# Family life in the UAE



## tomi53

Hello All!

My company is currently tendering for a contract in the UAE and have offered me a position in AL-Ain should they be successful. Whilst this is extreemly exciting I have a million and one questions as I know very little about the country. 

I am married and have 2 young children, a 2 year old boy and a 4 month old girl. We have been reading a few published guides but thery seem to be full of contradictions particularly regarding women. It would be really useful to get some first hand information from people living in the country as to things like

What to wear (for men, women and chldren)?
What can and cant women do? - do they need to be escorted at all times etc?
How much integration is there between men and women and nationals and 
expats?
Are these cultural rules or laws?
Are the answers to any of these different during Ramadan?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks 

Tom


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## Jynxgirl

You can wear pretty much what you want and similar to at home. Some western expats go as far as literally just wearing exactly like they were at home, but really isnt very respectable and you will begin to notice that those who do so, usually only have western friends. Women shouldnt be wondering out with too much skin above the knees showing and wear tops that are not skin tight and cover there shoulders. Throwing a shawl around your neck but wearing a strappy tank, doesnt negate that is a tank top. Children can dress pretty much the same but still, dont have your 12 year old daughter running around in daisy dukes that are so popular for most to wear. You will find that when you go to the malls in dubai, most the western expats think these guidelines dont apply.... 

Women can do anything they want in the uae. There will be some things that women just wont do because they dont. Like the little dive restaurant shop that is on the side of the highways. Women dont tend to enter those places. Going to a shisha local boy shop isnt exactly women friendly either. It will be obvious once here. If you do western expat stuff, then none of this applies. 

Integration is up to you. If you make a point to meet others nationalities, you will. If thought your free time is spent at bars and clubs, you will not wonder across too many locals (well not the good variety). Men overall will not interact with local/gcc/muslim women unless they work with you. If you join in on multinational/multicultural sporting acitives, you can/will meet local men, other gcc expats, asian/indian, a good bit of african nationalities, and other western expats. Generally though, honestly, most nationalities overall stick to themselves. Al Ain is a bit different as isnt as easy for westerners to cluster together as not as many, so they are forced to mingle a bit more there  I like Al Ain  

Cultural rules. If you become familiar with the culture of emirates, you will cringe at a good deal of what the western expats do in the uae. Some things though, even though isnt a law... if the wrong person sees you doing something, they could do more then politely tell you that is suggested not to do such and such. Overall, the locals are lovely. There are though, a few that are a bit rotten, like anywhere. Familiarize yourself with islam, get some cultural awareness under your belt, and just be a bit more conservative in nature. 

Ramadan of course is a great deal more strict and you have to be a bit more tolerant as so many people under a great deal of pressure and honestly... hunger. 

Good luck. Enjoy Al Ain. Is a nicel place and there is a good deal to do out there. 

If you are a city person though, it is only a short hour drive to the big cities...


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## AbuDhabi15

*Have you decided?*

I am interested in your post because my family is thinking of moving there as well. Son is 3 Daughter is 1. I really want to go, but I feel as though many of our family members are worried about the war over there.

Have you decided? I would love to hear your view points and want not. It sounds like we are in the same situation.

A


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## BedouGirl

AbuDhabi15 said:


> I am interested in your post because my family is thinking of moving there as well. Son is 3 Daughter is 1. I really want to go, but I feel as though many of our family members are worried about the war over there.
> 
> Have you decided? I would love to hear your view points and want not. It sounds like we are in the same situation.
> 
> A


Ummm, perhaps I missed something? War? In the UAE?


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## AbuDhabi15

BedouGirl said:


> Ummm, perhaps I missed something? War? In the UAE?


Yes, not in the UAE per se. I know it is safe. However, it is surrounded by countries who aren't very stable etc...

I don't mean to be a pessimistic. If no one is worried about a potential threat of war or being in between what is going on in the middle east I stand corrected. I just always hear about the emirates themselves and not how they may be affected my Iran and other neighboring countries..

Just want a little insight.

Thanks.
Abby


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## BedouGirl

I saw your other post where you actually explained your concerns. I have lived here for almost fourteen years. The day the 'planes hit the twin towers, I was in the UK. No-one there could believe I was still going to come back. Now, you are asking yourself why I am telling you about this? The point is that when you live somewhere else you have a different perspective on what is happening here. I stayed here through the second Gulf War and yes, we were concerned but life went on, as it did when I travelled into London to work every day for more years than I can count during the IRA bombing campaigns. Do I have an evacuation plan? No. During the last Gulf War, we looked at it as a company. Bear in mind, many countries do not assist their nationals to evacuate in the event of an emergency, so we decided we would see if we could plan anything. The airports will all shut down so having an open ticket will be useless. The best way out will be by sea but take a look at the map and ask yourself where you would go because to get would probably mean going through 'troubled waters'. To me, at this time, an evacuation plan would be necessary if I was going to live somewhere like Iraq or Afghanistan. But I wonder if expats who work there have them?


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## AbuDhabi15

Bedou Girl,
Thanks for your insight. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. I really appreciate it.

A


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## BedouGirl

Happy you feel happier . Am sure others will share their thoughts with you over time too. Good luck with the move.


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## pbizzle

im in the same position but i cant say you really put my mind at ease!


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## Ogri750

This may sound harsh, but people, get a grip!!!!

I thought history had moved on from "reds under the beds".

Do you really think there would be thousands of western expat families here, with their children, if we thought there was a greater risk here than elsewhere in the world.

If you really think that Iran would be able to blockade the Straits of Hormuz without some intervention from the west, you are deluded.

Iran may be, shall we say, eccentric, in some of it's ramblings, but they are not so stupid to risk a full scale military action from NATO.

You probably are at more risk in your home town than you are in the UAE


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## pbizzle

If everyone is as rude as you then looks lie iv got something else to consider!

I love the 'everyone else is doing it ' logic though


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## Deefor

I'm with Bedougirl and Ogri (and others) on this.

Today Japan marks the anniversary of the terrible earthquake and tsunami. Would you still go there? The threat of terrorism and natural disasters are global but the chances of being a victim are small. Many years ago I worked in a country where there was daily civil unrest - we were all aware of it and took necessary precautions - albeit very minor ones. There is a risk in air travel / car travel / crossing a road - we all still do it.

I feel safe in the UAE and have never felt any risk - if a risk existed there wouldn't be such a strong expat community - many of which are families.


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## Ogri750

@pbizzle,

If you think that my comment was rude, then perhaps you may want to reconsider. It was straight talking, and there is plenty of that here.

You seconded a question, you got an answer, just because the answer wasn't dressed up in frills, doesn't make it rude.


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## OfftoSharjah

Hi We are also heading to Sharjah and looking forward to it. 
Just a quick additional question re:dress. I understand that there are the decency laws which restrict what women can/can't wear. (no exposed shoulders/midriff, nothing above the knee or tight.). My query is, do these also apply to men. I don't do heat that well unless dressed for work where there is always the air conditioner, is it acceptable for men to wear shorts (about knee length)? Sleeveless top is not an issue as I tend to like being us smart and am in no need of a tan. 
Any advice would be appreciated.


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## OfftoSharjah

Oops... I meant Sun Smart!!!


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## Jynxgirl

Overall in sharjah, you do not tend to see anyone in shorts. Is odd to see a calf I have to say. I even now do a double take if someone walks by with any type of skin showing. If you are heading to the beach or along the corniche, you may see a few people running or having a walk in shorts though usually they tend to be men.


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