# What is bad about/in Dubai



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

*What is bad about/in Dubai?*

I am not sure if there has been a similar thrwa but just to be contradictive I wonder about things that are really bad or not that good comparing to west world in Dubai. All thoughts are welcomed


----------



## IzzyBella (Mar 11, 2013)

Nothing is wrong with it, except for the people.


----------



## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Maybe in 300 + 66 pages of the threads below you might be able to figure out 

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sandpit/111661-dubai-daily-rant-aka-ddr.html
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sandpit/156392-dubai-daily-rant-aka-ddr-2-a.html


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Thank you so much for the information. I am already amused by reading those posts


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

IzzyBella said:


> Nothing is wrong with it, except for the people.


Thank you so much IzzyBella, can you please elaborate what do you mean by that or you were just ironic ?


----------



## IzzyBella (Mar 11, 2013)

It was mainly tongue in cheek, but it's true about everywhere. I shan't go into examples, we have the DDR for that!


----------



## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Because I am bored 

This was a post I made at the five month point when I was here... 3 years and 3 months ago. 

*******************************************

Good for you!!! Its now been over five months... 

Still just as frustrated with going to find anything and the no left turns. The other day trying to find a kitty tower and six hours later, coming home and just ordering one from the states. I gave up. 

The trash everywhere I go still bothers me just the same. 

The beach is great, as long as I go to run and put headphones on and dont bother to notice being stared at (I never go now). Going to swim without someone with me is a no go. 3x's, each time being bothered by men who come and sit there down like ten feet from me. And then make noises. UGGGHHH. 

Obviously, still not used to being stared at or followed around. I dont go anywhere alone unless I absolutely have to. Has almost got to the point where I think wearing that cover would be better then being a prisoner. I have altered my life because I feel so uncomfortable with being stared at by men and the attention so what is the difference in giving in?? I have given it a lot of thought. I can now see how women can be manipulated into thinking that is acceptable to wear that thing. 

The cell phone monopoly and the outrageous amounts that I spend on it.... 

Lack of other Americans. I have one friend who mauled me at the mall when he found out I was american is the only american I have stumbled across besides those I work with. Brtts seem to say ah, you just have to be ok with diversity but they seem to go to the bars and hang out all the time, just as back home. They are surrounded by their people, doing things they do at home. As a british acquaintance said to me, this is little britland. I enjoy my friends who are not from america but its always formalities and just completely odd and different and I feel I must stay on my toes to make sure I am being polite and politically correct (non uk people). 

Having odd days off prob doesnt help and that isnt Dubai's fault. I dont get to go with people fishing or diving or camping or swimming in fujeirah, all the outdoorsy stuff that I enjoy doing. Everything I do, I pretty much do alone. And as I dont want to do much alone due to the above, it isnt alot. 

Discovery Garden still is awful







Still have a leaking ceiling and the AC is still freezing and I have no idea how to change it. Everyone who comes over and messes with the ac ends up telling me to just switch it off when its cold, as no one can figure it out. 

Driving is still terrible. The fact that they make so many other countries spend so much money for driving lessons (racism at its finest in my opinion) doesnt seem to help at all. Just this morning when I was driving back from abu dhabi there was a HUGE accident with choppers on the ground and bodies all over.







I have never seen dead bodies on the ground in the usa while driving. Have now here a number of times. 

Going to hit balls (havent bothered to go play a round) is expensive. No cheap driving ranges. 

Getting animals into Dubai a mess. When someone says 800 Dirham when researched and was told that leg would be 400, what is a girl to do?? I knew it was going directly into his own pockets but ?? Pay the money and get my dang cats. The 90 dirham storage fee because it took me four hours to get thru their paperwork mess that had me walking all over... pretty much made sure that experience was as sour as it could possibly be. The importer fees are CRIMINAL. 

TV is still terrible. I love going to work where they have special channels









My marine society is a bright spot. I LOVE all my marine family and friends but going to their homes is a bit sad. They have the wrong passport and therefore make a 1/3 of what a westerner makes. And thus live in a very very different area then I am in. And I think this is the ghetto. But then they say its better then home. I have upgraded it to middle class ghetto. 

The workers still are outside cutting the grass with rather large scissors but not big enough to be shears looking things. The horrors about the labor workers living conditions and how they are treated just makes me sad. 

