Life in UAE advantages & disadvantages

[HKS]

More Oil More money and even more expensive than Dubai.
It has fewer‌ properties and greater demand. You get a 2 bed average apartment within the greater city‍ for the rental price of a large 4 bed Villa with garden in Sharjah. If⁠ you want a new Villa in Abi Dhabi then prices are higher and daily commute⁤ is longer.
That is a normal aspect of UAE living if you have to go⁣ to an office regularly.
Average 1 hour commute each way.

 

[JohnLocke]

I have been there a few times before COVID-19 it's really not that bad as people⁠ claim and even close friends told me. Actually I was there for both business and⁤ pleasure, both went out for my benefit.

 

[HKS]

If you are travelling for business and or short trips to oversee your company etc‌ then you have nothing to be concerned about. The responses made were for the threads‍ related to Life in UAE as others had commented and I elaborated. I also enjoy⁠ frequenting the country. But to live and be there longer than a short visit or⁤ a few weeks is a different story IMHO.

The comments previously and mine are in⁣ relation to those who need to still operate their business, keep a check on the⁢ business costs and in relation to quality of life and a sense of reality of︀ the place, In this context I responded.

In the context of shorter trips then anywhere︁ is great to visit.

If in the case you need a new residency and a︂ place to live and set up.. Then a different story.
But as always we all︃ don't see the the same things or place value on the same items as others.︄ Its an individual choice and those seeking answers of how life is there need to︅ go and visit for a few months to be sure and then make an informed︆ decision.
A lot of the previous comments about the Pro's and Cons are very valid︇ points and certainly need to be taken into account.
It not all a bed of︈ roses thats for certain.

A personal experience :

A person walked out in front of︉ my car in a busy city centre street. They were badly injured as they hit︊ their head on the windscreen and then on the asphalt.
The family member next to︋ them agreed it was the fault of the person who walked out on me (︌ jaywalking). However I was still arrested and spent several days in a police cell and︍ faced 3 court visits before being given bail against my passport.
After some months if︎ wrangling and what was behind the scenes a policeman who felt that my insurance Co️ would payout a some of cash to the injured party & family if the case‌ was not dropped.
So this happened and my insurance co made a payment of about‍ $30K USD as compensation.. ( Sharia law allows this )
Due to the case and⁠ policeman's involvement the matter went ahead and I had to spend several days in jail⁤ to allow the case to then be removed as the complaint was then dropped by⁣ the family.
All the while at each court appearance the judge could not understand why⁢ legally I had done nothing wrong I was still facing time in jail.. It cost︀ me over $15K in Lawyer fees . Otherwise it would have been a longer time︁ period.

The reality of life there is not what is seems when you just go︂ for a visit.

I still lived there or 10 more years after this incident happened︃ so it did not tarnish my view of life there, but made me aware and︄ understand what it means to be on the other line of what is a unforgiving︅ place if you are in anyway seen to break the law, even if its not︆ your making..

It only takes 1 person to make a complaint against your driving and︇ you can get arrested.. But have to prove your innocence but the person who complained︈ only has to make it verbal. The road rage is higher there and these are︉ many of incidents which I was witnessing when I was in court..

 

[bobbychow]

So true!!! they are everywhere especially in Dubai

 

[glengoolie]

but if they catch you with any of them, you are in biiig trouble since‌ sex is forbidden outside of marriage.

 

[Gediminas]

I am always surprised‍ to see on the ground in La Marina so many flyers/cards advertising sex services.

 

[glengoolie]

it's like willingly giving them a reason to boot you out in the future. why‌ do it? they can simply record this crime and keep it in the desk drawer‍ until they need a reason to make your life miserable.

 

[ih8socialism]

Just my experience after living there for 4 years, not focusing on opening / operating‌ business there much.

UAE itself is quite a nice place., you obviously enjoy tax free‍ income, safety and nice weather for roughly 8 months before it gets unbearable hot (atleast⁠ for me), if you have the funds you can have a nice and comfortable life⁤ in UAE. However you still need to find your way around there to not get⁣ sucked up in the (in my opinion) stupid expat lifestyle which includes all these overpriced⁢ brunchs and dinners, there are new fancy and super cool locations everywhere which serve you︀ the same s**t just presented differently. People in UAE are in general friendly but personally︁ I think the expat community is straight cancer. Almost everything is centered about money and︂ people tend to evaluate how useful you might be for them in the future.

My advice, try mingle with emiratis because wasta is even more important than money in UAE.︃ Its not that hard to get in touch with locals unless you are totally socially︄ akward and ignorant. If you know the right people life will get even more comfortable.︅ However keep in mind what HKS said, its still an islamic country and things can︆ get outta hand pretty quick for nothing or a stupid mistake.

Don't think about doing︇ business there, most of the people you will meet think they are the smartest person︈ ever yet they have no substance nor a real skillset. Doing business with emiratis can︉ work, but it's a pain in the a*s quite often unless you are used to︊ GCC mentality, things can take forever.

If you optimize your lifestyle you can get around︋ quite cheap and save plenty of money. For example don't buy luxury goods in UAE,︌ better to save up your money take a trip to Europe, its often cheaper there︍ and you can get a tax refund. Get you some friends travel and ask them︎ if they can get you something from Duty Free (For example alcohol, Cigars or cigarettes)️ , like mentioned before if you know the right people they can even access duty‌ free.

In the end, don't be dependent too much on UAE, don't park too much‍ money there, always be prepared to leave in a short period of time and have⁠ a backup plan. Dubai may be dependant upon expats but on the other hand you⁤ might never know what will happen in the future.

