After almost thirty years of living in Dubai, I left. Although the possibility of packing up had been hovering as a ‘someday’, the actual decision felt like an anvil hitting the pit of my stomach. I spent my last month in the city driving down forgotten streets, having long conversations by the beach with overly sweetened tea and basically soaking in as much of the past as I could before having to cut the cord. And before I knew it my visa was cancelled, the tickets were booked, suitcases and cartons stuffed after hours spent weighing on what were the real ‘essentials’ needed ( I’m basically an emotional hoarder who can attach the tiniest memories to thoroughly useless objects) and I was off to the airport.
I am no longer officially an NRI.
Reaching this point has not been easy and even now there are several times in a day I have to stand still, make an effort to breathe and release the knot that forms in my head. Is this the most ridiculous thing we’re doing? Is my attempt to live out the “But what if I fly?” mantra going to land me in some god-forsaken crevice filled with darkness and crocodiles? Shit, shit, shit- where do I begin this whole attempt to re-boot my existence?
The most painful part of this juncture has been saying good-bye to a city and people who have made me the person I am. The UAE was the country my father came to with nothing in his pocket. He worked like a mad dog and damn well made sure his daughters would never know the true magnitude of his struggles. He was part of the first generation of expatriates that partook in the stupendous transformation of a city from absolute aridity to a vista of skyscrapers that devour today’s skies.
We shared our home with other families, went for barbecues and picnics to Khorfakkan over weekends, sat in the car for hours as my father waited for his civil drawings to get plotted at the printers, went for swimming and tennis lessons at the Indian Sports Club (back when it was called that). My sister and I grew up with several comforts, the most important one being getting to spend enough time with our parents.
In 2012 my father was given the letter by his company. I was at work and he called me up, telling me to come home in the evening. He gave me the piece of paper and sat watching me read it. It felt so heavy; the weight of all his work committed to one organization dissolving in words saying he was not needed anymore but thank you very much, the impending goodbyes to a city, family, friends and most importantly – a house.
Home is where the heart is, but what if your heart is actually made up of little pieces that get deposited over time into concrete walls, lemon tree leaves, battered re-upholstered couches? How do you pack that home where the walls are layered with twenty-two years of paint coats mixed with memories of joy and pain?
It was the night they walked for the last time down the cobbled pathway of an uprooted garden that changed something within me forever. Seeing my mother wail like she had never before and my father sitting in the car outside the house stone-faced and holding back his pain, I swore that I would never make the same mistake, never stay in a place for too long without having the opportunity to be its citizen.
Now it is my turn, to get away and start over. The security that has been given to me by this city has also had a crippling effect by cocooning me into a state of disconnection from the rest of the world. Ahead of me is a clouded path without any safety nets or signs. I am bungee-jumping from an orderly, clean and safe environment to a jungle of chaos and clamor. India is a whole mess of its own that is going to entail a revolution of my insides in order to survive it, but for now it is my refuge, somewhere I don’t need a visa for.
Dubai is where I grew up, where I discovered myself, the love of my life, people I have come to cherish and value. I don’t think I can truly ever say good-bye to a place that houses so many of my secrets and memories. Although it is futile to long for it to go back to the city that it once was, a slower, more community-focused one, that doesn’t stop me from wishing it often. Too much has changed too fast and eroded a lot of what made the city meaningful to expatriates and that breaks my heart. But as they say, that’s life right?
Dear Dubai, I will miss you more than I can ever imagine. Pockets of memories are stitched all over your glittering landscape; meandering through Meena Bazar’s gullies while looking for matching material and haggling with tailors before making the mandatory pit-stop at the little samosa and falafel shack where kitchen-gloves are never worn, driving down ever-bright Diyafah street and grabbing a mixed-fruit juice from Al Mallah, drinking pitchers of margaritas at Cactus Cantina and then heading to Copacabana’s for a night of dancing, feeling my stomach lurch with giddiness as we descend a flyover in Sharjah, sauntering through Mall of the Emirates with hopes that retail therapy will calm my tired soul, swearing at crazy drivers who cut me off on Sheikh Zayed road, relishing the calm of the waves at the beach on a humid night with the muezzin’s call breaking the silence.
