Experience

Hi,

Brand new here - looking for advice. I am a 25 years old female, recently made redundant, and my fiance's company wants to move us to Dubai in December. They are hoping to help me find work too However, we have to evaluate the move realistically, and are presuming I will spend my time studying CIMA, unless they can help me find work.

On top of the usual concerns (cost of living, healthcare, safety, etc), this situations leaves me a bit concerned that I won't get out and meet people. This is accentuated by my natural shyness, and by being unsure of what it's like to be a childless western woman living over there.

Yesterday my fiance's company decided to send us out to Dubai on Monday, to have a look. I'm excited, but also a little scared, and want to be sure to make the most of the four days we'll have there.

I would love to hear what you wish you'd seen before moving to Dubai - and any similar suggestions on what we should try and experience before we return to the UK to evaluate the opportunity on offer.

I am particularly hoping to address questions regarding affordable apartment rentals within easy commuting distance of Media City, as well as evaluate my own comfort levels getting around on my own, as a young western woman to get food etc. Are there any specific areas I should avoid?

Are there any expat groups etc that I might want to get in touch with during our short trip?

Since my fiance will be spending two of the four days in his potential new office, I'm wondering if there is anything you would recommend for the time I am on my own..

I am naturally a conservative dresser, but I'm not at all prepared to cope with 40 degree whether dressed as I would in London... so any suggestions on appropriate things to pack, would also be very much appreciated!

Also, if you have any experience of visiting a gym as a western woman.... what can I wear? Are there any specific ones you'd recommend for if/when we move?

Thank you all in advance!!!

NB: we will be married before we move

MataHari

lol...it's not as bad as you might think out here...
just pack summer clothes, if you are a conservative dresser you should be just fine...but make sure to bring a nice wrap or scarf as the AC can be quite chilly in malls and restaurants...
it's not Saudi, you can go anywhere on you own, don't worry about it...
There aren't any areas to avoid really, it's basically 'safe' anywhere...
maybe do a big bus tour, it will give you an impression of what the place is like...

Eva

Rash sacrifice


Do more research.........

Experience

I love the idea of a big bus tour - & wouldn't have thought of that, thanks!
Is there anything we should know re the timing of our trip? (we arrive Monday evening and leave Thursday.)
We know Ramada is ending right around now, but have conflicting information on when exactly... (though I can hear fireworks going off in London as I type...)

Eva

One's a group of hotels the other is the most important 30 days of the calendar.

harrypic

Eva,

Why the sarcy comments to someone asking for advice ?

Eva

Sorry Harry, I could say I'm premenstrual but that's too much like the truth and people might not like it.
So here is a lovely lady embarking on an adventure .......the world is her lobster.
Chuck that opportunity out to many of us and I DO believe we may have done a little more homework....
Eid Mubarak

harrypic

Eva, PMT or not I did chuckle at your "what do I wear in a gym" retort and "Ramada" does beg a bit of homework agreed

Eid Mubarak

Blue Cat

as a childless Western woman for the first 8 years of my residency in Dubai I never had any problems at all. There were a few times when I was pissed out of head and couldn't get a taxi from the Lodge in the early days and then a couple of times when I couldn't find condoms on the beach but all in all I never experienced any major issues.

Ethos83

Nah. You will be surprised by how normal life can be in Dubai. It's not terribly different from living in a suburb in Surry. You live in a villa or flat, drive nice cars, shop at a large supermarket, go out to eat on the weekends at smart restaurants, and the shopping malls have everything you want and even more (as much as I hate to use shopping malls as a barometer for comparison, the malls in Dubai are genuinely nice and have an impressive variety of shops. They're just more expensive than back home).

Just don't expect the culture of London. No museums of any worth. Theatres? Ok, movie theatres are here. There's a metro line but odds are you won't use it and for every westerner on a bus, there's 10,000 Asians, so expect to drive everywhere.

There are plenty of Western expat women out here. As a single man I am slightly annoyed that most of them are either married or in a serious relationship, but for you, you will easily find friends once you take the initative. You will have to make the effort to join clubs, a social group or two, and you will meet people. There's a board called expatwoman with a lot of information for women in Dubai, and check it out. There's a handy forum that some of us on here like to read every now and then for good laughs, but that aside, it has been useful to newbies.

As for places to live: it sounds as if you will want to live in New Dubai, the southern half of the city. Lots of accommodation choices. Flats are a good deal at the moment, and getting better. What is your budget?

Blue Cat

you not managed to find the 30,000 trolly dolly's then?

The Dean

As a single man I am slightly annoyed that most of them are either married or in a serious relationship

I second BC's comment.......

Try Scarlett's in Emirates Towers on a Tuesday evening............ Emirates Trolley Dolly Night. The men who go there that night play a game called "Octopussy"............. 'octo' means 'eight'...... are you with me?

admon

Ethos just hasn't taken the hint: she's just not into you.

Millhouse

I don't get it, can you please explain - preferably with links to websites that are not blocked.

Ethos83

I have high standards.

Sex is easy to find. But those that meet my ideals are spread thin on the ground out here in Dubai. There are few Surrey girls or Fulham ladies to go around, for the simple reason that they aren't attracted to coming out to Dubai on their own, and if they are here it's because they followed a husband or boyfriend.