Moving to Dubai

As the second largest state or ‘emirate’ in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai was once considered a barren landscape in the oil rich Gulf but is now a thriving metropolis, attracting thousands of new residents to its shores each month. Dubai Expats of course love the tax-free cost of living in Dubai, year-round sunshine and access to excellent healthcare and leisure activities means it is fast becoming one of the world’s most popular expat destinations. 

The growth has of course not only been in the form of expats in Dubai, but the last decade has seen magnificent growth in the city itself. This is largely due to the visionary leadership of the current ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, under whose direction many of the Emirate’s best known landmarks and projects have been constructed. The iconic Burj al Arab Hotel (the world’s tallest hotel), the recently opened Dubai Mall (the largest shopping centre in the world) and the four billion dollar Burj Dubai (the world’s tallest skyscraper) are just a handful of the recent additions to this desert playground. If there is a message Dubai is sending to the rest of the globe it would seem to be, 'we’re doing it bigger and we’re doing it better!' 

Contrary to popular belief, Dubai’s main source of revenue is not oil. Although oil was discovered in the Emirate in the 1960s, and certainly helped build the economy, it is other industries such as construction, tourism and financial services that are contributing to Dubai’s extraordinary wealth. 2008 saw the Emirate record a $150 billion GDP. In fact, it is predicted that Dubai will have exhausted its oil reserves within the next twenty years and there is a continued effort to diversify the economy. A number of international media, IT, legal services and building companies have relocated to the Emirate, accounting for the ever expanding expat community in Dubai.

Resource links:
Travel guide to Dubai
Useful info on Dubai
Join our Dubai Expat group on Facebook