I don’t know where I’m heading but at this point in my life I have decided to trade stagnation for struggle. I want to write, I want to observe raw humanity in its infinite forms and capture it with words, I want to raise my daughter in an authentic setting that will prepare her more for reality, I want to travel and people-watch, I want to go a little mad and stack up achievements that I am actually proud of. All these things and much more are scribbled around in an imaginary scrap of paper in my head and it is time to get down to making it all happen. Maybe I’ll get one done, or ten, or none. Who knows? For now all I can say is that I’m going to try.
July 25, 2017 at 2:52 pm
Wow. You know what they say about “what you think of, you attract”, right? It’s uncanny how the thoughts (and some interesting opportunities) I’ve had of very recent times are getting me to strongly uproot my 36+ born-n-bred years from our Dubai to an equally warm (and most times more humid n sticky) Chennai. But my goodness, I’m already resonating so much with what you’ve written (right from Meena Bazaar to Copacabana [aka Copas, aka Touch 😉 i mean, how did you not mention Jimmy Dix!? Loool!] and actually even your passion to write!), despite my decision still pending. I might just want to have a separate (private?) word with you about picking up and heading to India, cuz God knows I’m kinda freaking out here! :-S
But really, know that you’ve touched many many hearts and stirred many more a soul with all these feels of Dubai. Much love and power to you.
Ps- how can I reach out to you?
Pps- I’m a “Pensive Piscean” too ;D
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 4:00 pm
Hey! Wow I love meeting soul twins. Jimmy Dix hell yeah… oh the list of shady places we used to hang out is so long. I’m tamilian too by the way. Okay so we must connect and chat more. I’m also planning to start another blog separately on documenting my adventures here to possibly help or dreak out other returning NRI’s. You can either find me on Facebook as Sangeetha Bhaskaran -https://www.facebook.com/sangeetha.bhaskaran.7
or email me- sangeetha92@hotmail.com
Take care and I look forward to hearing from you. Mwah
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 28, 2017 at 5:54 pm
Another pensive Piscean here too with 30 years of calling Dubai ‘home’. This article was so beyond beautiful and hit so close to home for me as “we” – expats with parents working in the service sector, will always have the fear of being asked to eventually pack up and leave. We have a lot of shared childhood memories of family trips to Khorfakkan, the Sharjah ‘rollercoaster’ road, and snacks on the beach. Hope we can connect privately!
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 29, 2017 at 7:15 am
Yes you can drop me a mail ! I’m glad it touched you 😊
LikeLike
July 25, 2017 at 2:56 pm
A lovely well written article that resonates in everyone who after many years getting to know a rapidly changing city have to move on. Like you a dread the day when I have to leave Abu Dhabi. I work in the private sector of education and have been out of the Uk for 16 years. Both my children were born in a foreign country. I count myself lucky that they have experienced so many wonderful countries it has made them into well rounded 21st century citizens. Yet like you when the time comes to leave it’s heartbreaking and I finds it’s getting harder as they get older. Who knows what the future will hold for us so I shall cherish what we have now. Anyway best of luck with your new adventure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 3:57 pm
Do not dread anything, there’s really no point to it. I’ve heard so many stories of families who leave without a dirham in their pocket and they somehow make it work. Only takes time. Thank you and I wish you luck too .:)
LikeLike
July 25, 2017 at 3:46 pm
I can’t even begin to express how I feel just reading this article. I too recently moved back from Dubai, 29 years of my whole life there, to India. I miss the small things, I can’t go to the grocery store and buy Chips Oman anymore or figure out who has the best shawarma. Always and forever getting stuck at Sana signal and even Sana Building has been torn down, but for me, it will always remain that. I feel like I have to re-read this article, because you beautifully express how we all feel leaving the place. We all knew it would happen but when you’re living it, it’s a whole other story. Also, I just can’t get over this, because it’s true “Too much has changed too fast and eroded a lot of what made the city meaningful to expatriates and that breaks my heart.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 3:55 pm
Chips oman and pappy snacks… aaaahh.. You’ve just hit me while a pang of the feels. 😦 But life goes on, and I’ll have to make do with Lays chips now 🙂
LikeLike
July 29, 2017 at 12:39 pm
Aerated lays chips you mean ? 🙂
LikeLike
July 25, 2017 at 5:25 pm
Same thing happened with my dad but I couldn’t leave these awesome country. I love to be here until I can as I think I have a connection with these country as I was born here
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 25, 2017 at 5:50 pm
This post makes me so happy. Sometimes it’s wonderful seeing something that’s been in my head written down and described beautifully.
