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Dubai: love it or leave it?
To understand whether Dubai is your city or you’re just wintering together in a very nice way, there’s no point staring at price tags, skyscrapers or other people’s yacht stories on Instagram.
What actually matters is checking yourself against your constant expectations in life — the baseline characteristics you assign to your own life in this world. You shouldn’t be looking at what fits into your suitcase when you move, but at what you’re actually carrying inside yourself.
People often study the real estate market better than they understand their own habits.
What actually matters is checking yourself against your constant expectations in life — the baseline characteristics you assign to your own life in this world. You shouldn’t be looking at what fits into your suitcase when you move, but at what you’re actually carrying inside yourself.
People often study the real estate market better than they understand their own habits.
-1- How strong are your cultural values?
There are countries where immigration means gradual assimilation: a new language, new habits, new cultural codes.
Dubai works differently. Here, nobody expects you to give up your culture, accent or way of life. Actually, the city exists because people bring their traditions, habits and identities with them.
Dubai works differently. Here, nobody expects you to give up your culture, accent or way of life. Actually, the city exists because people bring their traditions, habits and identities with them.
At the same time you can see people celebrate Ramadan, Easter and Diwali.
Russians keep looking for buckwheat, British keep looking for a proper Sunday brunch. Don’t forget about children that grow up speaking two or three languages at once.
So before moving, it’s worth asking: what do you actually expect from migration?
If your goal is full immersion into a new culture and eventually feeling like a local, the experience can be harder. Because Dubai doesn’t so much change people as allow different cultures to exist side by side.
Russians keep looking for buckwheat, British keep looking for a proper Sunday brunch. Don’t forget about children that grow up speaking two or three languages at once.
So before moving, it’s worth asking: what do you actually expect from migration?
If your goal is full immersion into a new culture and eventually feeling like a local, the experience can be harder. Because Dubai doesn’t so much change people as allow different cultures to exist side by side.
-2- Do you need a country with history or a sense of the new?
A fact about Dubai that appears in literally every brochure: large open spaces, skyscrapers, a drive toward the new and a feeling that the city is developing right in front of your eyes — and yet there are still people who are genuinely surprised by this scale after moving and even mark it as a "minus" of the city.
You can leave Dubai for a month and come back to a new restaurant, a new bridge, a new beach club and a new residential project. In some places change is an event. Here it’s part of the script
You can leave Dubai for a month and come back to a new restaurant, a new bridge, a new beach club and a new residential project. In some places change is an event. Here it’s part of the script
Dubai almost never tries to look old. Its beauty is not in age, but in scale, ambition, and constant forward movement. You won’t really feel nostalgia for the past. Instead, it is very good at creating a sense of the future.
And perhaps the question is not whether something is missing here, but which version of a city you actually need.
And perhaps the question is not whether something is missing here, but which version of a city you actually need.
-3- Alignment between your rhythm of life and the city
Dubai combines all rhythms of life and seems to accommodate all its residents.
We often ignore this aspect when planning a move. But what really matters is how well your natural rhythm matches the city’s rhythm — it often becomes one of those hidden "pass/fail" criteria we use without even thinking about it.
While in some places you can only have dinner after 7 PM (because restaurants are simply closed before that), in Dubai you can get food non-stop, anywhere and at any time.
We often ignore this aspect when planning a move. But what really matters is how well your natural rhythm matches the city’s rhythm — it often becomes one of those hidden "pass/fail" criteria we use without even thinking about it.
While in some places you can only have dinner after 7 PM (because restaurants are simply closed before that), in Dubai you can get food non-stop, anywhere and at any time.
The same goes for sports. Someone texts you at 5:20 AM to offer cycling desert ride or your friend plays padel at 12:00 PM like it’s normal. Sport here is not put on a pedestal, but it’s also hard to stay on the sidelines — the wellness and healthy lifestyle culture is extremely strong. It’s no longer just a trend, Dubai recently launched the Dubai Longevity Authority, a new initiative focused on healthy life expectancy, wellness and quality of life
Don’t forget that right chosen neighborhood is very underestimated way to slowdown and live your small life after "big city life"
Don’t forget that right chosen neighborhood is very underestimated way to slowdown and live your small life after "big city life"
-4- What about the weather?
When people think about climate, they usually ask one thing: is it hot or cold there?
But weather is about how much time you spend outside. Whether you just enjoy being outdoors no matter what. Whether you need seasons to feel a change throughout the year.
For some people, the fact that the weather is predictable makes life easier. For others, seasons matter a lot. So if you check weather conditions every day — you should choose place to live more carefully
But weather is about how much time you spend outside. Whether you just enjoy being outdoors no matter what. Whether you need seasons to feel a change throughout the year.
For some people, the fact that the weather is predictable makes life easier. For others, seasons matter a lot. So if you check weather conditions every day — you should choose place to live more carefully
It’s something that affects your mood almost every day without you’re even realizing it. Some people only understand how much energy winter was taking from them after spending a few years without it. After that summer in Dubai is a heaven
And over time, it can become one of the reasons you either love where you live or quietly start wishing you were somewhere else, even if you like everything in this city.
And over time, it can become one of the reasons you either love where you live or quietly start wishing you were somewhere else, even if you like everything in this city.
-5- How sensitive are you to FOMO?
You just need to understand that every city has its own energy. In Dubai, there is always something happening, and it’s your responsibility how you deal with it — whether you adapt to it or not.
In Dubai, FOMO becomes a constant background state for most people. It can easily pull you into the feeling of "I'm missing something, I’m not moving fast enough, I’m not doing enough," etc. And it’s important to understand that some people find this energising, while others lose energy because of it. You just need to know which group you belong to and act accordingly.
You are always responsible for the pace you choose to move at. From time to time, you need to ask yourself: "Where am I in all of this?"
In Dubai, FOMO becomes a constant background state for most people. It can easily pull you into the feeling of "I'm missing something, I’m not moving fast enough, I’m not doing enough," etc. And it’s important to understand that some people find this energising, while others lose energy because of it. You just need to know which group you belong to and act accordingly.
You are always responsible for the pace you choose to move at. From time to time, you need to ask yourself: "Where am I in all of this?"
You need to know yourself well in order to draw conclusions about the city you choose for yourself. It is rarely about the place itself. More often, it depends on how carefully you selected your criteria for moving — and how well you listened to yourself at that moment, rather than to general noise and online summaries.
Article: Kristina K.
Illustrations: Sofa Baldina
Illustrations: Sofa Baldina
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Date of the article's release: summer 2026