# Debating international stint in Dubai for 6 months - help me answer these questions!



## rich1990 (Jun 12, 2013)

Hello All,

I have the opportunity to embark on a 6 month stint in Dubai with my company who has an office there (international bank). Before I officially say "yes" I have so many questions on my mind and would love some perspectives from people who currently live there.

Background:
22 year old Male born and raised in New York, USA
Have been out of school for a year now and have been working with my firm for one year
I am gay and I've read extensively that I should be fine as long as I dont show any public displays of affection and dont do anything thats obviously gay in public (wont catch me wearing a pink tutu anywhere in the world!)
I absolutely love to be social and go out drinking/partying/dancing/clubbing/bar hopping on weekends
Electronic-dance music (EDM) is my passion!
I'm not a family man so dont care about schools for children, etc.

Reason why I'm interested:
I've never been to the middle east and I love exploring different parts of the world. I plan on completely abiding by the local laws and will not do anything to get my self in trouble (drugs, public intoxication, write a bad check, etc). But at the same time I still want to be super social and have fun!! As a side note I've lived in Shanghai for 6 months, and London for 6 months, hoping Dubai will be my next 6 month stint.
**I ABSOLUTELY LOVE STEPPING OUTSIDE OF MY COMFORT ZONE AND BEING CHALLENGED. That is expected in a muslim country....but how much is too much? Thats what im trying to gauge from people in this forum. ** 

Anyways here are some questions (rather thoughts) I have:
1. I am 22 years old - will it be easy to find other people in their early 20s to hang out with in Dubai? Primarily im concerned about the ability to find some drinking/dinner buddies for after work happy hours and such.

2. I'm gay - no I dont plan on doing anything obviously gay in public, on the street, etc....but still, it would be nice to have a few gay buddies in Dubai to just hang out with. Are there groups for gays to hang out and socialize? 

3. Drinking - will it be ridiculously expensive? Are there group trips to neighboring emirates to buy alcohol?

4. As stated, im a huge EDM fan and go to shows to see DJs pretty much once a month, I dont expect to do the same in Dubai (seeing famous DJs play) but are there some good EDM clubs in Dubai?

5. I love wearing v-neck shirts, tank tops, shorts and sandals, can I wear this around town and be OK?

6. Can I use facebook, twitter, etc and not have to worry about censoring myself? Does the government really "check" your usage? i.e. what if I mention something about "gay" to a friend via chat - will the police come knocking on my door?

7. Dont know where I'll live yet - thats up to the company, im assuming it will be somewhere near the financial center/area. Are the residences around downtown dubai area mixed (locals and expats in the same building) or are they more segregated? I ask because if I bring someone over im scared that someone will see and "rat" me out to the police?

8. As an American, can I safely travel around the UAE and the wider middle east? Some places I plan on visiting while abroad are Egpyt, Jordan, and Lebanon.

9. Based on this information - do you think I should still go? Or am I making a big mistake? Opinions welcomed and thank you for reading this far!!


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## Ogri750 (Feb 14, 2008)

rich1990 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I have the opportunity to embark on a 6 month stint in Dubai with my company who has an office there (international bank). Before I officially say "yes" I have so many questions on my mind and would love some perspectives from people who currently live there.
> 
> ...



Hope some of the answers help


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

20 years ago America invented house and techno as the sound of two separate, yet equally alienated communities, were trying to find a voice for themselves.

20 years on and some whoppers from Europe sell it back en masse to spring break Jocks as EDM

In answer to your question, all the big, over priced DJ's fly in and do heart hands to the crowd. Some may even plug in their CDJ's and actually play a track or two. 

As for the rest, keep a fairly low profile and you'll be fine. I've met enough guys at brunches, parties etc over the years so I can't imagine it would be to difficult for someone actively looking. I'd avoid the cruisey websites and apps that begin with the letter G though, as I've heard stings are set up on there. Could be urban myth though.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

The coworkers say if there are stings it's usually aimed at people looking to solicit prostitutes via the apps/websites. A safe rule of thumb is to avoid profiles of certain nationalities. As harsh/racist as it may sound there's probably some truth to it.

