Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
Aug 6th 2008, 6:01 am
#31
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Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
why would you even take time to post this though?
So you live in Sydney, live in a mansion and earn loads of money, aye great, why bother even thinking of leaving then?
Most people (myself included) come here for money, sun and to get themselves sorted for a few years before moving on, personally I'm hoping to be living in Sydney in 3 years, Dubai has it's ups and downs but like anywhere it's what you make of it and I love it here.
And as for not saving I send £700 a month back home and could easily save more if I didn't go out buying loads of stuff all the time.
You seem to have a very closed view of the place, I would imagine most people will disagree with you,
tell me where you are in Sydney and when I'm over in a few years I'll come and find you and give you a nice old kicking in the balls mate.
So you live in Sydney, live in a mansion and earn loads of money, aye great, why bother even thinking of leaving then?
Most people (myself included) come here for money, sun and to get themselves sorted for a few years before moving on, personally I'm hoping to be living in Sydney in 3 years, Dubai has it's ups and downs but like anywhere it's what you make of it and I love it here.
And as for not saving I send £700 a month back home and could easily save more if I didn't go out buying loads of stuff all the time.
You seem to have a very closed view of the place, I would imagine most people will disagree with you,
tell me where you are in Sydney and when I'm over in a few years I'll come and find you and give you a nice old kicking in the balls mate.
And posted it for people like you contemplating a move with the suggestion that do it now rather than later lest you the recession does come through and make it hard for people to come in cold.
Im in Mosman on balmoral slopes ... by the time you get here Ill be driving something supe exy with mantronic numberplates so ill be easy to find.
Aug 6th 2008, 7:03 am
#32
why ayeeeee man!
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Disco Gardens...
Posts: 11,370
Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
Posted it for people like me that believe the hype and come to this forum to research a possible move.
And posted it for people like you contemplating a move with the suggestion that do it now rather than later lest you the recession does come through and make it hard for people to come in cold.
Im in Mosman on balmoral slopes ... by the time you get here Ill be driving something supe exy with mantronic numberplates so ill be easy to find.
And posted it for people like you contemplating a move with the suggestion that do it now rather than later lest you the recession does come through and make it hard for people to come in cold.
Im in Mosman on balmoral slopes ... by the time you get here Ill be driving something supe exy with mantronic numberplates so ill be easy to find.
Aug 6th 2008, 8:56 am
#33
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 13,553
Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
In Australia for the first time recently, a number of things struck me.
Overall, I liked the place, especially Sydney, but what let the whole thing down for me was an appalling level of customer service and the underlying attitude to it.
On more than one occasion, waiters who brought the wrong order got very aggressive (verbally at least) when I politely suggested they might care to change it. "Won't it do?" seemed to sum up the response.
I found building standards in the hotels I experienced to be generally mediocre, and workmanship to be of modest quality in general. "She'll be all right mate" was a frequent refrain.
There is clearly a chronic lack of skilled workers to do anything remotely technical. My brother-in-law's firm (an internationally known firm in the IT industry) cannot even find basic programmers and technicians with the experience they require.
The place is racist beyond belief, and it was hard to avoid an overwhelming feeling that, when the plane landed, the captain should have announced "Please set your watches back thirty years".
In fact, in many of the ways I have described, it was similar to...... er, Dubai actually. And having said all that, I agree with much of what you said about Dubai - the people who 'love it' are kidding themselves, but please don't kid yourself that Oz is the best alternative.
And you didn't reply to my comment about your landlord. Why doesn't he simply sell the house (whose value is falling anyway) and invest the cash in a bank deposit? Much more lucrative for him.... strange man.
By the way, who was the idiot (Soukie?) who said the construction boom in Dubai is going to last another ten years? Dubai will be bankrupt long before then......
Overall, I liked the place, especially Sydney, but what let the whole thing down for me was an appalling level of customer service and the underlying attitude to it.
On more than one occasion, waiters who brought the wrong order got very aggressive (verbally at least) when I politely suggested they might care to change it. "Won't it do?" seemed to sum up the response.
I found building standards in the hotels I experienced to be generally mediocre, and workmanship to be of modest quality in general. "She'll be all right mate" was a frequent refrain.
There is clearly a chronic lack of skilled workers to do anything remotely technical. My brother-in-law's firm (an internationally known firm in the IT industry) cannot even find basic programmers and technicians with the experience they require.
The place is racist beyond belief, and it was hard to avoid an overwhelming feeling that, when the plane landed, the captain should have announced "Please set your watches back thirty years".
In fact, in many of the ways I have described, it was similar to...... er, Dubai actually. And having said all that, I agree with much of what you said about Dubai - the people who 'love it' are kidding themselves, but please don't kid yourself that Oz is the best alternative.
