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Interesting input Black Capt and I do share the majority of the above with you.  Can't quite make out whether you like it here or not, although you do seem a tad disillusioned.  Each to their own I guess

well said...

I dont agree with most of the negative things.

NOT tax free? - there is no tax on my salary, that counts. All the other fees and taxes are normal and necessary to keep the system running. Just look at other countries, for example in Germany you pay a charge for the rain falling on the ground in front of your house or very high fees for the waste recycling. In London you pay a charge to be allowed to drive your car in the city. So compared to the rest of the world Dubai is tax free (at least for employees)

Expats - second class citizens - can you please tell me one country in this world where expats have a higher or at least equal status with the locals? Nowhere! (dont think about poor third world countries where the expat doctor brings the life saving medicine. think about countries where you have expat communities working, i. e. in Germany the turkish people, in UK Indian people, in France people from Africa) By definition expats have left their country for whatever reason and accept some inconveniences for the convenience to work and earn money or to have a better life than they would have had in their own country.

opening bank accounts without a male spouse is difficult - not true! I am female and had absolutely no problem opening a bank account. I also know other females who had no problems. Maybe 20 years ago it was important to have a spouse, but now I dont see this in Dubai.
But it is true that banking here is different from what we are used to in Europe, but it has nothing to do with the fact that I dont have a man with me. It is just because so many expats have opened accounts and then left the country. Now they want to make sure that people who open an account have a job, will stay and dont just cause costs and then leave.

The cities are creations of people - not something that nature created. - that implies that only nature can create beauty. I dont agree. Nature had thousand or millions of years to create whatever it did. But look at the buildings here and how they have been created in only 20 years. I think this is fascinating and beautiful.

Forget "great" food establishments - dont think so. I found some really nice places with very good food.

Blocking of basic internet services such as Skype - Skype is not blocked! Only the website where you download the software. However you can still use msn or yahoo messanger.

On the plus side I agree that it is very safe. I love the weather and being close to the beach.

We know that we are here just for a limited time...but who knows...maybe in 20 years this will also change :-)

One area I must disagree with is where expats are not second class citizens - Egypt.  The Egyptians consider Americans first, then Brits and then Egyptians.

I havent been to Egypt, but of course there are countries where expats have a higher status than the locals - also Europeans or Americans in the Philippines....but these are small groups, they bring a lot of money and they are business owners or work in high positions, they are not more than 80% of the population of the country and doing all the lower jobs that no local would do - as it is the case in Dubai

Hi,
your statement is so encouraging for me who's planning to start a new life in Dubai.
I feel a lot relieved. Thanks.

BettyLuna wrote:

I dont agree with most of the negative things.

NOT tax free? - there is no tax on my salary, that counts. All the other fees and taxes are normal and necessary to keep the system running. Just look at other countries, for example in Germany you pay a charge for the rain falling on the ground in front of your house or very high fees for the waste recycling. In London you pay a charge to be allowed to drive your car in the city. So compared to the rest of the world Dubai is tax free (at least for employees)

Expats - second class citizens - can you please tell me one country in this world where expats have a higher or at least equal status with the locals? Nowhere! (dont think about poor third world countries where the expat doctor brings the life saving medicine. think about countries where you have expat communities working, i. e. in Germany the turkish people, in UK Indian people, in France people from Africa) By definition expats have left their country for whatever reason and accept some inconveniences for the convenience to work and earn money or to have a better life than they would have had in their own country.

opening bank accounts without a male spouse is difficult - not true! I am female and had absolutely no problem opening a bank account. I also know other females who had no problems. Maybe 20 years ago it was important to have a spouse, but now I dont see this in Dubai.
But it is true that banking here is different from what we are used to in Europe, but it has nothing to do with the fact that I dont have a man with me. It is just because so many expats have opened accounts and then left the country. Now they want to make sure that people who open an account have a job, will stay and dont just cause costs and then leave.

The cities are creations of people - not something that nature created. - that implies that only nature can create beauty. I dont agree. Nature had thousand or millions of years to create whatever it did. But look at the buildings here and how they have been created in only 20 years. I think this is fascinating and beautiful.

Forget "great" food establishments - dont think so. I found some really nice places with very good food.

Blocking of basic internet services such as Skype - Skype is not blocked! Only the website where you download the software. However you can still use msn or yahoo messanger.

On the plus side I agree that it is very safe. I love the weather and being close to the beach.

We know that we are here just for a limited time...but who knows...maybe in 20 years this will also change :-)

Good thing about UAE, is that they prioritize their own people. In my country we have lower labor rate than whites... in my country it doesnt matter even if back in europe, america, people are just flipping burgers. as long as you are white you will be treated like a king if youll go to philippines...(racism in my own country). Here in UAE, there are also a lot of westerners who are not highly educated but they are enjoying high salary/benefits.. dont blame it to the UAE government, blame it to people who think that white is superior. I do believe in equality. white, black, brown, yellow, we must be treated equally, hired based on the qualifications, not by nationality or color.   "its sooo funny that a lot of people think that if you speak english, you are intelligent""  its like an old joke "In UK people are so smart cos they speak english"   lol....
BAck to the topic, i think UAE NAtionals should be prioritized, should be the first class citizens in UAE.. This is their country, not ours

IF YOU HAVE A GOOD JOB AND EARNING "GOOD"...U WILL REMAIN HAPPY..

U WILL BE HAPPY AS NOT PAYING TAX,
U WILL FEEL AS IF TREATED WELL LIKE LOCALS..
U WONT BE MUCH AGITATED IF YOU HAD SOME PROB IN OPENING BANK ACCOUNT..
U WILL LIKE THE "MAN MADE BEAUTY"..
U WILL LIKE THE FOOD, TASTE AND AMBIENCE OF THE RESTAURANTS ..

IF YOUR JOB IS NOT GOING GOOD ....

YOU WILL FIND OUT ANYHOW WHERE YOU ARE BEING CHARGED UNNECESSARILY AND NAME IT AS TAX..
YOU WILL START FEELING AS IF NOT BEING TREATED WELL..
YOU WILL FRUSTRATE AND GET AGITATED EASILY ON SMALL THINGS..(LIKE OPENING BANK ACCOINTS)
YOU WILL CRITICIZE MAN MADE BEAUTY..
YOU WILL SOMEHOW DISLIKE THE FOOD ..

THANKS AND HAVE A NICE DAY..

When I talked to Indian expats, I felt that they are very happy in Dubai because Dubai is like India. They form their own community and enjoy their life in Dubai. This is tough to work in foreign country but we have to face it and create our own life. Expats need support friends to move on. The worst thing is that there is classification among the expats.  Expats ignore each others because they are not from the same country. Beside the problem in Dubai, we have to face the frustration among the expats. To all expats, we are out from our own country with sad heart. Let be friends regardless your country, language and occupation and enjoy the stay in Dubai.

@Jason77 - Can you please lower caps when writing so as to ease the reading?

Thank you,
´¡³Ü°ùé±ô¾±±ð

sure Aurelie....

Yesterday it was quite dark in the room and i could not find the caps lock button .

Anyways the prob is solved now .

1 Question ....are you the developer of this website or work for its maintainence or what ?

I have seen you rectifying us many times. (Which is actually good )

Hello Jason77.

Julien is the founder of ½ûÂþÌìÌà and I form part of the ½ûÂþÌìÌà Team.

[Sorry for the off topic]

Thank you,
´¡³Ü°ùé±ô¾±±ð

ok,nice to meet u