Living in Dubai?

Ask TT05 when she posts. She lives there now with her husband and 2 kids.

It's very westernized with people from all over the place. You will be fine. I'd love to live there a few years.

One positive is you won't have to deal with BR traffic.

My parents did for a little over 10 years, Dad worked there a good number of years before that too, left about a few years ago due to his oil company pulling out of Dubai. Neat place, very westernized compared to other countries over there, but can still be very strict. Definitely worth the experience if the money is right. My dad loved working over there and his employees from Pakistan.

They had some interesting experiences though, they had a break in to their home during Christmas (while they were in the States) by a local that was treated almost like a "oh, you shouldn't live in our country" type deal. They also had a local hit their car and they were named at fault even though they clearly were not... Oil company took care of everything from those two things though.

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She's a tiny little 100# blonde

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(no pics)

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Slave city, no thanks.

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Also, my biggest question is in regards to a young female moving to Dubai. I have a SO (no pics) who would be moving with me. She's a tiny little 100# blonde so I know she'd be just a little out of place in the Middle East. Dubai is probably the most modern Middle East society, though, so I'm hoping it wouldn't be too much of a culture shock for her. Anyone had any similar experiences?

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Most single American women in Dubai are prostitutes. Don't let her hang around single women unless you don't mind her taking some prince dick.

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Been here for 9 years. This is a bad place to ask because there are so many xenophobes that hear "Arab" or "Middle East" and suddenly you "have no freedoms" if you choose to live in such a place...

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fact, you have fewer freedoms there than the US

that is undeniable

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This is a bad place to ask because there are so many xenophobes that hear "Arab" or "Middle East" and suddenly you "have no freedoms" if you choose to live in such a place...even though they've never been and have no clue.

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Who has been saying this so far?

It's an interesting place, the Russians over there love to push the boundaries as far as they can go that is for sure. They are trying desperately to allow much more to keep the tourists while still trying to maintain their Muslim hertiage. They have been doing a decent job at that balancing act from what I saw.

Was very close to moving to Doha, Qatar last year. Visited the location and ultimately didnt accept the job. In the end the additional monies werent enough to justify taking my wife out of the job market and jeopardize my marriage/family.

There are a couple of widely held misconceptions about taxation that you need to research. In short, your earnings abroad are subject to local taxes as well as US taxation. Anyone who tells you the earnings are "tax free" is full of shite. You may pay significantly less than if you resided stateside but you are expected to pay. Also be aware that in order to be a bona fide expat you have to spend 330 days (this figure may have changed) abroad.