And you didn't reply to my comment about your landlord. Why doesn't he simply sell the house (whose value is falling anyway) and invest the cash in a bank deposit? Much more lucrative for him.... strange man.
By the way, who was the idiot (Soukie?) who said the construction boom in Dubai is going to last another ten years? Dubai will be bankrupt long before then......
Aug 6th 2008, 9:09 am
#34
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Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
http://www.coolabah.com/
Aug 6th 2008, 10:55 am
#35
A bubbly-jock...
Joined: Mar 2005
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Posts: 6,262
Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
I always thought the expression was "whingeing Pom"...must have been mistaken it MUST be "whingeing Aussie".
OK...you did the right thing...you came out and had a look...and it was not the place for you. Endof.
Some of the things you said were way out though.
You're the first visitor I have ever heard say that Dubai was disgusting...the vast majority are impressed with Dubai and enthuse about it to their friends when they go home.
The industrial facilities are not "littered around the city"...they are located in industrial zones or parks..as is the case in most cities including Sydney.
OK some truth there. The planning failure is due to the longitudinal (coastal) spread of Dubai with the bulk of workers living in Sharjah which creates the daily traffic problems along Dubai's main arterial routes, which follow the coast. If cheaper accommodation in multiple locations had been planned inland away from the coast, this longitudinal traffic problem would not exist.
So there's no place in Sydney that backs on the overhead electricity transmission corridors? Housing is kept away from transmission corridors as they are in Sydney...so the bogey of "cancer" is not an issue as it isn't in the Sydney suburbs.
What "gasses[sic]" from Dubai...chemical pollution is vastly lower than that of Sydney. I lived in Pennant Hills (on 6-month contract) and used to look out towards the Sydney basin which was always filled for part of the day by a dense yellow-coloured chemical smog...I used to feel sorry for Sydneysiders.
As mentioned above Sydney suffers more from chemical smog than Dubai. Most cities in the middle east bordering deserts get dust in the atmosphere and air quality is reduced. However, it is mainly coarse natural dust comprising particulate matter (PM) diameter sizes sizes of 10 microns or larger...whereas in Sydney there is a higher content of very fine PM in the range 2.5 to 0.1 microns which you breathe deeply into your lungs.. The Sydney fines PM is from industry and vehicle exhausts and is more dangerous than the natural dust you get in Dubai. Air quality in Dubai is higher than Sydney according to international reporting standards and of usually 28 days out of 30 days is in the green zone - good quality air.
I suppose you were a supporter of the White Australia policy...judging by the tenor of that comment. Best stick to Sydney then.
You must have passed along the dual carriageway roads in Dubai Marina, which is at the back end of the Marina and JBR buildings. If you had stopped and got out of your car (or bus) you could have walked to the front of the buildings and seen the great views either over Dubai marina canal or the sea, along with the many cafes and shops.
Finally, I'm an Aussie and I love Dubai...best move I ever made. Though I think coming with some money to buy a property rather than rent helps a lot...especially as property values have increased over 40 per cent in the last 2 years, which is not the case in Australia.
OK...you did the right thing...you came out and had a look...and it was not the place for you. Endof.
Some of the things you said were way out though.
No need to run such a comparion in relation to Dubai as it was nothing short of disgusting.
I expected the traffic and lack of green and orange skies but the things that hit me were the ugly industrial facilities being littered around the city and the congested cheap looking developments that basically looked like ghettos and govt housing (albiet new).
Dubai really is the worlds greatest modern planning failure.
Discovery Gardens gets the best view of the worlds largest area of huge metal trasmission lines. If they dont give you cancer Im sure things like gasses from nearby Dubal will.
What "gasses[sic]" from Dubai...chemical pollution is vastly lower than that of Sydney. I lived in Pennant Hills (on 6-month contract) and used to look out towards the Sydney basin which was always filled for part of the day by a dense yellow-coloured chemical smog...I used to feel sorry for Sydneysiders.
The dust was clealy worse in dubai and it seemed to mix unfavorably with the shocking smog. That alone was a complete dealbreaker.
The absence of young pretty white women was immediately apparent (sue me but they are nice to have around just like bleu skies and trees).
(the marina with 1000s of units and on little road!!!!!!!!!!).
Finally, I'm an Aussie and I love Dubai...best move I ever made. Though I think coming with some money to buy a property rather than rent helps a lot...especially as property values have increased over 40 per cent in the last 2 years, which is not the case in Australia.
Aug 6th 2008, 11:09 am
#36
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 219
Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
In Australia for the first time recently, a number of things struck me.
Overall, I liked the place, especially Sydney, but what let the whole thing down for me was an appalling level of customer service and the underlying attitude to it.
