DEGS – Dubai expats gone soft
I think there’s a general understanding that expats who live in Dubai – or any “soft” expat posting, to be fair – for any length of time get a bit too used to the easy life. They get used to having...
View ArticleWhy become an expat?
Last November The Telegraph reported that two out of three British families wanted to move abroad. This month, we learned that 79 per cent of Brits who’ve actually made the move abroad have “no...
View ArticleWhat is there to complain about in Dubai?
People always ask me if life in Dubai is “as good as it looks”. And I guess that, in the middle of a British winter, when the snow’s turned to floods, the wind’s cold and fuel prices are high, pictures...
View ArticleExpats: How do you get your home comforts?
British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is to build just four more “bricks and mortar” shops before concentrating on its online retail business, I read last week. The story was reported at about...
View ArticleWhy I won’t be refuelling after midnight
Serious news in Dubai this week: From now on, motorists who’d like to refuel at EPPCO petrol stations between midnight and 6am will have to – gasp – get out of their cars and pump the fuel themselves....
View ArticleWhy I’m grateful to be British
It’s at times like this, when I’m preparing for a trip home to England, that I’m most grateful for the fluke that meant I ended up being British. There’s a lot that people like to criticise about my...
View ArticleHave you got the “returning expat” blues?
The end of the summer is a particularly tough time for those expats returning to the UAE after spending up to three months away. From about the third week of August, flights start to fill up as the...
View ArticleTop five expat worries in Dubai
If a survey by the Post Office is to believed, it’s a pretty glum time for many expats in Europe, who are apparently worse off than their compatriots back home thanks to rising living costs and...
View ArticleBringing up children in the Middle East – yay or nay?
There was food for thought for the UAE’s expats last week when HSBC’s annual Expat Explorer survey was published: votes from the expats who live here saw the UAE ranked as the 13th best place in the...
View ArticleCompetitive expat syndrome
I often wonder why it is that expats are so competitive with each other. Perhaps it’s because you need to have a certain drive in order to get up and leave the comfort zone of your home country in the...
View ArticleDo you know your neighbours?
Something odd happened to me recently: my new neighbour knocked on my door to say hello. In the 15 years I’ve spent in Dubai, it was only the second time that’s happened and, to be honest, I can see...
View ArticleCulture clashes: when we agree to disagree
Given the UAE is the fifth fattest country in the world, it’s not uncommon to see overweight children here. In fact, figures released last year showed that the UAE has more of a childhood obesity...
View ArticleWhich expat tribe are you?
Say the words “expat” and most people probably have an image in their mind of who that person might be. Perhaps it’s the lizard-skinned septuagenarian walking on the beach in a string bikini, the...
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Why do the UAE’s expats drink so much?
Next time someone asks you if you can drink in Dubai, why not dazzle them with some figures: it was revealed this week that, far from abstaining from alcohol, residents of the UAE drink almost double...
View ArticleDubai expats ask: Can we afford to stay?
With the school year about to finish, it’s time for another round of expat goodbyes in Dubai and, as we exchange sweaty air kisses, the addendum on everyone’s lips this year is “you are coming back in...
View ArticleExpat life: A foot in two cities
One of the things that never cease to amaze me about flight is the speed at which you can move between two very contrasting places. Leaving the dusty UAE during Ramadan, when we cover up before going...
View ArticleWhy do I feel I’m haemorrhaging money in England?
I’ve been in England for a week now, and I feel like I’ve been haemorrhaging money the entire time. From the £150 I handed over in the supermarket to the £20 it cost for one admission to the Kent...
View ArticleA Gulf expat’s guide to summer in the UK
I write this while on holiday in my home country, the UK. Although I don’t visit the UK for the whole summer like many of my fellow UAE expats, I do tend to be here, visiting grandparents, aunties,...
View ArticleRanidaphobia
Nell Fenton One great advantage of living in a desert country which may not immediately strike everyone is that it not an environment that appeals to frogs. I’ve never come across one, except in the...
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Never mess with another guy’s barbie
Barbecues are a daily event right now as both locals and expats make the most of the balmy weather here in the Poitou-Charentes. I’m a big fan of them and love cooking up sausages for lunch and chicken...
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