Life in UAE advantages & disadvantages

[HKS]

How about Abu Dhabi? more oil, more money, smaller city and population.

More Oil More money and even more expensive than Dubai.
It has fewer properties and greater demand. You get a 2 bed average apartment within the greater city for the rental price of a large 4 bed Villa with garden in Sharjah. If you want a new Villa in Abi Dhabi then prices are higher and daily commute is longer.
That is a normal aspect of UAE living if you have to go to an office regularly.
Average 1 hour commute each way.

 

[JohnLocke]

I would disagree that UAE is complicated and not cheap.
I would say it's most cost efficient and with NO due diligence to get 0% tax residence.
Other places you need lots of investments and vast paperwork and time to get residence. I mean the places are not some very remote locations like Panama

I have been there a few times before COVID-19 it's really not that bad as people claim and even close friends told me. Actually I was there for both business and pleasure, both went out for my benefit.

 

[HKS]

If you are travelling for business and or short trips to oversee your company etc then you have nothing to be concerned about. The responses made were for the threads related to Life in UAE as others had commented and I elaborated. I also enjoy frequenting the country. But to live and be there longer than a short visit or a few weeks is a different story IMHO.

The comments previously and mine are in relation to those who need to still operate their business, keep a check on the business costs and in relation to quality of life and a sense of reality of the place, In this context I responded.

In the context of shorter trips then anywhere is great to visit.

If in the case you need a new residency and a place to live and set up.. Then a different story.
But as always we all don't see the the same things or place value on the same items as others. Its an individual choice and those seeking answers of how life is there need to go and visit for a few months to be sure and then make an informed decision.
A lot of the previous comments about the Pro's and Cons are very valid points and certainly need to be taken into account.
It not all a bed of roses thats for certain.


A personal experience :

A person walked out in front of my car in a busy city centre street. They were badly injured as they hit their head on the windscreen and then on the asphalt.
The family member next to them agreed it was the fault of the person who walked out on me ( jaywalking). However I was still arrested and spent several days in a police cell and faced 3 court visits before being given bail against my passport.
After some months if wrangling and what was behind the scenes a policeman who felt that my insurance Co would payout a some of cash to the injured party & family if the case was not dropped.
So this happened and my insurance co made a payment of about $30K USD as compensation.. ( Sharia law allows this )
Due to the case and policeman's involvement the matter went ahead and I had to spend several days in jail to allow the case to then be removed as the complaint was then dropped by the family.
All the while at each court appearance the judge could not understand why legally I had done nothing wrong I was still facing time in jail.. It cost me over $15K in Lawyer fees . Otherwise it would have been a longer time period.

The reality of life there is not what is seems when you just go for a visit.

I still lived there or 10 more years after this incident happened so it did not tarnish my view of life there, but made me aware and understand what it means to be on the other line of what is a unforgiving place if you are in anyway seen to break the law, even if its not your making..

It only takes 1 person to make a complaint against your driving and you can get arrested.. But have to prove your innocence but the person who complained only has to make it verbal. The road rage is higher there and these are many of incidents which I was witnessing when I was in court..

 

[bobbychow]

Look for Russians. If you will be lucky, you will find not a hooker.

So true!!! they are everywhere especially in Dubai

 

[glengoolie]

but if they catch you with any of them, you are in biiig trouble since sex is forbidden outside of marriage.

 

[Gediminas]

but if they catch you with any of them, you are in biiig trouble since sex is forbidden outside of marriage.

I am always surprised to see on the ground in La Marina so many flyers/cards advertising sex services.

 

[glengoolie]

it's like willingly giving them a reason to boot you out in the future. why do it? they can simply record this crime and keep it in the desk drawer until they need a reason to make your life miserable.

 

[ih8socialism]

Just my experience after living there for 4 years, not focusing on opening / operating business there much.

UAE itself is quite a nice place., you obviously enjoy tax free income, safety and nice weather for roughly 8 months before it gets unbearable hot (atleast for me), if you have the funds you can have a nice and comfortable life in UAE. However you still need to find your way around there to not get sucked up in the (in my opinion) stupid expat lifestyle which includes all these overpriced brunchs and dinners, there are new fancy and super cool locations everywhere which serve you the same s**t just presented differently. People in UAE are in general friendly but personally I think the expat community is straight cancer. Almost everything is centered about money and people tend to evaluate how useful you might be for them in the future.

My advice, try mingle with emiratis because wasta is even more important than money in UAE. Its not that hard to get in touch with locals unless you are totally socially akward and ignorant. If you know the right people life will get even more comfortable. However keep in mind what HKS said, its still an islamic country and things can get outta hand pretty quick for nothing or a stupid mistake.

Don't think about doing business there, most of the people you will meet think they are the smartest person ever yet they have no substance nor a real skillset. Doing business with emiratis can work, but it's a pain in the a*s quite often unless you are used to GCC mentality, things can take forever.