On more than one occasion, waiters who brought the wrong order got very aggressive (verbally at least) when I politely suggested they might care to change it. "Won't it do?" seemed to sum up the response.
I found building standards in the hotels I experienced to be generally mediocre, and workmanship to be of modest quality in general. "She'll be all right mate" was a frequent refrain.
There is clearly a chronic lack of skilled workers to do anything remotely technical. My brother-in-law's firm (an internationally known firm in the IT industry) cannot even find basic programmers and technicians with the experience they require.
The place is racist beyond belief, and it was hard to avoid an overwhelming feeling that, when the plane landed, the captain should have announced "Please set your watches back thirty years".
In fact, in many of the ways I have described, it was similar to...... er, Dubai actually. And having said all that, I agree with much of what you said about Dubai - the people who 'love it' are kidding themselves, but please don't kid yourself that Oz is the best alternative.
And you didn't reply to my comment about your landlord. Why doesn't he simply sell the house (whose value is falling anyway) and invest the cash in a bank deposit? Much more lucrative for him.... strange man.
By the way, who was the idiot (Soukie?) who said the construction boom in Dubai is going to last another ten years? Dubai will be bankrupt long before then......
Overall, I liked the place, especially Sydney, but what let the whole thing down for me was an appalling level of customer service and the underlying attitude to it.
On more than one occasion, waiters who brought the wrong order got very aggressive (verbally at least) when I politely suggested they might care to change it. "Won't it do?" seemed to sum up the response.
I found building standards in the hotels I experienced to be generally mediocre, and workmanship to be of modest quality in general. "She'll be all right mate" was a frequent refrain.
There is clearly a chronic lack of skilled workers to do anything remotely technical. My brother-in-law's firm (an internationally known firm in the IT industry) cannot even find basic programmers and technicians with the experience they require.
The place is racist beyond belief, and it was hard to avoid an overwhelming feeling that, when the plane landed, the captain should have announced "Please set your watches back thirty years".
In fact, in many of the ways I have described, it was similar to...... er, Dubai actually. And having said all that, I agree with much of what you said about Dubai - the people who 'love it' are kidding themselves, but please don't kid yourself that Oz is the best alternative.
And you didn't reply to my comment about your landlord. Why doesn't he simply sell the house (whose value is falling anyway) and invest the cash in a bank deposit? Much more lucrative for him.... strange man.
By the way, who was the idiot (Soukie?) who said the construction boom in Dubai is going to last another ten years? Dubai will be bankrupt long before then......
Yes its racist but mostly due to the fact that its been one of the whitest places in the world. We have about 5 africans now and last year we had none. 20 years ago it was almost 100% white excl native aussies.
Building standard are some of the best in the world as are planning ... no straight walls on development, at least 3 finishes or collours, green requirements. At the time the US was building the great collapsing WTC you could not have gotten approval for such an inherently fire unsafe building in aus.
As for my landlord ... i didnt think you were serious ... it cracks me up coming from the UAE where so many properties are empty! Some people invest in property solely for capital gain. You must have heard of land banking???
In any event high end properties in syd are often rented for 2% of their value .. its not strange for a free and transparent property market, but unheard of somewhere like dubai where rents are rigged to provide a defacto tax regime.
Syd isnt the best by any means ... probably on par with many places in the first world. My point is really that there are many unexpected cons when you leave the first world for the third world.
Aug 6th 2008, 11:21 am
#37
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Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
I stand by the rest of my post and yes I prefer places like syd but then its partly subjective.
Good to hear you are doing well In Dubai. If you have bought there I would sell ASAP ... the fundamentals are not there and with credit issues you will find foreign buyers will quickly diminish ... the bigger the boom the bigger the bust. But if you are bullish then ride it out and good luck.
Aug 6th 2008, 11:25 am
#38
why ayeeeee man!
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Disco Gardens...
Posts: 11,370
Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
I have never heard a good report on dubai .. AD yes but Dubai reports have been on par with mine. It could be that we move in very different circles.
I stand by the rest of my post and yes I prefer places like syd but then its partly subjective.
Good to hear you are doing well In Dubai. If you have bought there I would sell ASAP ... the fundamentals are not there and with credit issues you will find foreign buyers will quickly diminish ... the bigger the boom the bigger the bust. But if you are bullish then ride it out and good luck.
I stand by the rest of my post and yes I prefer places like syd but then its partly subjective.
Good to hear you are doing well In Dubai. If you have bought there I would sell ASAP ... the fundamentals are not there and with credit issues you will find foreign buyers will quickly diminish ... the bigger the boom the bigger the bust. But if you are bullish then ride it out and good luck.
Aug 6th 2008, 11:28 am
#39
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,287
Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
Customer service is on par with most countries where you dont have a class of people that have to kiss ass round the clock for their very existance ... yes they dont crawl on their bellies but its because they dont need to.
