The big news around here is that Steve, Phoebe, and I are moving from Washington state to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. It's a big move and we're really excited (once we get past the incredibly long to-do list) but we've also received a lot of questions. So here are the answers to the 3 most common questions we've been asked.
Why Dubai?
Most of you know us well enough to ask "Why this particular place?" instead of "Why move?" It took us 6 months of careful consideration and 1 test vacation to finally decide, but here are the main reasons we said YES:
- Travel opportunities - when it comes to vacations we're constantly lamenting on how far the rest of the world is. We want to go/see/experience so many things on "the other side" but sitting on a plane for 16 hours and spending $3,000 on airfare makes a major dent in our wallets and schedules (we're such whiners, I know). The solution, of course, is to live on the other side. Long weekends in the Greek Isles or Goa - yes please!
- Career opportunities - Steve and I work in drastically different industries and finding a place where each of us can thrive professionally is often tricky. Dubai has great opportunities for both our career fields, so it was an easy decision on the work-front.
- Phoebe makes 3 - Phoebe can travel to Dubai and there is no quarantine requirement. She is a fully fledged member of our family, so we'd never choose to go anywhere that she couldn't. Facilities are definitely different for dogs there (lots of indoor activities) but she's already stoked about the world's largest indoor dog park and pool (seriously, check this out).
- Adventures! We want more (end of story).
Is it Safe?
This answer varies a lot depending on who you ask, but the simple answer for us is yes, Dubai is safe enough. (And no, our parents don't necessarily agree with us on that.) Here's how Steve and I broke it down for ourselves:
- Safety within the UAE for day-to-day living: Overall it seems safer than most of the places we've lived in the US. We used a ton of security reports and safety alerts published by the US State Department, US Bureau of Diplomatic Affairs, UK's Foreign Office, Australia's Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade, etc. and read through the last 5 years (here's a 2015 example). Most of them said the same thing:
- violent crime, DUI, and drug offence rates are extremely small (with a strict zero-tolerance policy on the last two),
- police services are adequate and accessible, and
- modern health care and emergency services are widely available.
- Safety from political violence, civil unrest, and/or terrorist attacks: Most safety reports assessed the risk of political violence or civil unrest as quite low. But considering the the UAE's location in the Middle East, the possibility of a terrorist attack can't be ruled out. The general risk level is anywhere from low to medium. This is similar to the risk level in most major cities in the US (and now Europe) so it isn't necessarily "less safe" than what we're already used to. We felt comfortable with this risk level considering that most sources also rank the UAE government as pretty darn good when it comes to preventing, catching, and stopping criminal and terrorist related activities.
Are you worried about culture shock (especially for Heather)?
We both expect some mild to moderate culture shock but aren't too worried about it. We've moved several times and our daily lives are generally the same no matter where we live. Things like going to work, eating most of our meals at home, working out, dance parties in the kitchen, and watching movies on Netflix are similar everywhere. Of course, there will be some changes to the way we do those things, but more or less we'll still do them. It also helps that English is commonly spoken throughout Dubai, we can both drive cars, and I don't have to wear a headscarf or change my clothing style.
Ironically, Dubai remind us a lot of our hometown Las Vegas. When we were visiting Abu Dhabi and Dubai last August, Steve and I laughed over how we've spent the last decade trying to be anywhere except Las Vegas, only to find ourselves drawn to the super-sized version. But that's life, right?
And I'm just gonna drop this awesome list about the "24 Stages of Moving to Dubai." I haven't even moved there yet and this is me all day long.