The cost of clothing is absolutely crazy. 

I dont think I will ever understand how the rest of the world, even though they seem to dislike us so much, have american crap everywhere. And I do mean crap of america.

The morals of this place are a bit different to say the least. Maybe I am just too old fashioned. But women seem to go to the bars to get a shag just the same as what the men are going to the bars to do. And very openness about it. Have been told a few times I need to get over my american morals and just let loose and have fun. Umm... no, nope. 

Drinking seems to be a hobby here. And not a good one. Even the muslims are drunk at the bars.

I hear so much talk about the usa's lack of culture. The brits seem to have a complex with it. 

Have gotten to experience lots of different types of foods here. Indian chinese, indian mexican, indian american, indian?? whatever (you get the picture, its not just indians, sometimes paki/filipino/etc). It always is kind of not right. Except for going to the big expensive places with chefs. Absolutly miss authentic food that is cooked by chinese at a chinese restaurant, by germans at a german restaurant, by mexicans at a mexican restaurant, by italians at an italian, etc. I cant wait to go home for to go to personal owned restaurants ran by familes who take pride in their business, as its their own.

The absolute happiest part of my time here is when I look at my 'bills' and see them shrinking and shrinking. 

The very best part of this place? That this place has made me appreciate being American more then I ever thought it would have. America truly is a place where one can come, work hard, and make a life for ones self and family, for generations to come

************************************************

And now.... as I am about to leave. 

Road system and no left turns still frustrate me to death. I have learned to gloss over the dirtiness, human rights and animal violations (which makes me very sad as I didnt want to be part of the expats that look the other way, but in reality, I have) beaches in dubai are overall terrible unless you go to a private one or take someone with you so you wont be bothered by random men, staring is still quite horrible once you get out the tourist/western locations but even then dont go walking around on your own as a blonde woman, the expense of here still amazes me and very glad I had access to the usa postal system my entire time here or would of been alot harder saving money here, DG was horrible until the very end in about every way and highly suggest white/western people not to move there (one of the coworkers was nearly raped this spring and the guy actually admitted that he thought it was ok because she was nice to him and woman are only nice to men if they want them!!!!!), average everyday restaurants outside of indian/pakistani/asian food is very subpar which goes back to expense as to go to anything that isnt those costs an arm and a leg, and my initial belief that a 'muslim country' morals would be a bit better is completed washed out and now think muslims might actually be worse then catholics!

I dont understand anyone moving here for the 'lifestyle' but to each their own. I want to wash my own car, mow my own yard, wash my own clothes, and..... wipe my own ass. Even love isnt making me stay.... I will miss my friends and I will miss the beaches out on the indian ocean, and I will miss Squishy  ................... But emirates is making a special flight for him from here to Austin in due time  

But other then that, not a thing will I miss here.


----------



## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

vildadalen said:


> I am not sure if there has been a similar thrwa but just to be contradictive I wonder about things that are really bad or not that good comparing to west world in Dubai. All thoughts are welcomed


Ok it may sound silly so brace yourself.

1) one bad thing is that it is not my home country. Cannot find the stuff that has been rocking my world
2) there are incredible amounts of sand almost anywhere. Don't be alarmed if you happen do swallow some if you leave your windows opened...ok ..on a second thought.be alarmed.
3) some places sport automatic alarms (Mosques). So if you live nearby one yeah
4) over production of vitamin D 
5) this place can make you gain weight. When you arrive you try all sorts of stuff then you realize man I put up some weight then out of the blue you find yourself having a healthier life style


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Jynxgirl said:


> Because I am bored
> 
> This was a post I made at the five month point when I was here... 3 years and 3 months ago.
> 
> ...


Thank you very very much for sharing. You have always been so helpful and detailed in your advice which I appreciate. 

Have you ever considered to write your own book about "your journey to Dubai" or at least start your own blog ? I see you have the skills and the experience of the place and by doing that you would help thousands of people. 

Have a good day


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Canuck_Sens said:


> Ok it may sound silly so brace yourself.
> 
> 1) one bad thing is that it is not my home country. Cannot find the stuff that has been rocking my world
> 2) there are incredible amounts of sand almost anywhere. Don't be alarmed if you happen do swallow some if you leave your windows opened...ok ..on a second thought.be alarmed.
> ...