Yes its racist but mostly due to the fact that its been one of the whitest places in the world. We have about 5 africans now and last year we had none. 20 years ago it was almost 100% white excl native aussies.
Building standard are some of the best in the world as are planning ... no straight walls on development, at least 3 finishes or collours, green requirements. At the time the US was building the great collapsing WTC you could not have gotten approval for such an inherently fire unsafe building in aus.
As for my landlord ... i didnt think you were serious ... it cracks me up coming from the UAE where so many properties are empty! Some people invest in property solely for capital gain. You must have heard of land banking???
In any event high end properties in syd are often rented for 2% of their value .. its not strange for a free and transparent property market, but unheard of somewhere like dubai where rents are rigged to provide a defacto tax regime.
Syd isnt the best by any means ... probably on par with many places in the first world. My point is really that there are many unexpected cons when you leave the first world for the third world.
Yes its racist but mostly due to the fact that its been one of the whitest places in the world. We have about 5 africans now and last year we had none. 20 years ago it was almost 100% white excl native aussies.
Building standard are some of the best in the world as are planning ... no straight walls on development, at least 3 finishes or collours, green requirements. At the time the US was building the great collapsing WTC you could not have gotten approval for such an inherently fire unsafe building in aus.
As for my landlord ... i didnt think you were serious ... it cracks me up coming from the UAE where so many properties are empty! Some people invest in property solely for capital gain. You must have heard of land banking???
In any event high end properties in syd are often rented for 2% of their value .. its not strange for a free and transparent property market, but unheard of somewhere like dubai where rents are rigged to provide a defacto tax regime.
Syd isnt the best by any means ... probably on par with many places in the first world. My point is really that there are many unexpected cons when you leave the first world for the third world.
Maybe you 'didn't get the job' or something else led you to look at Dubai with a very critical gaze..
Easy to criticise any city given the opportunity.
The fact that only 40 years ago, Dubai had a car population of about 11, sure its going through some severe growing pains - and some of those aren't good
But every city has good points to it, its a shame you didn't stop to look for them - most of your observations seem to be based on a drive by from Abu Dhabi to Dubai Airport via Shk Zayed Rd...
Aug 6th 2008, 11:40 am
#40
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Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
I had a bmw 735 limo for the day and had enough of a look to last a lifetime so I finished early to end the pain. Even my 24 yo pakistani driver said dubai was horrible, as did the etihad business class limo driver.
As for etihad business class ... sleep on a bookshelf tonight and get your wife to bump you and spill stuff on you every hour and you will get the gist. In flight entertainment consists of 3 b grade movies censored to about half length ... but it breaks down every 5 mins so it needs no simulation.
As for etihad business class ... sleep on a bookshelf tonight and get your wife to bump you and spill stuff on you every hour and you will get the gist. In flight entertainment consists of 3 b grade movies censored to about half length ... but it breaks down every 5 mins so it needs no simulation.
Aug 6th 2008, 11:46 am
#41
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Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
Gotta be wrong .. sydney cbd air is less smoggy than the outskirts of dubai ... in fact Id rather run a marathon in beijing than spend another hour in this ...
Aug 6th 2008, 11:46 am
#42
hmmmm...nice
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 27,923
Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
I had a bmw 735 limo for the day and had enough of a look to last a lifetime so I finished early to end the pain. Even my 24 yo pakistani driver said dubai was horrible, as did the etihad business class limo driver.
As for etihad business class ... sleep on a bookshelf tonight and get your wife to bump you and spill stuff on you every hour and you will get the gist. In flight entertainment consists of 3 b grade movies censored to about half length ... but it breaks down every 5 mins so it needs no simulation.
As for etihad business class ... sleep on a bookshelf tonight and get your wife to bump you and spill stuff on you every hour and you will get the gist. In flight entertainment consists of 3 b grade movies censored to about half length ... but it breaks down every 5 mins so it needs no simulation.
....
Aug 6th 2008, 11:50 am
#44
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,287
Re: Abu Dhabi + Dubai impressions
I had a bmw 735 limo for the day and had enough of a look to last a lifetime so I finished early to end the pain. Even my 24 yo pakistani driver said dubai was horrible, as did the etihad business class limo driver.
As for etihad business class ... sleep on a bookshelf tonight and get your wife to bump you and spill stuff on you every hour and you will get the gist. In flight entertainment consists of 3 b grade movies censored to about half length ... but it breaks down every 5 mins so it needs no simulation.
As for etihad business class ... sleep on a bookshelf tonight and get your wife to bump you and spill stuff on you every hour and you will get the gist. In flight entertainment consists of 3 b grade movies censored to about half length ... but it breaks down every 5 mins so it needs no simulation.