It’s nearly four years but it feels like it was just yesterday when I first stepped foot on the beautiful emirate. Known as the city where east meets west, Dubai offers promising opportunities for people from different cultures and nationalities. I have my fair share of understanding the good and not so good side of the city. But I’d say that I have embraced every sides of it because I was treated well and I have proudly call Dubai as my home.

I have been receiving few questions about what it’s like living Dubai . Is it scary? What are people like? Are there any available jobs? And so on.. hence this post was made. I’ll be listing some random facts. These are all based on my opinion and so feel free to add more 🙂

So to sum it all… This is Dubai in a nutshell

Dubai is one of the 7 emirates of the UAE (United Arab Emirates). It’s funny because some people confused Dubai as a country but it is actually an emirate/city. Abu Dhabi is the capital which is an hour drive away from Dubai.

Mode of transportation: metro, taxi, bus, water bus…

Beware! You will get fined if you eat inside the metro/train including chewing gum

Minimum taxi cost is 12.00 dirhams (metro is recommended for budget travellers)

You will need a card to travel through train

There’s a separate cabin for women and men. Women can get in any cabin but men are not allowed to enter cabins that are designated to women only. To make it easier just pay attention and read all the signs!

The term “kabayan” is widely used to approach if you’re both Filipino. It’s also a way of verifying.

Some people think that Dubai is scary just because it is in the Middle East. But believe me I’m more scared in my own country than Dubai..

Don’t wear revealing clothes when in public places. Of course if you’re in the beach you wear beach attire but not in the mall!

It’s inevitable that some men will stare at women. I know it’s rude but just remember that you are in a multi-cultural place you just have to ignore it and appreciate that you are actually learning from them – different cultures, the awesomeness of living in a diversified country!

Designer brands are a big thing in Dubai. You will find Chinese businessmen carrying Hermes shopping bags while wearing flipflops. Amazing!

My favourite part is that you can buy cheap stuff from Forever 21 for just 100 pesos – some clothes are cheaper than food!

You can get high quality fake designer bags that can be found in Karama – a popular place for tourists

Expensive cars are parked anywhere even in ‘dodgy’ areas without worrying

Types of accommodation: bedspace, partition. Most common is bedspace and much cheaper where most “kabayans’ stay.

Chocolates are very cheap! There’s one shop called Baquer Mohebi a favourite place to get very cheap chocolates and stuff to send home to family.

When you live in Dubai for so long you usually compare and think that nothing compares to the quality of food in Dubai than in your country.

The national animal of the UAE is the Arabian Oryx, not the camel.

You can taste different cuisines in just one street

There are always jobs available if you only know how to look!

Because of the horrible heat most bus stops have AC’s in it

During winter (October-April) Dubai hosts so many fun activities like, marathon, fun run, food festival, art festival and so much more. This is my favourite time of the year.

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