Ironically, I feel like an old post of mine could be part 2 for this one. xD
It’s titled “From a Non resident Indian to a Residing Indian”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 6:04 am
Will follow your page and read it 🙂
LikeLike
July 25, 2017 at 6:14 pm
Planning to leave Dubai forever after spending almost 20 yrs..but after reading this my heart is really crying…bit confused now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 25, 2017 at 8:04 pm
Hi there, I understand the pain you go through and it’s the same thing that’s been weighing heavily on my chest for the last 6 months. I’ve been depressed to let go of my childhood memories, friends, fights, food, school. I miss the Dubai that used to be a tiny town with a wonderful community 30 years ago. My dad too came when the locals used to take dumps by the Deira corniche and Hyatt Regency was just being built. I miss the desert behind my home where we used to go cycling and trekking when the cycle couldn’t take the sand anymore. Anyways Dubai is always heartless if you don’t have a visa and can’t afford it. India will be wonderful for you and your family I hope but I truly understand your pain as one expat to another.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 6:04 am
Thank you for the kind words. Dubai will always be etched in all of us I guess, no matter where we go.
LikeLike
July 25, 2017 at 8:59 pm
Fuck Dubai,it’s a shitty city with even shittier people,living there is pure agony and it drove me into depression,don’t let this article fool you into thinking it’s some kind of wonderland,it’s really not go there on a holiday,but if you live there you’re gonna regret it
LikeLike
July 28, 2017 at 6:00 pm
Manoj wth. Hope your bitter soul can find relief somewhere. Calling Dubai’s people ‘shitty’ is basically calling all of us who were born and raised here ‘shitty’. I’m sorry you came across people during your stay here that ruined your image of Dubai but there’s good people and bad people everywhere. For those of us who were raised here, we relish the simple memories of desert snacks, family desert trips, school trips, parks, beaches, shawarmas, etc. Those define our ‘Wonderland’.
LikeLike
July 29, 2017 at 12:40 pm
You just reminded me of wonderland water theme park, dubai!
LikeLike
July 25, 2017 at 9:49 pm
So I noticed you had a pingback and went to read the article.
The comments on that page only highlight the difference between the Dubai of the 80s and 90s vs the Dubai of today. One of the reasons I left was that after hearing “if you don’t like it, leave” over and over again, I decided that that was just what I was going to do.
Which is why I say that I miss the Dubai of old. Sadly its not there anymore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 3:53 pm
We have spent the past few years actually lost in trying to find the city we grew up in. It’s melted into quicksand. Progress has a price doesn’t it? The like it or leave it is a fair enough option. It is frustrating, but as expatriates without citizen rights, we cannot expect more. Me and the husband are always at loggerheads on this issue haha
LikeLike
July 25, 2017 at 10:46 pm
I have been to Dubai. If glitter ever goes out of style, Dubai will be finished.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 3:52 pm
I think our generation is reaching a state of saturation and people are wanting more. So only time will tell.
LikeLike
July 25, 2017 at 11:50 pm
I am currently enjoying my vacation in the Philippines for 4 weeks. My husband and I lives in Dubai for nearly 10yrs in October with our daughter turning grade 2 this year… couple of days now, i am having a dilemna… when is the right time to go back to our own country… i am just imagining that if we will give up our careers, higher salary, car and other things, it makes me a bit scared that we will not have the same amount of income to support our daughter who is just starting her elementary if we decide to go home…but on the other side, it also gives me a bit of happiness that my daughter could then live a normal life of a child.. in Dubai, it never teaches kids what is the real life because they live in a sugar coated and so comfortable way of living…..
