A World Away: The Truth About Moving From England to Dubai…

Broadcast and digital journalist (and mother-of-two), Becky Lyne, offers up some home-truths of an expat who has made the move abroad

I read somewhere that 60 per cent of expats who leave Dubai do so in a worse financial state than when they arrived. But any mum who’s experienced the cost of soft play here first-hand can understand just how that happens. Though clean and well managed they may be, you need a second income to keep the little dears entertained during the scorching heat of the summer. At an average of Dhs100 per child, it’s triple the price of its UK counterparts. But then again, the risk of contracting Norovirus is vastly reduced, so perhaps that’s a small price to pay.

The cost of living is easily the most shocking part of moving here. In comparison the packing, navigating an international move and subsequent re-settling feels like a breeze.

I honestly thought I was prepared, but oh how wrong I was! People tell you not to convert back to your home currency, but woe betide the newcomer who doesn’t do so initially. Take a fellow school-mum friend who recently spent a whopping Dhs140 (£30) on a watermelon in Waitrose. To add insult in injury – it was apparently bland and tasteless. Another friend recently said to me over coffee “Why do I work? To keep up my childrens’ blueberry habit!”

Whether it’s rent, food, education or activities, this city is going to take you for all you’ve got – so what’s the trade off? Well, quite a lot, as it turns out. The UAE boasts some of the best service in the world, the cleanest public spaces you could imagine, a family-friendly culture that’s hard to match and access to world-class education and activities.

Strolling along Kite Beach with a new friend recently we marveled at how amazing life here feels. It was a random Monday and after squeezing in a 6km walk and coffee, we took our respective laptops to separate tables and worked until school pick-up, the Persian Gulf glistening in the distance. A far cry from the drizzly March back home in Blighty…

A World Away: The Truth About Moving From England to Dubai…

The Friendship Equation

Making friends as an expat here is incredibly easy. If you’re willing to put yourself out there then you’ll always be rewarded! Whether it’s mum meet-ups or brunches for 20-somethings, there’s always like-minded newcomers equally keen to make a connection or two.

Now, I will caveat this by admitting I was lucky to have a rather extensive network of acquaintances on the ground before we moved; a mix of friends I’d made here 15 years ago (back when nothing much existed past the Al Wasl Road) and friends-of-friends who were born and raised here. I’ve been welcomed with open arms; invitations generously issued and endless introductions made in the whirlwind first months, giving me the opportunity to find my own tribe. Old friendships have also been reignited, though now it’s more catch-ups over coffee and a gym class than drinks at Barasti Le Méridien Mina Seyahi circa 2009.

But even without those old connections, I’ve forged some lovely new friendships in the past year, from bonding with fellow mums in soft plays, to accosting strangers in Carluccio’s and exchanging numbers. Never underestimate the power a smile and a compliment on another woman’s accessories can have. These ‘strangers’ have slowly become like family and helped this bustling city feel like ‘home’.

Location, Location, Location

If you’ve ever frequented an expat community group on Facebook you’ll be only too familiar with the advice around nailing the infamous domestic trifecta – aka the school, home, work route. Though excellent advice, this elusive trio is becoming harder and harder to establish. With limited school spaces, waiting lists to battle with rents so astronomical it’ll make your eyes water, it’s not quite as easy as one, two, three.

It’s something we definitely got wrong this first year, despite having done ground recces before arriving and a whole host of due diligence. My daily school commute can take as long as one-and-a-half hours each way, resulting in me becoming an unwitting part-time driver to my children.

The Takeaway

In spite of the astronomical cost of living, horrendous traffic and scramble for school places, moving here been the best thing we ever did for our family. As my fiveyear-old daughter sips on her smoothie at yet another five-star resort day-cay, I can’t help but feel incredibly lucky at the life we’ve built here. This is now our ‘normal’.

Just don’t going telling everyone, will you? I don’t think we can handle any more cars on the road.

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s Junior Spring 2024 issue