Ivan’s Blog

As you remember, this is not the first time I am changing continents. I still remember pretty vividly my first impressions of the US and how they have changed (somewhat) in time. If nothing, I guess this post will come handy in the future to help me remember how I thought about this city in the beginning. In addition, it will also help my efficiency in replying to all those e-mails asking me “how’s Dubai”. So, how is Dubai?

Impression 1: Construction

Rumor has it that up to 25% of all the world’s cranes (machines-not birds) are located in Dubai. It is really difficult to comprehend the extent to which things are being built all over this city without seeing it for yourself. Artificial islands, tallest building in the world, largest mall, theme park, man made marina, new metro - you name it - it’s being built.

While it’s amazing to watch them emerge from the sand (literally), the incessant construction also brings with a number of challenges that are hard to get away from - noise, dust, traffic jams and (seemingly) even more heat. 

Impression 2: Weather   

Ok, fair enough - it’s not like I didn’t know, obviously. However, and especially compared to the fairly chilly San Francisco climate, the heat is hard to get used to.

That being said, the lifestyle has mostly quite adapted to the weather conditions. Come summer time (broadly speaking - Dubai Winter should be warmer than the SF Summer, but that’s a different and a very relative story altogether) life moves to the inside in the airconditioned space. Pretty quickly, you learn to appreciate all the different ways and offerings that have been invented to help you part with your hard earned (and tax-free) money. 

Impression 3: Shopping

Compared to the malls back in the US, Dubai malls seem to be more comprehensive and diverse with numerous cafes, restaurants, entertainment centers etc.

Also, the stores (from fashion to grocery) offer a much wider selection of brands and products - American, European, Asian. Cost wise, things seem to be all over the place: as you would expect, local products - when available - are an order of magnitude cheaper than imports and satisfactory quality. That being said, if you absolutely can’t live without your favorite brand of cereals - you should be able to find it here as well, but do expect to pay an arm and a leg for it (reminder to self: have a conversation with Sanja about her purchasing habits). Did I mention tax-free?     

Impression 4: Housing

It’s kind of nice not to have to turn on the TV every morning to the sounds of mortgage credit crunch and falling housing prices. Dubai real estate market seems to be alive and kicking - thank you for asking. After the market has been opened up for foreign investment in 2004 the prices have risen manyfold (bubble anyone?). In addition, with all the rich expat housing packages, demand (as hard as it may be to believe with all the new construction around here) is simply outstripping supply and the prices reflect that reality.

Unfortunately, that also means that my new apartment costs almost double of what I was paying in SF for the same size and layout.   

Impression 5: People

It is hard to feel like a foreigner in Dubai - because, well, everyone kind of is. With 85% of the population non-Emirati - this number is only projected to grow - Dubai is a melting pot of different cultures, languages, dress codes, driving styles (this deserves a separate post) and cuisines (mmm). While Arabic is the official language of the UAE, English is lingua franca and you can really get by without speaking a word of Arabic.

Most of the inscriptions are bilingual and most people speak it regardless of their nationality. Most of the (foreign) population comes from the subcontinent (India, Pakistan) and Southeast Asia (Philippines). There is also a sizable Western (UK/US/AU) minority. Just like in the US, our arrival (Philip excluded) is a significant addition to the Eastern European/Serbian community.  

To be continued…