May very well be moving out there for work as a great opportunity has presented itself in the last few days. Has anyone on here been over there before, either for work or just holidaying, and if so what were your thoughts?
without doubt the worst place I've ever had to spend a prolonged period of time unless you haye culture. in which case go for it
My brother in law has worked there and Abu Dhabi for 6/7 years and loves it. The legal system is backward though (a restrained word). Someone made a false allegation against him about a bounced payment (and then tried to blackmail him for 10k) and he had his passport confiscated for 2 years before they proved the guy was lying. Plus a nice 3 night stay over the weekend in a cell with 5 other men.
My mate was over there a lot with work. If you like restaurants, shopping centres and beaches then great. He was bored by day 3.
A friend of mine worked there, I went out and visited and like anything it had its good and bad points, he was there for a year and said that was about enough, any time off he just jumped on a plane and went somewhere, he had a lovely apartment, near a nice beech, drink was reletivly expensive, he got in trouble for getting in a taxi drunk that could have got serious as the taxi driver took him to police station. If I was you go for it, better to try and fail then thinking "what if" Dubai gets all the headlines but I actually preferred Abu Dhabi. Good luck and the bars do show all the premier league games.
If it's one with a free flight and accomodation and OTE earnings of £££££££££££s tax free selling financial incentives to wealthy Dubaians , it' s a scam...ok not so much a scam but a massive mis-representation - stay away from it.
Been a couple of times for music conferences. From my experiences, any kind of fun that doesn’t cost vast amounts of money is hard to find. A lot of what goes on socially seems to be ‘done for the camera’s’ - portraying a lavish lifestyle with a fake smile. Of course there are some who do it with an honest smile but people who are overly interested in material things aren’t my scene really so my view maybe skewed in that sense. I went to Marbella once recently which is similar - but is saved by the fact that once you are sick of the sight of flashy things (which gets boring very quickly), you can venture to another part of town with some local culture and a quiet beer. Dubai has the flashy things but a real void of the escape route. That being said, I imagine the quality of life is good away from the social scene. All the houses are amazing and every amenity you could ever need. Just not sure that would be enough for me! If it were me, I could stomach it for 6m-1yr if the pay was right. A bit longer if the pay was obscene. For life? No chance. Good luck with whatever you do however. It’s a choice not many are lucky enough to get!
Agree with what's been said. 4-7 days is more than enough in terms of holiday/short break, sort of place you only really need to see & experience once. Try it. Can always come back early. Maybe do a few days reconnaissance mission out there first to see what it's like before fully committing to a new job. Or just do it Pozzo style & put a 6 month break clause in.
It's definitely all legitimate. It's come about through a close friend who's been out there doing it for the past 5 months. It's working as a tutor and assessor teaching fitness qualifications with a British company who have been operating over there for the last 15 years. As others have said the place itself doesn't necessarily appeal much to me, but in terms of my career and from a financial standpoint it seems to good an opportunity to pass up.
With present Tensions in the world ,I would stay away from any arabic country. ( I have spent enjoyable times in Oman ,Egypt and Jordan working but that was a long time ago and even then my GF/wife to be was always a little wary of leering arab types! End of the day its your choice my middle eastern trips spanned 1992on and off to 1998. So intel is way out of date and I have never been to Dubai bar the airport in transit.
I've been there twice, with a gap of 20 years in between and both times I have found the people to be the most arrogant I've encountered in any around the world.
I was in Dubai last week for a few days. A few of my observations given your position; The people are very friendly and genuinely welcoming 'Stuff' is either very expensive or dirt cheap. My taxi from the airport to the office took about 30 minutes and cost me less than £9. That day I bought a small box of cherries for £10. Everyone will tell you to go to the mall, so one night I did. It is certainly vast but still just a mall with all the shops you would expect (Debenhams, M&S, Apple etc.). I get the impression everyone raves about the mall is because there is not a lot else to do. There is a huge amount of wealth there. The bloke I met with tells me his staff success rate is about 30%. To quote him directly "champagne or razor blades, nothing in-between" though in fairness that is a different sector to what you are going there for. The people who go and enjoy it typically stay for about three years. And those that stay do absolutely love it. The heat. Fack me it is properly hot. People tell you not to worry because all the malls, hotels, taxis and offices are air conditioned...but the sun being so hot that you go out of your way to avoid it seems a bit odd to me.
