nannyk

Hi

I have been here before and told you my husband and i and our daughter are moving to abu dhabi soon, infact my husband is moving over in may of this year and im stuck here untill our house sells, hopefully by begining july or latest end july!! My husband is Italian and im worried he will not have any one to socialise with if he is not working. Infact its not just the Italian community there [ if there is one im not sure plz let me know ] its any community as my husband is fluent in English and im assured this is the most common language spoken there. He will be working in sheik khalifa medical hosp, hes a doctor, are there any other medical personnel working there who wouldn't mind being a point of contact, maybe share a drink or a conversation, any Italian groups meet up? Or any groups really. Would appreciate any info you caould give.
Thankyou

Gabriel

There is an Italian community in Abu Dhabi all right. He only has to go to their Embassy to start making contacts. There's also a Catholic church in town where he can meet them.
Many Italians here, don't worry.

British community? Begin at the British Embassy. You'll find plenty of English people around here.
Or you can even begin by going out in the evenings to a few pubs, like Heroes in Crowne Plaza, Harvesters in Sands Hotel, The Tavern in Sheraton or The Captain's Arms in Meridien Hotel.

nannyk

thankyou for the info Gabriel. He isn't paticularly religious, raised a catholic but no longer practising, but a great guy anyway, saves lives for a living. Are you and your family in abu dhabi? What line of work are you in? Any children?

Gabriel

I am here with my wife. Told you about this before, here

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=430639

What speciality is your husband, then?

nannyk

Yes im sorry, you have been a great help to me with valuable information about abu dhabi. My husband is a paediatric surgeon/urologist, he is a great doctor and a great human being as you will discover if you would like to meet up at some point with your family. Im a bit nervous about moving to a country that is so strict, but at the same time im looking forward to the change of culture, weather, rules and from what im hearing alot less crime!! I want my last child to grow up with firm strict surroundings, here in uk it seems cool amongst teenage girls to have a baby by the time they are 13 or 14!!! I want much more for my daughter than that! The constant crime and violence makes me sick every day that im part of this country. thanks again for all your help and info

Gabriel

It's not that strict here. Strict is in Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc. UAE is the most modern country in the Arab world and quite open towards the West.
It is a safe place to bring up kids.

Don't be apprehensive about coming here. You'll be pleasantly surprised about what's on offer. Only if you think of how is it possible for these guys to allow churches, western style restaurants, pubs, not to mention Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood, etc. etc. (i.e. typical Christian and western values).... and you could start wondering how is it possible. It is!