Working in Dubai

[Barrel of Fun]

I was perusing my paper today and this bad boy turned up.

Why Dubai's Islamic austerity is a sham – sex is for sale in every bar | World news | The Observer

If you need a PA, BoF is with you.

 

[bhaexpress]

I can see why a lot of people think this is a great opportunity which to be fair it might look like but.............. Dubai is f***ed as far as real estate goes & there have been thousands upon thousands of people who have lost their jobs in this sector there. I don't wish to be negative but believe me when I say the real estate sector is completely f***ed in Dubai. I work in international real estate & there are few markets worldwide I would say are in a shape that is worth risking such a move for & Dubai is certainly not one of them. I can put you in direct contact with people working there now if you want to PM me. I honestly wish I could paint a better picture for you but if you do your research you will find the market is in complete disarray but having said that there are always exceptions to the rule & if you have done your homework & some due diligence on who you are going to work for then it may well work out. I deal with a few agencies in Dubai & they are not selling much of anything, developers are mothballing huge projects & there is no end in sight to their problems. Sorry.

Have to agree with this.

 

[Franks Wild Years]

I've worked in Dubai quite a bit and have spent in total about a year over there.
I can safely say that its my least favorite place by miles.
Imagine taking every shopping mall in the world and dropping them into the middle of a cultural and literal desert, build the shiniest, bad tastest, 'monuments to over consumption' skyscrapers, run the whole show on slave labour and corruption and fill the place with some of the foulest ex-pats you'll ever meet.
In my experience that's Dubai.

 

[User removed 4]

I've worked in Dubai quite a bit and have spent in total about a year over there.
I can safely say that its my least favorite place by miles.
Imagine taking every shopping mall in the world and dropping them into the middle of a cultural and literal desert, build the shiniest, bad tastest, 'monuments to over consumption' skyscrapers, run the whole show on slave labour and corruption and fill the place with some of the foulest ex-pats you'll ever meet.
In my experience that's Dubai.

sounds great !

 

[Trufflehound]

Imagine taking every shopping mall in the world and dropping them into the middle of a cultural and literal desert, build the shiniest, bad tastest, 'monuments to over consumption' skyscrapers, run the whole show on slave labour and corruption and fill the place with some of the foulest ex-pats you'll ever meet.
In my experience that's Dubai.

But apart from that, you loved it. Right?

 

[Skills]

My friend has an apartment near the marina. £1k a month
It has about 50 apartments, a gym and a pool

 

[desprateseagull]

And here's a joke you can tell when you get out there.

The rights to the Flinstones franchise have just been sold to the United Arab Emirates. But there's a big row about it. Dubai doesn't want it but Abu Dhabi do.

 

[BobbySmith]

Not a great place in my opinion, have been there 3/4 times, once for 2 weeks, it is a very unfriendly place, too busy and manic, and damn expensive. Hard to get a drink as well, only Hotels and some resturants do alcolhol and cant buy a beer or bottle of wine from supermarkets.

I much prefer Bahrain and Abu Dhabi

On a positive note, desert safari is great fun and have dinner at the Jermirah Beach hotel is fantastic.

 

[Rambo]

The wages rarely match up to the cost of living in Dubai, although its tax free, the cost of living is almost double what it is here. Good luck, I would do it given your age and status, what ya got to lose?

 

[brunswick]

legoland full of ego.....give it a wide birth.

 

[Spanish Seagulls]

Thanks for the post, it is exactly what I need, a pros and cons to the move. What I didn't let you know is that I am a lettings agent, and would deal with the leasing of properties....I don't know if this is slightly different?

I spoke to someone only yesterday & whilst salaries are dropping back to levels that can be achieved in many other places there isn't enough incentive for people to stay. Apparently the financial sector isn't doing too bad but is down to below 80% occupancy whilst other areas such as Sheik Ziad Rd (Or whatever it is called!) occupancy is very very low so there are absolutely bundles of empty properties. It's a difficult call to make because as someone stated before if you have nothing else going on then at least it is an experience. Just do your homework on the company you would be working for & see how they are doing business wise & as long as you have a contract or some such agreement that they will not leave you in the shit then maybe it is worth it for the sheer hell of it. Find out how much business they are doing first & make sure you have a good basic salary because it is not cheap. Best of luck in whatever you decide to do, it is fun & a great experience working abroad as long as you are not potless! Just remember there are a lot of restrictions on westerners out there so not getting pissed & whoring it! Actually there is loads of whoring it but you'll pay through the nose & if you're unlucky through the japs eye for it!