This article helps me assess more whether we should go back home..We are getting old and my conscience is saying that, one day, when your body can no longer work here and they dont need you, we will end up the same…. back to our home country…..
All the things that are playing in my mind is well written in this article and really helps me have a better direction of thinking..
LikeLike
July 26, 2017 at 5:08 am
Wow thank you Rhuby. I like that something I write can help somebody. Everyone has their own decision making process I guess. When I decided there were a lot of people who told me what I’m doing is completely stupid. Even now I have no concrete plan and that’s not a good thing either. Anyway let’s see how it all goes. I wish you luck and love . 🙂
LikeLike
July 26, 2017 at 12:14 am
But this is how the UAE is there is never ever any guarntee whatsoever, no one will ever get nationality there, they hire and fire people as they like, certain nationalities get preference over so many others, it is a place that grows on you but you always have to have in the back of your mind that at some point you will have to leave, they have ban structures in place, with no reason at all, now that has changed a little bit, with the country that has no oil anymore they are resorting to tourism which is a far cry from tourism itself, so the theme now is longest, tallest and widest, its sad as i was there all of last year up until a better part of this year but Dubai the uae can never be the same after 2011 it just has not picked up, what a pity, but part now of the economy and one thing you can never really ever make real friends there as it is a transit country.
LikeLike
July 26, 2017 at 5:05 am
Yes it is the transience that makes it hard for people to root themselves.
LikeLike
July 29, 2017 at 12:42 pm
I guess it’s the same in every countries in the middle east.
LikeLike
July 26, 2017 at 4:43 am
Wonderful read.
One door closes, many doors shall open. InshaAllah.
Wishing you the best sister.
Do take care and God bless.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 7:07 am
Reblogged this on SoniaKhatriWrites and commented:
Hits me at the root of the soul. Beautifully written.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 9:47 am
Full of emotions seems like words are coming deep down from the heart 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 9:58 am
“I swore that I would never make the same mistake, never stay in a place for too long without having the opportunity to be its citizen.”
I wanted to cry when I read this. I can relate, even if I called Nepal my second home in the place of your calling the UAE your first home. I spent my transition to teenhood there, and even if it was only a six-year season that ended last year, I can still understand what you feel.
And it’s somehow helping me cope with leaving a place where I didn’t spring up from, but nevertheless, a place where I felt I really belonged.
Also, while reading your article, I felt nostalgic as your style reminded me of all the Nepali newspapers and Indian magazines that I used to pore over. Haha! And I want you to know that I love, love, LOVE your alliterations! Keep it up.
Thank you so much for writing this, and I really hope that your writing career will take flight.
All the best – from one budding writer to another,
Issa Adalia 💖
LikeLiked by 2 people
July 26, 2017 at 3:49 pm
Hey Issa, Thank you for taking the time to write such a looong note. This sort of feedback really helps me as a writer. I look forward to reading some of your stuff too. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 5:59 pm
Awww! You’re most welcome, Sangeetha. I’m glad it helped you! I’m looking forward to reading your stuff and seeing them in big publications someday 😉
Thank you sooo much for subscribing and for your kind words!! I hope you’ll like my latest blog post on the UAE 😊 Your article has enriched my perspective about it! 🙂
God bless you and your family! 💖
LikeLike
July 26, 2017 at 3:50 pm
Just subscribed to your blog :0 It looks wonderful by the way
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 11:19 am
Beautifully written . I’m in abudhabi for the past 19 years and I feel the same about this place. Reminds me of the piece I wrote some months back ‘once upon a time . ..In Abudhabi ”
Good luck for your new beginning in India
From a fellow -blogger
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 26, 2017 at 12:05 pm
Thank you radhika. Good luck to you too
LikeLike
July 26, 2017 at 1:17 pm
I loved reading this. You have eloquently put into words the reality and feelings of saying goodbye and jumping into the unknown. I may not have lived in Dubai for as long as you have, but the 12 years I have spent living there was enough for me to call it home.We packed our bags two years ago and I still feel homesick for Dubai from time to time. When I stumble across news about Dubai or anything related to this city I once called home, a pang of nostalgia hits me too. All the best and hugs
LikeLiked by 2 people
July 26, 2017 at 3:41 pm
Hugs back! Nostalgia’s a funny, bittersweet thing isn’t it?
