# "Retirering" as 25 in Dubai?



## JVW (May 19, 2018)

Hi all,

I'm a 25-year-old Danish man, and I'm considering retiring and moving to Dubai. 

I'm in a very fortunate situation where I have recently sold my company, which has increased my liquid fortune to around 11.750.000 AED. I was born and raised in Denmark, but I have to admit that I am very tired of the country. The country is heavily influenced by socialism and everyone that earns more than 498,000 DKK (289,118 AED) per year pre-tax has to pay at least 56% in income taxes. The growth of the economy is also very slow compared to our neighbouring countries. The worst part of Denmark is, however, the mindset of most of the Danes. We have an unwritten law called "Janteloven" which basically means that "You're not to think you are anything special.". It is of course not an actual law, but the general public and the Danish media often negatively portray and criticise individual success and achievement as unworthy and inappropriate. If you are curious about this "law" you can read more about it by searching on Wiki "Law of Jante". I have sadly realised that I can't live in this country anymore (at least not for a while). 

Dubai, however, seems to fit the bill, but before I do anything drastic, I have some questions regarding Dubai (and the UAE in general), which I hope that you can help me with 

First of all; I'm not married, but I have a girlfriend. Are we allowed to live together? 

I know that a visa is required to live in Dubai, and it seems like a job is required to receive this visa. I'm currently achieving an annual return of 7%, but I don't intend to work. The return should, therefore, net me around 822.796 AED annually (this is, of course, impossible to predict, but my average annual return is around 7%). Is it still possible for me to live in Dubai?

Finally, I have absolutely no friends in Dubai. Is it easy to make new friends around my age in Dubai? 

This is my first post, so I apologize for any mistakes I may have made, but I hope that you can help me


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## Redindxb43 (Mar 1, 2015)

JVW said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm a 25-year-old Danish man, and I'm considering retiring and moving to Dubai.
> 
> ...


People do live together but it is illegal and if caught you are in serious trouble. Personally speaking i would never risk it as all it takes is one person to complain
with the purchase of some properties you can obtain a visa 
yes you will meet people as Dubai is sociable and finally you will burn through money here as it is very expensive to live/eat and drink


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## JVW (May 19, 2018)

Hi Redindxb43,

Thank you for your reply. 

I'm quite sad to hear that we are not allowed to live together, but I understand. I will under no circumstances do anything illegal.

When you say that I will burn through my money, does that mean that my budget is not sustainable?


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## UKMS (Jan 9, 2017)

JVW said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm a 25-year-old Danish man, and I'm considering retiring and moving to Dubai.
> 
> ...


Whether you can live on 822k aed really depends on your expectations and lifestyle ? Many people live on far less, some can’t manage on more. 

Assuming you’ve never been here ..... what makes you think Dubai fits the bill for you ? 
It’s not a place for everyone.


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## JVW (May 19, 2018)

UKMS said:


> Whether you can live on 822k aed really depends on your expectations and lifestyle ? Many people live on far less, some can’t manage on more.
> 
> Assuming you’ve never been here ..... what makes you think Dubai fits the bill for you ?
> It’s not a place for everyone.


Hi UKMS,

Thank you for your reply!

Well, I do like to live a quite comfortable lifestyle, but nothing extraordinary. 

I'm going to visit Dubai soon, but I know that it's impossible to get a real feeling of what the city is like based on a vacation. Instead think I can learn so much more about Dubai and the lifestyle of expats who live there, which is also why I have created an profile on this forum 

I really want to experience something that is drastically different from Denmark. I'm also really keen on the modern architecture. Denmarks largest city is significantly smaller than Dubai, and the facilities in Copenhagen are therefore somewhat limited compared to the overwhelming amount that Dubai offers. The low tax is of course also quite attractive. I'm not leaving Denmark immediately, but I hope to do so within the foreseeable future. I'm also considering Lugano (Switzerland), but it's drastically different than Dubai. I feel that Denmark has become quite limited for me. Based on what I have read on this forum, it seems like Dubai is completely opposite. I don't have any relatives in Dubai, so if my impression is all wrong then I'm open to enlightenment


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## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

Why retire at 25? You have been successful so far and if you're good you could make much more before you're let's say 40. 

Why Dubai? If you haven't even visited here, how do you know you would even like it?