 

[Spanish Seagulls]

If you really want an experience abroad learn Portugese & go for Brazil, it really is the place to be right now & it is sustainable unlike Dubai which never was. I know it's a lot of work sorting out what you have to do to work in Brazil but it is worth it. I work for a Brazilian developer & will be there in July but if there is one place on earth you have to go to it's Brazil / South America.

 

[Mtoto]

I've worked in Dubai quite a bit and have spent in total about a year over there.
I can safely say that its my least favorite place by miles.
Imagine taking every shopping mall in the world and dropping them into the middle of a cultural and literal desert, build the shiniest, bad tastest, 'monuments to over consumption' skyscrapers, run the whole show on slave labour and corruption and fill the place with some of the foulest ex-pats you'll ever meet.
In my experience that's Dubai.

Without doubt the most succinct and accurate description of Dubai that I've ever come across. It might feed your body for a while, though even that's not certain these days, but it rots your soul. I spend six days a year there for work and the only bit I look forward to is getting onto the plane home.
But then I'm a 44-year-old family man who loves Brighton. If you're young and free of ties, it *might* be different, but the expats I've run into all seem dead inside.

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

You might want to look at this

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html

Some of my mates have been and said it's a bit like Disneyland in the desert

 

[hart's shirt]

You're all extremely welcome to come and have a beer with me down at Barasti on the beach.

We're not all foul and dead inside, you know...

 

[bristolseagull]

I'd rather cut off my eyelids.

 

[John Dorian]

Ok, just thought id bring all up to speed, they have officially offered me the job and I am about 90% convinced that it is something I want to do at this stage in my life. As most people have said, at my age and my situation, it seems perfect. If only for 12 months, maybe 18 months...just to stockpile the money available after my expenditure each month then thats what it is all about...harts shirt, can you send me your details by PM as I fancy a few drinks and getting to know a fellow albion fan over there. Plus, i'll be at the Jumeira Beach Residence...

 

[John Dorian]

I was perusing my paper today and this bad boy turned up.

Why Dubai's Islamic austerity is a sham – sex is for sale in every bar | World news | The Observer

If you need a PA, BoF is with you.

more than welcome BoF!

 

[Jesus Gul]

You need to be very very cautious esp in the line of work you are in.

Business in UAE is unlike anything you will have encountered in UK. Not sure the move would be right for your professional development at this stage of your life. Very few properties being sold, swathes of investors in negative equity unable to pay installments thus developers unable to complete. You may learn first hand about consolidation and the shady dealing of credit notes.

Don't get yourself into any debt at all. No car loan - despite the attractive cheaper new car prices - lease one. No housing loan. Get the company to sort all this. LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS. Don't give your passport to the company to hold.

But it can be quite fun. Great location for quickish trips to far east or other arab cities Beirut, Amman, Muscat. Tax free too and if you get paid in dollaroonies and send money back to UK things are quite good at the moment.

Still lots of UK expats here (some are bearable) so won't be a problem getting into a social circle and there's even a Waitrose in Dubai Mall.

On a social consciousness tip if you are not too sensitive about the treatment of third world guest labour which can be bad you should be OK. Guess those who sit in UK and pipe on about this are oblivious to the fact that the levis and nikes they wear are produced under similar conditions.

Good luck whatever
JG Abu Dhabi

 

[The Spanish]

Without doubt the most succinct and accurate description of Dubai that I've ever come across. It might feed your body for a while, though even that's not certain these days, but it rots your soul. I spend six days a year there for work and the only bit I look forward to is getting onto the plane home.
But then I'm a 44-year-old family man who loves Brighton. If you're young and free of ties, it *might* be different, but the expats I've run into all seem dead inside.

franks wild years has it right up to a point but singling it out as the worst place in the world is staggering. there are some proper nasty shitholes in the world and dubai is nowhere near it. you might find the materialism crass and shallow and there maybe a bit of unspoken distain for arab culture but most of the stances i see are based on a similar mindset to hating bluewater v an organic farmers market, no real anger at the place. sneering at new money is not the same as hating a truly rotten country of which there are many worse than the UAE.

what you have to remember is the emiratis in dubai barely figure. if you can handle dealing constantly with smug indians who think they have made it just because they live there all the time, never getting paid and no one seeming to care, and having to sit in cars for an hour to go a couple of miles, then its fantastic. the brit expats might be nobs but they are mostly grafters and professionals. they may be bores but compared to the nonce and sex case brit expats you get in asia they are positively upstanding.

dubai is just the costa del sol of the noughties.