LikeLike
July 26, 2017 at 9:57 pm
Very beautifully written, I guess I went through the same phase, and now have migrated to Canada.
And I miss the sweltering heat , drinking a pepsi can after sweating it out in the afternoon. I miss the generosity of working with UAE Nationals , always benevolent. And most of all, I miss not having an opinion, my whole attitude in life while growing up , used to I don’t belong here so why bother. And now I am in country , where every individual is required to an opinion and enforce it. I guess that’s the security blanket I got in Dubai.
Hope you find what you are seeking my friend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2017 at 1:26 am
Having an opinion counts big time . I’m happy for you . 😊
LikeLike
July 27, 2017 at 1:08 am
Gotta ask what today’s definition of “dream” is : The first thing people give up when they understand how reality works.
Reading this sunk me with a heavy heart, not because of what I was not able to achieve during my stay there. But because I had to watch my parents grow with dreams and aspirations as they first stepped foot into Abu Dhabi in 1988, where sun and sand was everywhere and opportunities were around the corner, then watch them grow with regrets towards their final retirement years. We’re all part of a generation that just wants the best for our parents. We know the struggles they’ve undergone and we know how hard it is for them to swallow the pill that we call reality, where dreams and hopes are crushed by something as simple as text on a 1DHS paper issued by the company. I’m an Asian, and while Europeans and Americans won’t understand our requirement to have families around us at all times for moral support, you could feel your motivation and efforts slip away as one by one my parents had to bid farewell to a dream they tried to build in a place that never made room for us. Mom had to sit and watch as her siblings who traveled abroad got citizenships and permanent housing lots, while she was forced to give it all up the minute she hit 60. It’s a bittersweet memory, one I despise to indulge in, and an experience I’m not proud to relate.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2017 at 1:27 am
I feel you.
LikeLike
July 27, 2017 at 1:21 am
I loved your post! I’m an ex-Dubaiian currently living in Canada, for over a decade. I still miss Dubai and go back for visits every chance I get! Your post brought back memories of my last weeks living in Dubai– catching up with friends “one-last-time”, making sure i visited every place that held good memories “one-last-time”, driving down Beach Road, eating one last shawarma from Al-Mallah. I remember those last weeks when slowly the apartment got emptier, as people started buying our furniture. At the airport i cried when the cancelled our visas. It was sad, but moving to Canada opened up so many new opportunities for me and I can’t imagine life anywhere else. I’ll look forward to my visits “back home”. Good luck with your new Chapter!
LikeLiked by 2 people
July 27, 2017 at 1:28 am
Yeah I cried buckets at the airport too . 😦
Wish you luck! Canada is so beautiful
LikeLike
July 27, 2017 at 7:51 am
Dear Sara: A colleague of mine told me about the article that you wrote and after reading it, it really hit me. I guess it’s those hidden feelings for those who are like us. Born, lived and or living in the UAE till today such as myself. I am 34 years old, born and living in Abu Dhabi and ever since I was a child I would never have thought that I would call anywhere but Abu Dhabi “home”. I used to feel homesick when I traveled to my home country Syria with my parents and couldn’t wait to be back to my room bed and belongings. All memories and life chapters I lived and experienced here in Abu Dhabi for the last 31 years. My parents lived here before I was born at least my father who just left work after spending 40 years working in Abu Dhabi and now wondering where he will proceed and when. My late mother who passed away two years ago was a school teacher for 35 years but very little remembered her. That struck me that you are in a place called home but you will need to move someday, in my case I wonder “Where to?” At this age, I am a single mother of one child who was also born here because that was the initial plan. I live here, study, work, marry and have my kids here and we all live like my parents did but with probably a higher income and an improved standard of living. Yes it did happen, but at the same time there was something telling me that one day I will need to move, start all over again, build a new identity of myself create a new belonging whether it was my home country which now is somehow challenging or some other place if I get the chance.