With a projected (?) income of around 800,000 AED you could live very comfortably here. There is no need for an employer sponsored visa or even the risk taking of buying property. You could set up a company here (there are many posts about that) which would cost roughly around 30,000 AED. Could you spin further on what you had setup initially in Denmark? With a company you would have your sponsorship sorted. The girlfriend could be sponsored by the company too or get herself a job (depending on what she does, it might not be worth it to work in a not so nice job).

That said though, Dubai is very expensive and it can be easy to be sucked in to the glitzy life style. Have a look on www.propertyfinder.com to see what kind of properties there are to rent. I would imagine that Dubai Marina or the Palm is something you might be looking for.

Visit Dubai for a week or two to get some kind of idea if you like it or not. Travel around to different areas to see what is here. Would you put up with extremely hot summers? What sort of things are you into? If you appreciate nature and walking about this is not the place to be. Pollution levels would be totally different what you would be used to.


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## decima (May 20, 2018)

Hi JVW, may I ask what industry are you in? Technology/E-commerce by any chance?


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## JVW (May 19, 2018)

QOFE said:


> Why retire at 25? You have been successful so far and if you're good you could make much more before you're let's say 40.
> 
> Why Dubai? If you haven't even visited here, how do you know you would even like it?
> 
> ...


Hi QOFE, 

Thanks for taking your time to write such a thorough reply! 

To be honest I feel quite drained. I was in a very competitive industry, and constantly watching competitors every move and trying to best them takes a toll in the end. As of right now, I really need a break, and I have no intention of getting back in the business. However, knowing myself, I'll probably quickly go bored with not developing something, and I'll probably go back to working again within a year, but more with a focus on investing.

It's great to hear that I don't have to acquire property as I would prefer to rent in my first years of living in Dubai. I was considering starting a new company in Dubai to handle and maintain my investments, so it's a big bonus if that can support me! 

I have already been searching on propertyfinder and the realtor Luxhabitat, and found some amazing properties! Most of them are in Dubai Marina. I have heard a lot about the palm, but not so much about the Marina. Is there anything important I should know about the area?

I'm really looking forward to visiting Dubai, and I'm currently comparing rentals on AirBnb to get a more realistic feel when I'm in Dubai. I'll probably stay one week in Dubai Marina and one week on the Palm.

Even though that the tallest building in Denmarks Capital is only 102 meters high, I'm actually most of a city type of guy, so the stunning architecture and facilities are much more important than grassy fields for me


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## JVW (May 19, 2018)

decima said:


> Hi JVW, may I ask what industry are you in? Technology/E-commerce by any chance?


Hi Decima,

You are more than welcome to ask 

My main industry is B2B SaaS for restaurants. I initially dwelled in E-commerce and invested the money I earned from my e-commerce ventures to fund the SaaS company.


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## decima (May 20, 2018)

JVW said:


> I'll probably quickly go bored with not developing something


Not reading into anything, but may I ask if you ran and sold a successful tech startup? If so we would be in the same industry with the difference that I'm much older and just getting started. I'll be moving parts of my business to Dubai soon and as QOFE mentioned it's a rather straightforward process getting permanent residence in the UAE by setting up your own business. 

-Decima


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## decima (May 20, 2018)

JVW said:


> Hi Decima,
> 
> You are more than welcome to ask
> 
> My main industry is B2B SaaS for restaurants. I initially dwelled in E-commerce and invested the money I earned from my e-commerce ventures to fund the SaaS company.


Apologies that I've got to go back and forth here with the responses, but since I created a new account and I'm under the five post limit, I can't PM you. Would be very interested to hear your story. I've developed bookkeeping software which I'll offer as SaaS. I've spent three years planning my move to Dubai so maybe I can give you some insights on how to best do it if you're from the tech industry.

-Decima


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Just to jump in, as what someone failed to mention is if you set up a company, with that income, you will be liable for VAT and will have to register for that. Currently VAT is at 5% and you need to be audited and pay quarterly.

The one thing I think you'll find, coming from somewhere with lots of history etc is that Dubai can lack a bit of 'soul' sure it's all glitzy, shiny and new, but that gets old quite quickly - hence why people here try and travel as much as they can.

Dubai Marina is a more younger and westernised area I'd say, but it can be quite noisy and very busy at most times - many people seem to like it though.

Come for a visit and see what you think.


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## Redindxb43 (Mar 1, 2015)

JVW said:


> Hi QOFE,
> 
> Thanks for taking your time to write such a thorough reply!
> 
> ...


The properties may look amazing but the build quality is usually very poor!


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