starsun

Hi everyone,

I am a bit of a quandry. I currently live in Europe and my husband and I want to leave the city we are currently living in towards the end of this year. We are considering two options: 1. Return to Australia to Perth where we are from and where we would both easily get jobs - my husband will transfer with his current company and I will have no problems getting a job; or 2. Move to Dubai, where I have a potential job (with an excellent salary) and again my husband would transfer with his company. My concern is the quality of life in Dubai compared to Perth. I have visited Dubai before and liked it - it reminded me of Singapore crossed with Las Vegas, but from my experience visiting somewhere and living there is an entirely different thing. I visited the city we currently live in before moving and I really don't like living here at all.

Perth is pretty hard to beat, so come on, tell me the good things about Dubai!! Why would you choose it over Australia?

Thanks so much!!

Fairydust

As Dubai is rarely a "forever" place why not come here for a few years then go to Perth - after all you will be a third of the way closer

Inselaffen

I would prefer Perth myself. just need to find a job there!

Spugsy

I live here and I also spent 3 weeks in Perth a few years back, so I guess I am qualified to answer,

Over here you've got the sun, good salaries, plenty to do and its a fairly safe crime free place, but obviously its a muslim country so you have to be respectful and know all the rules or you can get into trouble, I love it here,

Perth is ok, the city's not all that but rottnest island, Freemantle etc is amazing, I love it there, its free and easy and very friendly, thats the big difference, in Dubai you get lots of people talking in arabic or hindu or whatever and you can sometimes feel like and outsider, whereas I never did in Oz,

Why not come for a week like me and the wife did and check it out, its a pretty great place, and a lot of people plan on coming for 2-3 years, get an experience and some nice cash then go back home.

Thats our plan anyway.

starsun

Good replies, thanks. I love Perth because I was born there and spent the first 26 years of my life there. Haven't lived there in 4 years though, but bloody miss it. Particularly the open spaces, the beach, being able to drive to the grocery store - all the things I don't have here.

Financially - we will probably be able to save twice as much in Dubai, and so save more for a house when we eventually return to Perth. But I am just not sure what we would do for entertainment in Dubai - i.e. on the weekends. At least in Perth there are cafes to sit and read the paper on a Sunday, parks to walk the dog in. My impression from Dubai is there is none of that. Shopping malls seems to be the extent of it. I could be completely wrong - they are just my impressions from 4 days there.

Spugsy

there's loads of that, Safa Park is massive, rolling green fields everywhere, a lake, people having bbqs, LOADS of games of football going on, I'm there every week, there's the beach which is decent enough, and a ton of things to do, trust me.

It is busy though, not as relaxing as Oz by a long chalk.

Robbies

Lived in Perth for a year and from there moved here to Dubai where we have been living for coming up to 9 months now.

If I wanted a truly great life I'd be straight back to Perth. I absolutely loved it there;

- the relaxing feel to the place (not to be read as laid back though)
- a city centre where you can walk everywhere
- exceptional public transport
- the healthy lifestyle (cycle lanes everywhere, pavements to walk on)
- cheap golf etc
- variety of friends (there we had both expat friends and Aussie friends. Here it is all expat)
- Freemantle
- Margaret River
- Swan Valley...

Nothing better than a cycle from Claremont, through Kings Park, up to the bridges at Vic Park then back down through south Perth for a beer. I have not seen anywhere here that you can do something like that, without fearing for your life on the roads.

On the other hand, we also like Dubai for very different reasons. Although we don't see ourselves here long term, its definitely giving us a boost financially for when we move on. We would not have had this potential in Perth.

I'd see Dubai as a place that could set us up for a comfortable life somewhere that offers us what Perth can offer.

As has been said above, why not use Dubai as a step towards returning home in the coming years. I doubt you'd regret giving it a try.

Spugsy

'I'd see Dubai as a place that could set us up for a comfortable life somewhere that offers us what Perth can offer. '

thats it in a nutshell basically. We'll go after 2-3 years, we will have paid off all debts, and hopefully have a decent bit of cash to take back as well, plus it will have done our careers well and we'll have a bit of a tan

We'd still love to go back and live in Syndey again, as it's amazing there, who knows, maybe we will...

lionheart

Rolling green fields everwhere my ass...its a concrete/sand wilderness compared to Perth. You need lots and lots of money to enjoy life here, whereas I guess that Perth offers much to do without having to burn a hole in your pocket. Incidentally, have you spent a summer in the Arabian Gulf yet, Mr. Spugsy?

IndieG

I've spent 6 week stretches 3-4 times in Melbourne and Sydney since 2000. Life is relaxing in Oz IF you're on holiday. Otherwise, it is quite tough. You work long hours, don't have the luxury of domestic help, cheap holidays/flights from Dubai to practically anywhere in the world (Perth is isolated due to its location), high Aussie taxes.

Safa park, Zabeel park are great but not a patch on the parks in Australia. No where even close to the botanical gardens, the rainforests - and all free. Safa and Zabeel are quite crowded (especially during long weekends/Eid hols) on the weekends.

I read an article that mentioned that the parks here are now watered with raw/untreated sewage, so am not too keen on taking my kids there


very true - Spugsy forgot to add the Meadows and Springs and the snow capped mountains of RAK....

If you're making and saving a lot of money in Dubai then go for it (the lifestyle is very comfortable), otherwise stick to Perth

starsun

I don't think Perth is that cheap anymore but certainly the outdoors in Perth are fantastic. However, the summers in Perth are long and hot, albeit not as hot as Dubai would get, they certainly are hot.

But there must be certain things Dubai can offer which Perth does not have: (a) travel opportunities; (b) more of a nightlife; (c) shops open past 5pm, are just a few I can think of.

starsun

and yes, life in Australia is not that relaxing. The hours can be very long and work can be very demanding. It depends on the industry you are in.

Spugsy

I was only talking about safa park, which is pretty damn big, and is all greenery, trees etc.


And no, but I have got sunstroke the last 2 weeks at football.

IndieG

Yeah, forgot how all shutters down at 5 pm. You will find shops are open until 11 pm here and even longer on the weekends

Try out Dubai - nothing to lose. You could always return to Perth if you don't like it

Spugsy

I was in Sydney for a year and worked 9-5 with not a second of overtime ever, then you've got lovely summer nighs at the beach having bbqs, if there was money to be made there I would not be here, thats for sure, Oz is the best place in the world in my eyes.

And cheap flights? £450 for me to go home in a month, thats hardly cheap, and you can go to NZ, Fiji etc etc fro over there OR travel Oz which is bloody massive.