There is a lot to be thankful for here, our lives, our upbringing who we are living here but maybe the one thing that we didn’t really consider thoroughly is the time when we have to leave. We didn’t train ourselves or get trained to have less emotions and attachment to when this day comes because we didn’t think it will be during our times living here. I too have a limited time at work was given a renewal contract for less than a year so it means I need to start moving on the road again searching for a new job if lucky or a new place as a must be backup plan. It is easy for those who come here and live for a while to leave but as you said the cord we are attached too being born here is stronger than just to pack and leave. Nevertheless I guess we just need to go along with the flow and maybe there is something out there that will really identify all what we lived and make good use of all those chapters in our lives. It’s strange that we understand that despite that we live here and call it home it isn’t to us. It’s a home of beginning and belonging a home of achievements and milestones but at the same time it isn’t a home to continue living in and despite that there is a lot of privileges that we enjoy and live in, we may end up elsewhere where we need to depend and do everything on our own rather than someone assisting us to do it. Maybe we will end up becoming a different us, a new us but we will not be able to cut the cord of where we came from. We may want to extend it really extend it endlessly so at least we can go as far as we have to but not cut it completely because you can’t do that after thirty something years of building and living a life somewhere because that head of yours will start attacking you with memories smallest to biggest of all events that took place. I still tell people I am Syrian by origin and blood but Emiratee by heart and soul and that’s what makes the whole of me. Despite all what’s going on and what will be, it will always be a part of us wherever life chooses for us. We just need to be more realistic now that we may not end up here forever and we need to be ready to move on. We move on on relationships and other things, its time to be strong to move on with this despite all those insider thoughts that will haunt us with past memories.
I wish you all the best in your new journey and would love to hear and read about your new adventures.
Best of luck Sara 🙂
Dana
LikeLiked by 2 people
July 27, 2017 at 9:20 am
Wow Dana thank you so much for sharing your story. I think your life and struggle has been incredible and you really seem to be the sort of woman who can achieve anything. For me moving was a decision spurned by multiple factors, the most important one being I stopped feeling happy in the city. Do what makes you happy. And if and when the time comes to leave, trust me you’ll be fine. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2017 at 2:41 pm
Shouldn’t have read your post m’am! I thought I had moved on, but you made me nostalgic! As if I moved out of the city just yesterday!
Oh my childhood memories…
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2017 at 3:07 pm
‘I swore that I would never make the same mistake, never stay in a place for too long without having the opportunity to be its citizen.’ I cringed reading this very well written piece that resonates with many of us who were born and raised in Dubai. It’s sad, very sad to consider a place your home when your only real link to it is a contractual agreement, if you lose your job you lose your entitlement to stay in the county. But as someone commented above, where do you go next? You’re a tourist in your own country and a guest in this country, lost in the middle, lost in identity!
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2017 at 3:51 pm
Aah, you wrote about something that people are hesitant to talk about openly. It feels like the elephant in the room at times but I loved the way you described it. I think every expat family has gone through the same process (or currently are). I have lived here for almost twenty years and it feels like my own country. But there’s still that feeling of an outsider. A wonderful post .. I wish you the very best in your life!
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 28, 2017 at 1:54 pm
Thank you very much.
LikeLike
July 28, 2017 at 1:50 pm
Thank you for being a part of this community and this city. This is a heartfelt thank you from an Emirati to your father for her services and to your family for adding authenticity, soul, and life to Dubai. We are grateful for what you have done and will always consider you part of us.
I hope you can come back and remember only the good times.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 28, 2017 at 1:55 pm
Thank you very much! We will always be grateful to this country that opened its arms and gave us so many opportunities and great memories.
LikeLike
July 29, 2017 at 8:07 am
Hello Sangeetha,
I read your post and then I realised one thing, it’s staying in the gulf that spoilt us. Muscat was home to me till after the 12th grade. My parents and my brother still work there,it’s not my home though.I will go once in a year have fun,relive those old days, and come back. With you too this will happen, time will heal and you will realize that there is no other country like India. The NRI tag that you will lose, you will realize had no value anyways, but being an Indian in India will give you much more power. India now is a land of opportunities, maybe how Gulf was for our parents, you can write a book,travel freely and technically nothing would be able to stop you doing what you like/want.