If you optimize your lifestyle you can get around quite cheap and save plenty of money. For example don't buy luxury goods in UAE, better to save up your money take a trip to Europe, its often cheaper there and you can get a tax refund. Get you some friends travel and ask them if they can get you something from Duty Free (For example alcohol, Cigars or cigarettes) , like mentioned before if you know the right people they can even access duty free.

In the end, don't be dependent too much on UAE, don't park too much money there, always be prepared to leave in a short period of time and have a backup plan. Dubai may be dependant upon expats but on the other hand you might never know what will happen in the future.

 

[rowena]

but if they catch you with any of them, you are in biiig trouble since sex is forbidden outside of marriage.

Not anymore.

https://www.expatmedia.net/consensual-sex-living-outside-marriage-becomes-legal-uae/2020/11/

 

[zzzzzz]

If you are travelling for business and or short trips to oversee your company etc then you have nothing to be concerned about. The responses made were for the threads related to Life in UAE as others had commented and I elaborated. I also enjoy frequenting the country. But to live and be there longer than a short visit or a few weeks is a different story IMHO.

The comments previously and mine are in relation to those who need to still operate their business, keep a check on the business costs and in relation to quality of life and a sense of reality of the place, In this context I responded.

In the context of shorter trips then anywhere is great to visit.

If in the case you need a new residency and a place to live and set up.. Then a different story.
But as always we all don't see the the same things or place value on the same items as others. Its an individual choice and those seeking answers of how life is there need to go and visit for a few months to be sure and then make an informed decision.
A lot of the previous comments about the Pro's and Cons are very valid points and certainly need to be taken into account.
It not all a bed of roses thats for certain.


A personal experience :

A person walked out in front of my car in a busy city centre street. They were badly injured as they hit their head on the windscreen and then on the asphalt.
The family member next to them agreed it was the fault of the person who walked out on me ( jaywalking). However I was still arrested and spent several days in a police cell and faced 3 court visits before being given bail against my passport.
After some months if wrangling and what was behind the scenes a policeman who felt that my insurance Co would payout a some of cash to the injured party & family if the case was not dropped.
So this happened and my insurance co made a payment of about $30K USD as compensation.. ( Sharia law allows this )
Due to the case and policeman's involvement the matter went ahead and I had to spend several days in jail to allow the case to then be removed as the complaint was then dropped by the family.
All the while at each court appearance the judge could not understand why legally I had done nothing wrong I was still facing time in jail.. It cost me over $15K in Lawyer fees . Otherwise it would have been a longer time period.

The reality of life there is not what is seems when you just go for a visit.

I still lived there or 10 more years after this incident happened so it did not tarnish my view of life there, but made me aware and understand what it means to be on the other line of what is a unforgiving place if you are in anyway seen to break the law, even if its not your making..

It only takes 1 person to make a complaint against your driving and you can get arrested.. But have to prove your innocence but the person who complained only has to make it verbal. The road rage is higher there and these are many of incidents which I was witnessing when I was in court..

Interesting experience. Are you suggesting it's better to NOT drive anything in UAE (car, motorcycle, boat, bicycle, skateboard...) if you want to stay on the safe side?

 

[Golden Fleece]

In the end, don't be dependent too much on UAE, don't park too much money there, always be prepared to leave in a short period of time and have a backup plan.

It sounds like early Nazi Germany.

 

[troubled soul]

I have been there a few times before COVID-19 it's really not that bad as people claim and even close friends told me. Actually I was there for both business and pleasure, both went out for my benefit.

Yes, So called horror stories can happen to any country in the world.
In this area , Dubai is victim of his own success. Sometimes Too much PR backfire you.
Even Small Incident make International Headlines.
Recent "Balcony" Incident is best example .
In so many country people arrested for Public S*x but It never make headlines in International Media. For Dubai Small incident grab all attention .
Like I said Dubai is victim of his own Success.

Thanks

 

[khinkali]

There are plenty of places where you can end up paying for hitting a jaywalker. Or where you can get in trouble for shooting pornography on a balcony. The guy with 0.3 grams of cannabis was pardoned. They guy who was arrested for melatonin was released after the substance was tested. The couple arrested for kissing in the restaurant were repeatedly asked to stop it (there were families present) and eventually arrested after repeatedly disrespecting the local culture, the other diners, restaurant owner and police.

I'm with @azb1 on this; Dubai just attracts these stories because it's easy "journalism". The releases from custody and the pardons tend not to feature so strongly in tabloid newspapers, BBC or CNN.

It's different if you're Muslim, especially Arab Muslim where you really are expected to follow local customs (e.g. alcohol). Also don't bounce a cheque; fraud and contracts are taken much more seriously than in most places.

If you optimize your lifestyle you can get around quite cheap and save plenty of money.