Thank you very much for the thoughts. Do you happen to know if there is bad things that happen to families or kids. I am considering to move with my family and scared like hell I will regret the move.


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Whenever someone says 'scared like hell' I roll my eyes.

Don't move.

Jynx is a good girl but her perspective is one perspective. I'll contradict her by saying that Dubai is one of the cleanest cities I've ever seen (she's probably referring to certain popular desert dune bashing spots and wadi camping designations that are unfortunately fairly littered). Yes, there are 'bachelors' who walk up and down the beaches staring at people but they're usually avoidable if you know which beach not to go to and the beaches are filled with Western women strutting their stuff, so it isn't quite the nightmare scene she may portray.





vildadalen said:


> Thank you very much for the thoughts. Do you happen to know if there is bad things that happen to families or kids. I am considering to move with my family and scared like hell I will regret the move.


----------



## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

Hi Vilda Dalen,

A few things to consider...

You might not like or get used to the weather in the summer.
It gets too hot. It's either Turkish sauna or Finnish sauna weather. The winter weather is nice and it can even feel quite cold when the temperature drops down to just under +20. I'm not joking. For about a week last winter I was longing for central heating. It felt so cold indoors!

Too many stopped/unfinished/delayed building sites and just too much construction in general. 

So unfriendly for pedestrians. There are many places that don't have proper pavements and zebra crossings. And if you find a zebra crossing that's no guarantee that the cars will stop even if you have the "green man".

The sand and the occasional sandstorms. It feels like the sand gets everywhere and if you have asthma or other respiratory issues it can be a bit difficult.

The lack of locally grown vegetables//fruits especially in the summer. The majority of the food seems to be imported and a lot of times from too far away. Raspberries from USA??

The traffic is bad. Too many bad drivers from all over the world bringing their driving culture here turning it into a mess. Too many sport cars and 4x4s treating the roads like their own personal racing track.


----------



## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

vildadalen said:


> ...I am considering to move with my family and scared like hell I will regret the move.


Yes, they will become seriously spoiled like the rest of the people living in UAE any length of time... 

I agree about Jynx's perspective is very 1-dimensional, eventhough I do agree with her about the Brits... :boxing: 

Seriously, I have lived all over the world in the last 17 years (including Scandinavia, Europe, Asia... other than South America) which 10 in Middle-East (UAE and Egypt). And Dubai by far is the best place if you want to be in Middle-East, IMHO.

There is no safety issue, more available choices, etc. Just don't think it is completely "tax-free" (hidden in some costs, and fines, etc - all discussed elsewhere) but for someone from Sweden with relatively high tax, you will find Dubai a bargain.

Make sure that you negotiate for a good Western ex-pat package then you will be fine...


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

TallyHo said:


> Whenever someone says 'scared like hell' I roll my eyes.
> 
> Don't move.
> 
> Jynx is a good girl but her perspective is one perspective. I'll contradict her by saying that Dubai is one of the cleanest cities I've ever seen (she's probably referring to certain popular desert dune bashing spots and wadi camping designations that are unfortunately fairly littered). Yes, there are 'bachelors' who walk up and down the beaches staring at people but they're usually avoidable if you know which beach not to go to and the beaches are filled with Western women strutting their stuff, so it isn't quite the nightmare scene she may portray.


Thank you so much TalkyHo. I agree with your comments. I am scared cause I have a very good life standard/style. We like to explore Dubai but it is natural one can be scared to move a family to a place that i have never lived in. I don't want to be chocked by moving to another country especially with kids. If I were single, I wouldn't even bother submitting this post. I appreciate all the opinions and perspectives which make this a "forum"  then after all I know it is up to me to decide wether to take the move or back off. 

Thanks once again for your comments.


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Thank you so much. These are the kind of comments that I would like to hear about. I don't mind the heat to be honest and would rather have too much vitamin D rather than the long cold SWEDISH winter. But my family loves both winter and the summer heat kick thanks god they'll be able to fly back to Sweden to get back to the rainy summer in Sweden if they think they cannot handle the extreme heat in Dubai during the summer. 

I will for sure miss the local fruits and veggies and the traffic respect 




QOFE said:


> Hi Vilda Dalen,
> 
> A few things to consider...
> 
> ...


----------



## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

How old are your kids? 

