the summer humidity didn’t get so high, here in New Orleans would have a pretty good climate, since winters are mild with freezes unusual. But June-September is sweaty, though nothing like the Middle Eastern desert heat. The afternoon ‘heat index’ hovers between 38 & 40 C. but the high humidity keeps it feeling hot all night, like in most of the US South. By midnight, everything in covered with dew with no wind at all. The actual summer afternoon high is around 32 or 33 C. Without the humidity, that wouldn’t be too bad.
Editor’s Note: The Gold Coast in Australia probably wins for climate – but then it would not score highly for architecture, history or culture. Difficult to have it all!
Bill Simpson of Slidell USA
October 2, 2009 at 10:23 pm
After “living” in Dubai for 6 months I can tell you this article puts a real positive spin on Dubai.
While winter weather is just fine, summer weather is intolerable. Think temps approach8ing 50 C and humidity almost 100%. Every road and neighborhood is under construction. Labor buses on the roads number in the thousands. Traffic is a nightmare. Since water and sewer infrastructure is mostly nonexistent, you share the roads with a constant stream of water and sewer trucks. Insured by Allah drivers means you take your life in your hands every time you venture outside.
Perhaps the worst thing is Dubai is built on a coastal plain. No sand just a fine tan silt that covers every surface. During the infrequent rains it rains mud. any outside balcony or car will have a half centimeter of filth on it in a week.
The primary expat activity is drinking in the hotels although public intoxication or even walking down the street with concealed alcohol is an offense, as is having it in your apartment.
Having said all that, Arab culture in the UAE is perhaps the most polite in the world (except of the roads) and you will have zero issues if you mind your own business. Except for the roads, it’s as safe as Singapore although a whole lot more boring.
l massie
October 2, 2009 at 4:33 am
Thanks for the answers Peter! I will publish them on my blog and refer to yours. Those questions really sum up most accusations of Dubai which I of course disagree with, amazing how western media can create a spin in order to create gossip.
Jeroen
October 1, 2009 at 2:13 am
Roman Polanski had sex with a 13 year old.
Quite different from defaulting on a loan. Frankly Dubai’s laws are rather archaic and geared towards business protection over consumer rights. Until they have a legal bankruptcy process they will continue to be viewed as a third world country. What developed country still has debtors prisons?
Tom
September 30, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Like many stories there are elements of truth in all of these which then tend to get blown out of all proportion, particularly in sensationalist newspapers.
However, one I would take exception to.
During the summer, being outside in Dubai is practically impossible. But the reverse simply isn’t true in the UK. I can go for a walk in all weathers. Whether sun, rain, snow, hail, drizzle, wind I can still go outside and enjoy myself. Perhaps not as much in the rain to be fair, but it is still possible !
Ed Note: Possible but to ‘enjoy’ you would need that stiff upper lip – a small quibble, the weather is also often the same in peak summer like this August.
2020hindsight
September 30, 2009 at 3:31 pm
wow…whoever wrote these questions must be quite narrow minded and either not have access to the internet or to the other half of their brain!!!
sandman
September 30, 2009 at 12:53 pm