I went to a 'fabulous' night at a certain club not long ago as part of a birthday boy's night out. It was an eye opener. 

Put it this way, all CID has to do is to sweep through certain clubs/bars on certain nights. But for whatever reasons they aren't even though they know fully well what's going on. 



Mr Rossi said:


> 20 years ago America invented house and techno as the sound of two separate, yet equally alienated communities, were trying to find a voice for themselves.
> 
> 20 years on and some whoppers from Europe sell it back en masse to spring break Jocks as EDM
> 
> ...


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## IzzyBella (Mar 11, 2013)

rich1990 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I have the opportunity to embark on a 6 month stint in Dubai with my company who has an office there (international bank). Before I officially say "yes" I have so many questions on my mind and would love some perspectives from people who currently live there.
> 
> ...


Hope that helps


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## rich1990 (Jun 12, 2013)

thanks everyone for the great comments!


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

Quote:

" 6. Can I use facebook, twitter, etc and not have to worry about censoring myself? Does the government really "check" your usage? i.e. what if I mention something about "gay" to a friend via chat - will the police come knocking on my door? Just pretend you're still in US, if you want. Nobody has ever really gotten into major trouble except for slagging off their company or being a bit of a threat. Just do what you do at home. Ha....nobody checks that hard. Also, get a VPN, then you really don't have to worry. People think this place is so strict, if you come here, it's far from it. Very westernised/cosmopolitan."

This part is not entirely correct, I would be a bit more cautious in comparison to the US, about what you say here and who you say it to. This would include all social media also. While people might get away with stuff, the law is certainly in place to severely punish defamatory / inflammatory comments. Yes, it might seem like a bit of scaremongering, but there have been enough instances where a comment, whether taken out of context or not, has landed someone in some trouble. Just be smart about it ...


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## IzzyBella (Mar 11, 2013)

If he's saying things via PM/not being anti-muslim, defiant, trying to start a campaign for gay rights in UAE, etc...I think he'll be okay. That's all I'm saying. 

If someone goes out of their way to purposefully lead a revolution, defy laws publicly or attack the country, it would be a different matter. 

I also wouldn't use social media to "hook up" if I were you.


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

Meant 'here' in the earlier post to mean the U.A.E and not the forum per se, also this place ain't the U.S


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## IzzyBella (Mar 11, 2013)

To be fair, saraswat, you can get sued in UK and USA for defamation via twitter 

So as I said, do what you'd do at home (if you're a decent human being who doesn't randomly attack people or religion) - I'll add in: just be weary.


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

You can get sued, but not thrown out of the country on short notice because you said something you wished you could take back ... 

'Act just like you would in the U.S' is not exactly the best way to go about things, seeing as how flipping someone a bird out there won't get you into any trouble, whereas out here it's a criminal offense, just one of many many examples.....


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## m1key (Jun 29, 2011)

IzzyBella said:


> To be fair, saraswat, you can get sued in UK and USA for defamation via twitter
> 
> So as I said, do what you'd do at home (if you're a decent human being who doesn't randomly attack people or religion) - I'll add in: *just be weary*.


Doesn't take long in this town


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## IzzyBella (Mar 11, 2013)

saraswat said:


> 'Act just like you would in the U.S' is not exactly the best way to go about things, seeing as how flipping someone a bird out there won't get you into any trouble, whereas out here it's a criminal offense, just one of many many examples.....


That's taking my point out of context. I was referring to twitter/facebook. :tongue:


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## Simey (Dec 4, 2012)

rich1990 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I have the opportunity to embark on a 6 month stint in Dubai with my company who has an office there (international bank). Before I officially say "yes" I have so many questions on my mind and would love some perspectives from people who currently live there.
> 
> ...


I'd say go for it but ask for a longer secondment. 6 months is too short for here, especially if you also want to explore the region and scratch beneath the cultural surface a bit.


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## Jinx (Jul 2, 2010)

You'll be perfectly fine here. FYI, the city is populated with 16,000 of cabin crew and many are young and their door swings your way (I fly with many of them ). I have a few friends heavily into the house music scene and seem to go out every other week seeing DJs. I agree, ask for a year and you can see and do everything you want.


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