kittycat1

me-
no maid,
no car
no villa
no husband - does this mean I'm not superficial at all??

and in reply to the original question personally everyone I have met has been lovely and genuine towards me- noones asked me what I earn, what car I drive or any other shallow question (perhaps its because I don't look like one of the 'beautiful people" ie I dont wear any brands, I'm not stick thin, i don't carry myself too seriously and I calll a spade a spade, i've seen a few knob jockeys about but I would say its a similar mix to what you'd get in any city.

Roadking

What the hell is a knob jockey?

Oh, I wear branded gear, mainly Harley Davidson casual and Hugo Boss business. But then I also have, even before I became a pretentious stuck up twat....does that make me superficial cause I don't mind being super something.

Patsy Stoned

jeez!! not every woman who goes to those coffee morning has a fat arse!!! stop making such sweeping statements!!!

I have a maid
I have a 4 x4
I have a villa
I don't have a husband

Totally not superficial and certainly not a fat arse..but then I also don't do coffee mornings! lol

MovingToMidEast

ok ok let me clarify - gelling your hair doesnt make you superficial. i just meant it as part of the transformation that may take place when people move to dubai..

becoming more slick, gelling hair, developing a different attitude thinking you are great, splurging on cars and other things (not necessarily because you want to but becuase you want to show off or associate yourself with a certain status).

I realize people say that dubai the city is superficial but i am wondering about the people...

Millhouse

good on you Patsy.

4x4's are essential in my mind. When 95% of the population drive as if they are on a combination of LSD and roofies I wouldn't feel safe in anything else.

Millhouse

Give it time... you are still a newbie.

commander

Look, I've seen the type...coffee, cakes and gossip...all indicitive of a portly arse. You know I'm talking the truth patsy, you just don't want to be seen to agree and hence upset some of your customers.

Fair play to you, you must make a killing trying to convert the porkies

Kim67

I don't have a maid (not really comfortable having one)
I do have a 4x4 (not the most glamorous of cars, but it does the job)
I do have a villa (bit hard to live in the 4x4 with three kids)
I do have a husband (though all my mates know him and know he's not worth bragging about)

I do have coffee with my best mates every Monday - a couple of us have arses on the bigger side (well I mine is anyway) but most are pretty fit - a couple jog to our coffees and sometimes don't turn up if the conditions are good for a surf. We don't really talk about any of the above topics much, only to have a bit of a laugh about them.

I think Dubai has become far less superficial over the last six months, a lot of the superficial types have gone or have had to come down to earth with a bit of a thud. Or maybe I've just become immune and don't notice any more.

commander

I do agree that the recent cull of the under qualified has been a blessing. A lot of superficial people who came here, spoke to indians like they were shit, looked down on almost everyone, are now back in the UK and Oz taking on a part time job to make ends meet because hubbys 'director' role is now back to his level, site supervisor or project assistant.


Most of them will be asking themselves as they coumt up the debt,

Did we really need the live in maid immediately considerimg we don't have one back home
Was it wise to buy that range rover within 6 months of being here
Should we have taken that rental loan to afford that villa in jumeirah, or shpuld we have stuck to budget in mirdif.

Live the dream. Realise the nightmare....plonkers..

Dubai is better without these types, unfortunately they are still kicking around though.

Tick tock

MovingToMidEast

yeah that makes sense. its crazy how people can change so much - but i guess it goes with the culture that is already there.. it must be a culture of shallowness and so forth..

you know one thing that does bother me as how people talk down to or about the indians. i was interviewing for a job in the UAE (am not there now) but the Director was telling me what nationalities the office is comprised of and he was saying Arabs, brits, and the rest are just indians but he said it in such a way that he was talking down about them.

i have to say i was really offended when he said that and i am not indian.. it was very insulting!

Millhouse

A guy I work with bought a boat, porsche, land rover and took on a big ass villa within a month of arriving!

MataHari

I think it's quite natural that when you have more money to spend you change a few things in the way you live...and most people are in that situation when they move here, as that is the reason most have moved here in the first place...
So back home people won't drive a 4x4 because of the high petrol prices and in the case of Holland, the high tax you have to pay on those cars, where as here it's more affordable...does that make you superficial...not sure really

As for the maids...most people won't have had one back home, again because of practical reasons...not many homes in Europe will have a maidsroom with a showerroom/toilet to start with, where as here most villas have one...
Also, the childcare in Europe is better organised, nurseries/after school care etc have longer opening hours and most people will have a better social network of friends and family that can babysit when you are working or want to go out at night etc...here that can be difficult to find, so a maid can be a solution for that. Back home finding a good maid or even a cleaner for a few hours a week is like finding gold on the streets...and because of the labour laws their rates are very high so not many can afford them, even when you are earning well.
So again...does having a maid here make you superficial...are you a better person for mopping your own floors...

As for dressing differently...from what I see is that here the dresscode at work is a bit more formal and also for going out people seem to dress up more than they do back home...again, I am not sure if that is such a bad thing to be honest.

Generally I think that earning a bit more in combination with lower labour costs makes you able to do stuff you couldn't back home, like for women to have mani/pedi done frequently, or go to a spa, or have your car washed frequently or your shopping packed and put in your car. For a lot of people that makes life a bit more fun, so what...that doesn't mean to say that you have all of a sudden become superfical.
I think the people here that treat others with disrespect would do the same back home, the people that brag about stuff will do so where ever they are, here they just brag about different things.

The whole argument of people doing things here that they never did back home and therefore they must be shallow or surperfical is stupid...it's a different country, there are different rules here, different possibilities, different things on offer for most...so why not change your old routine when you are here.

Ethos83

Ah, yes, the superficial people.

When I first came out here, there were quite a few of those. Not just the western expats but the Jordanians/Lebanese/Syrians too. These groups especially specialised in the superficial trade.

But I didn't hang out with them and they didn't hang out with me. That blond haired guy wearing salt-stained swimming trunks, a faded polo shirt and flip flops walking through Spinneys or the Dubai Mall or MoE, that's me. And there's plenty of us.

But I do have a 4x4 and maid who comes in four days a week.

Edit: Mata Hari's post makes complete sense.

MovingToMidEast

Mata Hari - you made valid points. its not necessarily superficialness - i guess more than anything, on a general basis, are people in dubai (or do people in dubai) become arrogant because of potential lifestyle changes?

Millhouse

Only if you want to... you don't have to change.

I for one, have changed. I am now much more sympathetic and understanding to those less fortunate than myself.

When I was in London there was no way on Earth would I have gone into a super market and bought a load of drinks and food for the less fortunate outside. Yet, here I find myself doing it frequently.

I'm probably more humble if anything, but if you are a twat then this is a great place to practice being a twat.