Godspeed and wish you a speedy recovery from the Dubai hangover
LikeLike
July 29, 2017 at 12:48 pm
Haha the hangover will go , that I’m sure of. And yes you are absolutely right about the opportunities. It’s what motivated the decision !
LikeLike
July 29, 2017 at 8:47 am
the same thing happened to us in a different way I was there for 15 years, we have spend more than 15 million of dirhams then we had to leave everything behind lose all the money and assets and go back to my main home country which I dont even know how to be in this new society and how to react to people! and start making that money from 0 . 0 = nothing at all
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 29, 2017 at 2:04 pm
I’m so sorry . But money comes and goes so don’t worry . Even we are sort of broke but we just have to manage with what we have .😬
LikeLike
July 29, 2017 at 9:00 am
My heart has been thoroughly shattered reading this… so no great words shall be mustered up… except, thank you… for giving voice to the story of every expat who has exchanged their life for a Dubai-shaped hole in their heart.
I wish you the best in your new journey.
Sincerely,
32 years in Dubai
LikeLiked by 2 people
July 29, 2017 at 2:03 pm
‘Dubai shaped hole in heart.’ Wow 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 29, 2017 at 10:26 am
I’m so touched by your write-up. Even though I have spend a month in Dubai,I can still feel your pain . My you find peace and prosperity in the days to come. Wish you the best!
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 31, 2017 at 8:10 pm
Hello. This is very sad and moving. I am also an EXPAT here in Dubai. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 7, 2017 at 9:39 pm
This is my first ever comment on any post on word press, as I am new here, I felt your pain but at the same time your post has made me think twice about my future plans to live in Dubai. I went Dubai as a newly married bride but very soon his visa cancelled because they wanted him to do extra work without paying more and he told them that he now had a wife to take care couldn’t give more time, which is not even allowed by labor law there, and they cancelled his visa.i was pregnant at that time. It was too much painful to leave that place where i started my new life after marriage and i had so many plans for my family. I realized now that your country is your identity which nobody can snatch from you.No matter how many years you spend there in Dubai ,you would be a stranger there some day. Best of luck in your homeland.
Best wishes from Pakistan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 14, 2017 at 5:52 pm
I’m sorry you went through all that. But sometimes this stuff happens. It’s sad when there are crappy people who make you build bad memories of a city. I wish you and your family luck for your future. 🙂
LikeLike
August 14, 2017 at 12:32 pm
Wonderfully written – thank you for sharing your thoughts! We are new to Dubai. You already have me thinking about what it is like when we must leave…
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 14, 2017 at 5:51 pm
I’m sure you’ll enjoy the city. It is very open and generous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 19, 2017 at 6:19 pm
Driven by a Facebook link I landed here. Your write-up is so touching that one cannot stay without appreciating it. I just moved into UAE almost a year ago.
Leaving a place you’ve shared your memories with and moving to a new one is an emotional experience and not at all easy.
Loved your writing.
Stay blessed dear 🤗
All the best.
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 22, 2017 at 8:56 am
Thank you Aasiya. Stay happy too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 22, 2020 at 5:14 pm
Hey there, I currently live in Dubai for 6 months now and I’ll be moving soon to my home country. Your writing touched me. There’s just something in the hot, humid, and sticky air and how many languages were spoken by the tongue of the people in Starbucks. I really love seeing the skyscrapers from my apartment room, I love The Fountain and I’ll never be bored of it. I’ll miss Deira, I’ll miss seeing Burj Khalifa and going to Dubai Mall. Dubai left a great impression. Thanks to you, I’ll be grateful that I lived here for a moment. Your writing depicted so much of what expatriates felt.
LikeLike
July 25, 2020 at 3:25 pm
Thank you for your words Azura and good luck to your move. I think times are tough and there are quite a few people moving now. Dubai is definitely home for me in so many ways and I miss it a lot. But as you will see, life goes on and you’ll find new homes in new places …
LikeLike