 

[rowena]

Not anymore.

https://www.expatmedia.net/consensual-sex-living-outside-marriage-becomes-legal-uae/2020/11/

 

[zzzzzz]

Interesting experience. Are you suggesting it's better to NOT drive anything in UAE︊ (car, motorcycle, boat, bicycle, skateboard...) if you want to stay on the safe side?

 

[Golden Fleece]

It sounds like early n**i Germany.

 

[troubled soul]

Yes, So⁠ called horror stories can happen to any country in the world.
In this area ,⁤ Dubai is victim of his own success. Sometimes Too much PR backfire you.
Even Small⁣ Incident make International Headlines.
Recent "Balcony" Incident is best example .
In so many country⁢ people arrested for Public S*x but It never make headlines in International Media. For Dubai︀ Small incident grab all attention .
Like I said Dubai is victim of his own︁ Success.

Thanks

 

[khinkali]

There are plenty of places where you can end up paying for hitting a jaywalker.‌ Or where you can get in trouble for shooting pornography on a balcony. The guy‍ with 0.3 grams of cannabis was pardoned. They guy who was arrested for melatonin was⁠ released after the substance was tested. The couple arrested for kissing in the restaurant were⁤ repeatedly asked to stop it (there were families present) and eventually arrested after repeatedly disrespecting⁣ the local culture, the other diners, restaurant owner and police.

I'm with @azb1 on this;⁢ Dubai just attracts these stories because it's easy "journalism". The releases from custody and the︀ pardons tend not to feature so strongly in tabloid newspapers, BBC or CNN.

It's different︁ if you're Muslim, especially Arab Muslim where you really are expected to follow local customs︂ (e.g. alcohol). Also don't bounce a cheque; fraud and contracts are taken much more seriously︃ than in most places.

Definitely, but in that case︅ why choose Dubai over Georgia or South East Asia or Portugal or the Balkans or︆ wherever? Dubai can be optimal for saving on taxes and perhaps reducing bureaucracy but it's︇ hardly where to go for cheap dining and alcohol.

 

[petal355]

I see some platforms as coinbase do not support UAE customers, does it mean you‌ have access to less financial services there ?
Including less platforms ?

 

[Fred]

You have with UAE residence one of the best Offshore Residence you can‍ ever have.

All and I mean really all big banks are happy to onboard you⁠ for wealth management if you bring the figures with you.

All in All is UAE⁤ very reputable and well seen with all financial institutions you can imagine despite the fact⁣ that you have the same benefits like not well seen old school Offshore Economies like⁢ Seychelles, Belize or the Caribbean in general.

Of course there are always exceptions.

 

[Andrei636]

yeah but coinbase actually do not accept uae residents right there : https://www.coinbase.com/places
are there other example of big crypto platform which would not accept uae residents

 

[troubled soul]

You can open account with coinbase in uae.
Only problem is , you‌ can not perform crypto to fiat.
This is my understanding.
There are many alternatives .‍ Like Bitcoin Suisse - Buy, Sell, Store & Earn Cryptocurrency.

So many real estate⁠ developers use their services. You can pay for property using thier services.

Like fred said⁤ nothing is perfect in this world. There are some exceptions. Keep in mind that no⁣ other offshore jurisdiction match Dubai standard.if you take overall approach there will be no competition⁢ for uae.
Look some island jurisdiction bank , it's website looks like made in 1999︀ during dotcom era and not updated since than.

 

[Andrei636]

Are you certain ?︁ Which pairs are you able to trade ? all pairs out of crypto to fiat︂ pairs ?
Because if you could open they should list it and write "convert" only︃ as they do for Bermuda, Hong Kong etc in their listing
So to me it︄ seems they simply do not accept uae residents, I am talking here about coinbase/coinbase pro︅ for day traders, not coinbase as a POS for payments (as bitpay)
Yes you are︆ right but it is among things one need to know before, imagine for someone coinbase︇ is their primary tool of work and they lose their account when moving to uae︈ adn/or would lose the chance to register there

 

[manukahoney]

Monaco.
Bloody expensive‍ and almost nothing to do inside the "country", but under normal circumstances you have the⁠ whole Mediterranean to your disposal, zero taxes and everything money can buy.
Maybe when bitcoin⁤ hits like 300k we'll see a lot of "Monaco PROs and CONs" on this forum⁣ 🙂

 

[Fred]

Honestly speaking all the Crypto clients contacting⁤ us right now are really Cash poor and even for Dubai Solution we work on⁣ every case so intensive with the partnered bankers that's already crazy.

Now you mention Monaco⁢ that has all over much more bureaucracy and is much more regulated and strict compared︀ to UAE.

Keep in mind even if you show up with 1m+ in bank account︁ that is the official minimum you can still be rejected for residence if Monaco don't︂ like how you spend your money or live your life and they fear that you︃ don't control your finances right and you could go bankruptcy.

Additional if you don't have︄ the business history that fits your wealth you will struggle big with Monaco.

Don't get︅ me wrong guys but I see right now in reality how the Crypto Guys that︆ became rich over night has the complete wrong mindset how to handle some hurdles in︇ practice - it's sometimes like in the kindergarten.

However that's why you have us and︈ we manage this but when it comes to Monaco you will face a Interview and︉ need to have bullet proofed answers otherwise you simply fail.

It's for sure an option︊ but especially with the wording you mentioned for your future venture keep in mind how︋ big the gap is right now between the thinking of people that got rich over︌ night with Crypto and the reality.