Superficial fancy flashy city of 90% foreigners with ultra-modern architecture, luxury lifestyle, and lively nightlife.
As an American from Los Angeles, Dubai has never appealed to me. If anything the thought of superficial glam and surface-level glam has grossed me out. We already have superficial rich people in LA. We already have a luxury city of hotels and pretty commercial areas in a desert…it’s called Las Vegas.
“No thanks!” – was my immediate response.
But I couldn’t notice that I did have a handful of interesting friends who lived in Dubai. Ones that kept inviting me to stay at their place in Dubai. Since they were traveling often (as many people who live in Dubai are) and didn’t mind sharing their vacant apartment.
Once I finally arrived, I realized a few extra things:
- Dubai definitely has a class system with many layers. All kinds of rich, middle, and poor (or service workers). And many people from many places (Europe and Asia mostly). And with seemingly, good social mobility.
- Just about everybody speaks English.
- The city has actually over-delivered upon its image for many people. I hear many stories of people who moved here for work, thinking they wouldn’t like it but ended up liking it. The standard of living is high (great infrastructure, very safe, cost is low considering the luxury life you have), and they liked meeting and having nice connections with people from all around the world.
- Dubai is also a conveniently-located central point to Europe, Asia, Africa.
Most locals would say Dubai is not so big. That you can see most tourist-things within 3 days. But others may suggest 5 days to really enjoy the lifestyle and check out the nice restaurants, arts, and nightlife.