Your biggest worry shouldn't necessarily be left turns and castigating those that like doing things you don't, but the educational system which I'm guessing will be quite behind any of the Scandinavian countries.


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Hi ccr, thank you so much for your feedback. It means a lot to me especially that you have been traveling around. 



ccr said:


> Yes, they will become seriously spoiled like the rest of the people living in UAE any length of time...
> 
> I agree about Jynx's perspective is very 1-dimensional, eventhough I do agree with her about the Brits... :boxing:
> 
> ...


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Mr Rossi said:


> How old are your kids?
> 
> Your biggest worry shouldn't necessarily be left turns and castigating those that like doing things you don't, but the educational system which I'm guessing will be quite behind any of the Scandinavian countries.


Thank you so much. They are 10, 5 and 2,5. We must have an American school system to maintain a decent and a knowledgable education when we come back to Sweden.


----------



## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

vildadalen said:


> Thank you so much. They are 10, 5 and 2,5. We must have an American school system to maintain a decent and a knowledgable education when we come back to Sweden.


You will probably find that the best American schools here will still be lacking those of Sweden, also the cost of putting at least two children through school here is very expensive.


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Mr Rossi said:


> You will probably find that the best American schools here will still be lacking those of Sweden, also the cost of putting at least two children through school here is very expensive.


We have been evaluating schools and decided upon GEMS although they are very expensive almost 50k per child and the long waiting time.


----------



## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

vildadalen said:


> We have been evaluating schools and decided upon GEMS although they are very expensive almost 50k per child and the long waiting time.


Good luck with your move. Since you are moving here with your family, your experience will be very different from those of the single people. You may or may not fall into the maid culture. You may move here saying that you want to be independent and don't want a nanny, etc. but soon people get sucked into the glitz and the glam that is Dubai and before you know it, it is the overworked/underpaid nanny that is managing 3 children, doing all the housekeeping, cooking and walking the dog. 

There is good and bad wherever you go. It's all about how you adapt to the city and make the good things work for you really well so that maybe they overshadow the bad aspects of this place.

For me, there are plenty of things that I hate about Dubai but will not go into detail.  Good luck and hopefully your company has the children's education covered or you're going to have a really tough time!


----------



## Klaaf (Jul 7, 2013)

I wouldn't fear moving here, I would just prepare myself for it. Learn as much as you can about the place, and then prepare for the adventure....like:

Constant state of construction in some areas. It is still a bit odd for me to see the seemingly 24 hours per day construction (Marina/JBR). I imagine it is far better than it used to be though. If this bothers you, move to an established area, plenty of info on this in these forums thanks to some great posts.

Some places just seem louder than others. The place I am currently staying at in the Marina has a construction site next door and an open space used as a car park. There is noise all day, every day. Expected this but didn't think it would be so bad with the double glazed windows but had to get ear plugs. The wife can sleep on a galloping hedgehog so she is fine with it.

Drivers seem to favour their horns here too. Hoot! Hoot! for anything, and they love indicating the success of changing lanes, versus indicating they intend to change lanes....not sure I understand this back to front logic, so driving can take some getting used to unless you are from someplace that doesn't have or follow road rules. The number one cause of accidents here on the road is swerving. Where I come from it is alcohol induced stupidity.

In saying the above, I have never felt safer, and the place is super clean. Me and the Mrs can roam around, without being hassled too much. When she is alone, she does get the odd stare, but we expected this thanks to the comments on this forum. So far, a great place to have adventured to.


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Thank you so much Pamela for your comment. 
I really liked your wise words and I will think about that.

Is there a maid that can manage 3 children, manage cleaning, cooking and walk the dog? 

The employer will contribute to some of the school fees not the whole sum for up to 3 kids





pamela0810 said:


> There is good and bad wherever you go. It's all about how you adapt to the city and make the good things work for you really well so that maybe they overshadow the bad aspects of this place.


----------



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Thank you Klaaf for your comments. 



Klaaf said:


> I wouldn't fear moving here, I would just prepare myself for it. Learn as much as you can about the place, and then prepare for the adventure....like:
> 
> Constant state of construction in some areas. It is still a bit odd for me to see the seemingly 24 hours per day construction (Marina/JBR). I imagine it is far better than it used to be though. If this bothers you, move to an established area, plenty of info on this in these forums thanks to some great posts.
> 
> ...


----------

