I spent three years in Dubai and people often ask me what it’s like, is it worth moving out there, what can one expect, what are the downsides?
In a nutshell, yes. It is totes worth doing a Middle Eastern stint. Why? The money. The money the money the money the money.
Did I mention the money?
It's the money that makes it all worth it. Amazing Money Happiness. Dubai is one of the few places in the world where average schmos like you and me can live like Russian oligarchs. Everyone I knew lived on the Palm or the Marina or the Springs or the Burj Khalifa, in amazing apartments with amazing views. We would go for weekly manis, pedis, facials. We did Marco Pierre White/Gaucho/Nobu/Zuma dinners twice or three times a week.
My personal trainer owned fourteen pairs of Choos and went for weekly massage and spa retreats.
My personal trainer. Because in Dubai I could afford one. I could also afford a driver, a cleaner, a petrol guzzling Land Rover, doing whatever I wanted for entertainment (swimming with dolphins, scuba diving with sharks, indoor skiing, kite surfing). I owned piles of designer shoes and clothes I sometimes didn’t even wear. I had a constant supply of Moet in the fridge (hey, if you’re gonna have a drinking problem why not stick with the best).
I had a professional shopping assistant. You heard me. I had that much money that I didn’t know what to do with I would hire a shopping assistant to steer me away from my metal armband and Pocahontas accessory obsession.
I was living the gangster life of one of P-Diddy’s girlfriends, and yet I was just a lowly environmental consultant with two years’ professional experience. Two years! And still I did all of the above and more, depending on how bored I was that particular weekend.
You will not be able to spend your money quickly enough. That’s a promise from me to you. I am living proof. I saved over £50,000 in the three years I lived in Dubai. Which means you, person reading this post, will save more.
Here are some numbers for you if you. I was lured over with a job paying £54,891. When I left Dubai I was on £78,000 a year. That’s tax free by the way. Every pound went into my pocket, which has now gone into a chunky deposit for our London apartment. Delicious tax-freeness. Amazing Money Happiness.
A year ago I took a London based role earning £35,000 a year. After tax that’s what, £27,000? That’s a 64% salary cut, plus it’s all more expensive over here. Most food, public transport, rent and petrol. Petrol is massively subsidised in Dubai, and that was a beautiful thing.
And yet for all the money in the world, I will likely never live in the Middle East again. I never say never, because, like, if my kid’s life was on the line I probably would... probably. Just before leaving Dubai I was approached by a company who offered me a job. I said no. They said they would pay me whatever I wanted to come work for them, and that I could name the price. I said £150,000 a year. They said yes.
Let’s repeat that.
I could have been earning £150,000 per year, tax free.
And my response?
And that’s the thing about Amazing Money Happiness. When you scratch the surface, it’s not really happiness at all.
In a nutshell, yes. It is totes worth doing a Middle Eastern stint. Why? The money. The money the money the money the money.
Did I mention the money?
It's the money that makes it all worth it. Amazing Money Happiness. Dubai is one of the few places in the world where average schmos like you and me can live like Russian oligarchs. Everyone I knew lived on the Palm or the Marina or the Springs or the Burj Khalifa, in amazing apartments with amazing views. We would go for weekly manis, pedis, facials. We did Marco Pierre White/Gaucho/Nobu/Zuma dinners twice or three times a week.
My personal trainer owned fourteen pairs of Choos and went for weekly massage and spa retreats.
My personal trainer. Because in Dubai I could afford one. I could also afford a driver, a cleaner, a petrol guzzling Land Rover, doing whatever I wanted for entertainment (swimming with dolphins, scuba diving with sharks, indoor skiing, kite surfing). I owned piles of designer shoes and clothes I sometimes didn’t even wear. I had a constant supply of Moet in the fridge (hey, if you’re gonna have a drinking problem why not stick with the best).
I had a professional shopping assistant. You heard me. I had that much money that I didn’t know what to do with I would hire a shopping assistant to steer me away from my metal armband and Pocahontas accessory obsession.
I was living the gangster life of one of P-Diddy’s girlfriends, and yet I was just a lowly environmental consultant with two years’ professional experience. Two years! And still I did all of the above and more, depending on how bored I was that particular weekend.
You will not be able to spend your money quickly enough. That’s a promise from me to you. I am living proof. I saved over £50,000 in the three years I lived in Dubai. Which means you, person reading this post, will save more.
Here are some numbers for you if you. I was lured over with a job paying £54,891. When I left Dubai I was on £78,000 a year. That’s tax free by the way. Every pound went into my pocket, which has now gone into a chunky deposit for our London apartment. Delicious tax-freeness. Amazing Money Happiness.
A year ago I took a London based role earning £35,000 a year. After tax that’s what, £27,000? That’s a 64% salary cut, plus it’s all more expensive over here. Most food, public transport, rent and petrol. Petrol is massively subsidised in Dubai, and that was a beautiful thing.
And yet for all the money in the world, I will likely never live in the Middle East again. I never say never, because, like, if my kid’s life was on the line I probably would... probably. Just before leaving Dubai I was approached by a company who offered me a job. I said no. They said they would pay me whatever I wanted to come work for them, and that I could name the price. I said £150,000 a year. They said yes.
Let’s repeat that.
I could have been earning £150,000 per year, tax free.
And my response?
And that’s the thing about Amazing Money Happiness. When you scratch the surface, it’s not really happiness at all.
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