If I was a child growing up in this world there’d be worse places to live than Dubai. Plenty of ex-pats have taken the step and moved over – and the locals take this invasion with a friendly smile and the knowledge that the more businesses open up here the more jobs become available for the locals. It’s not just opportunism, it’s the law. The government of the UAE looks after its citizens, awarding them with homes and jobs and their children with free education of the highest standards. And foreign businesses need a sponsor, and give up 51% of the business for the privilege of basing themselves here; which they do willingly. As I said, there are worse places to live.
For a country bursting at the seams with different religions, creeds etc. you’d think it would be a boiling pot. Not so. Take politics (none) and religion (too many) and daytime drinking (booze is only available in hotels) out of the mix and there really isn’t anything to argue about. Also, whilst punishments vary tremendously there does tend to be a common factor – banishment. Get out, and don’t come back. You’re barred. Imagine being barred from one of the world’s best clubs. That’s Dubai.
Oozing wealth, Dubai (or “England on steroids” as some of the local ex-pats call it) really doesn’t actually have any money. Like the yuppie in the bar scoffing champagne on an overloaded creditcard, Dubai is smoke and mirrors, fur coat and underpants – the whole place is financed by debt. And debt buys you a lot – the world’s tallest building, more seven star hotels than anywhere in the world, luxury apartments built on the sea, a ski dome in a shopping mall - Dubai is a shining example of benign dictatorship, and the benefits of a ruling family whose interest is at the heart of the country, not the short term goal of re-election. There is no revolving door politics which allows its rulers to get on with the job of running the country.
And for those who think dictatorship is wrong in principal, I suggest you take a look at how your democracy actually works in action and then stick your face back into your cappuccino and shut up.
OK, Dubai doesn’t have the views; the mountains of France or the valleys of Austria or the great lakes or what have you but a child doesn’t care about any of that; seriously. You can drag a child up a mountain but when you get to the top he doesn’t want to take in the view, he wants to ski down it. And in Dubai he can do that at the mall.