Definitely, but in that case why choose Dubai over Georgia or South East Asia or Portugal or the Balkans or wherever? Dubai can be optimal for saving on taxes and perhaps reducing bureaucracy but it's hardly where to go for cheap dining and alcohol.

 

[petal355]

I see some platforms as coinbase do not support UAE customers, does it mean you have access to less financial services there ?
Including less platforms ?

 

[Fred]

I see some platforms as coinbase do not support UAE customers, does it mean you have access to less financial services there ?
Including less platforms ?

You have with UAE residence one of the best Offshore Residence you can ever have.

All and I mean really all big banks are happy to onboard you for wealth management if you bring the figures with you.

All in All is UAE very reputable and well seen with all financial institutions you can imagine despite the fact that you have the same benefits like not well seen old school Offshore Economies like Seychelles, Belize or the Caribbean in general.

Of course there are always exceptions.

 

[Andrei636]

You have with UAE residence one of the best Offshore Residence you can ever have.

All and I mean really all big banks are happy to onboard you for wealth management if you bring the figures with you.

All in All is UAE very reputable and well seen with all financial institutions you can imagine despite the fact that you have the same benefits like not well seen old school Offshore Economies like Seychelles, Belize or the Caribbean in general.

Of course there are always exceptions.

yeah but coinbase actually do not accept uae residents right there : https://www.coinbase.com/places
are there other example of big crypto platform which would not accept uae residents

 

[troubled soul]

yeah but coinbase actually do not accept uae residents right there : https://www.coinbase.com/places
are there other example of big crypto platform which would not accept uae residents

You can open account with coinbase in uae.
Only problem is , you can not perform crypto to fiat.
This is my understanding.
There are many alternatives . Like Bitcoin Suisse - Buy, Sell, Store & Earn Cryptocurrency.

So many real estate developers use their services. You can pay for property using thier services.

Like fred said nothing is perfect in this world. There are some exceptions. Keep in mind that no other offshore jurisdiction match Dubai standard.if you take overall approach there will be no competition for uae.
Look some island jurisdiction bank , it's website looks like made in 1999 during dotcom era and not updated since than.

 

[Andrei636]

You can open account with coinbase in uae.
Only problem is , you can not perform crypto to fiat.
This is my understanding.
There are many alternatives . Like Bitcoin Suisse - Buy, Sell, Store & Earn Cryptocurrency.

So many real estate developers use their services. You can pay for property using thier services.

Like fred said nothing is perfect in this world. There are some exceptions. Keep in mind that no other offshore jurisdiction match Dubai standard.if you take overall approach there will be no competition for uae.
Look some island jurisdiction bank , it's website looks like made in 1999 during dotcom era and not updated since than.

Are you certain ? Which pairs are you able to trade ? all pairs out of crypto to fiat pairs ?
Because if you could open they should list it and write "convert" only as they do for Bermuda, Hong Kong etc in their listing
So to me it seems they simply do not accept uae residents, I am talking here about coinbase/coinbase pro for day traders, not coinbase as a POS for payments (as bitpay)
Yes you are right but it is among things one need to know before, imagine for someone coinbase is their primary tool of work and they lose their account when moving to uae adn/or would lose the chance to register there

 

[manukahoney]

Keep in mind that no other offshore jurisdiction match Dubai standard.if you take overall approach there will be no competition for uae.

Monaco.
Bloody expensive and almost nothing to do inside the "country", but under normal circumstances you have the whole Mediterranean to your disposal, zero taxes and everything money can buy.
Maybe when bitcoin hits like 300k we'll see a lot of "Monaco PROs and CONs" on this forum

 

[Fred]

Monaco.
Bloody expensive and almost nothing to do inside the "country", but under normal circumstances you have the whole Mediterranean to your disposal, zero taxes and everything money can buy.
Maybe when bitcoin hits like 300k we'll see a lot of "Monaco PROs and CONs" on this forum

Honestly speaking all the Crypto clients contacting us right now are really Cash poor and even for Dubai Solution we work on every case so intensive with the partnered bankers that's already crazy.

Now you mention Monaco that has all over much more bureaucracy and is much more regulated and strict compared to UAE.

Keep in mind even if you show up with 1m+ in bank account that is the official minimum you can still be rejected for residence if Monaco don't like how you spend your money or live your life and they fear that you don't control your finances right and you could go bankruptcy.

Additional if you don't have the business history that fits your wealth you will struggle big with Monaco.

Don't get me wrong guys but I see right now in reality how the Crypto Guys that became rich over night has the complete wrong mindset how to handle some hurdles in practice - it's sometimes like in the kindergarten.

However that's why you have us and we manage this but when it comes to Monaco you will face a Interview and need to have bullet proofed answers otherwise you simply fail.

It's for sure an option but especially with the wording you mentioned for your future venture keep in mind how big the gap is right now between the thinking of people that got rich over night with Crypto and the reality.