Hello and welcome back. Today I will discussing
a hot topic, and that is how to be a woman in Dubai. I will talk back about my experience, how I felt
when I was here the first time over 10 years ago and how it is now. How to dress, how to act, is it
safe, and in general, how is it to be a woman in Dubai. If you are planning to move here, this video
is for you. So, of course the most common question is, what to wear in Dubai? I normally wear kind of the same clothes as I have in Europe. Of course, if I ever go to the mosque, I will cover myself, you need to cover your hair and everything. But in general just cover your shoulder a little bit and don't wear super tight. Even if a lot of tourists do that, I would try to respect the culture. You're actually in their country, so you kind of need to respect their value. But if you are at the beach or by the pool,
of course you can wear a bikini and if you go to nightclub, you can wear a little bit more like Europe. In the mall you just wear modest clothes. And it's super cold in the mall, so
you actually have to cover up. Just be yourself, have common sense, and you will be fine. But you don't need to cover yourself up. Why are people moving to Dubai? I will say it's two big reason, the first reason is of course because it's taxfree. So all the money you make, you get in your hand. You don't
pay any taxes. The second reason is because of the safety. Dubai is one of the safest city in the
world, and UAE is ranked as number three. I never felt afraid when I'm walking alone or when I'm out. It's super safe, you can leave your phone on the table if you're go and order food and the phone is
going to still be there. In Barcelona I wouldn't wear my more expensive stuff, because I know it's a lot
of pick pocking, it's a lot of robbery and the same in Stockholm. So, in Dubai I can actually wear
my stuff without being afraid. But of course mostly because I know, nothing is going to happen
to me, when I'm walking by myself. As a matter of fact Dubai ranks as one of the best cities for
solo female travelers. Because they know they can go there by themselves and be safe there. And the
weather of course, it can be crazy hot during the summer, but during the colder month from October to May,
it's amazing. And there's so many activities you can do, both outdoor and indoors and enjoying the
sun and the beach, nobody can complain about that. Another big advantage to be in Dubai,
that I really think about before, is all the people and all the culturing experience. I met so many
cool people, all over the world, when you are in a restaurant, you're in a taxi, like when you're playing
padel. People are super friendly and I like that even if there's so many different culture,
and so many different people. People is actually respecting each other. The only time I will say I
feel a little bit weird, is in the taxi, when the taxi driver doesn't talk to me. He only talks to Jakob. I
don't like that, but that's a culture thing so you can't really do anything about that. But otherwise,
I think it's really nice, even if there's so many different culture, that everyone is getting along,
there's no fights, I never seen a fight. People think it's really strict in Dubai, and it's not.
They're actually really friendly, especially the Emiratis. They're always quite social, they always joking
around, they're super respectful. They're holding up the doors, and also the Expat,
they Expat is doing the same. Getting around in Dubai is really convenient, in the Metro you have different areas, you have the comfortable and luxury areas which only the Gold Members can be in. But you also have
a women and children area, which is really good, and that's really popular about women to just stay there.
But of course, the women can also be in the other carriage. I will say one downside with the Metro is
that it can be really packed during the peak hours and people don't really respect your personal
space. They're really like super super tight, even in the women area. So you need to be prepared
for that. People are not going to go up and you can take their seat. They're going to fight for it, so
if you can avoid the peak-hour, I will. Because it's super super packed. If you don't want to use the
public transportation, there's taxis everywhere and they are quite cheap. Many people think that
everything in Dubai is really expensive, but the taxi is cheap. You can get from the Downtown to the
Marina for under 20 US dollar, so it's really handy. Renting a car is also easy to do, and they're everywhere. You can use your International driving license to rent a car. The only issue that we heard, is a lot of people gets a lot of fines because they don't know the rules. So, it's easy to get
fines, so whenever you're handing in the car, you get a long list with all the fines. If that happen
to you. You should ask for evidence, because we heard it's a lot of fraud now. That they're trying to make money of it. They're trying to give you fake tickets. Most of the people in Dubai, have their own car. It's really handy and it's quite cheap to get it as well. Another misconception is that
women are not allow to drive in Dubai, or UAE and that is totally incorrect. So both Emarati and
Expats can drive by themselves. You don't need to have any males in the car. If you have a driving license,
you can just hire a car, or have your own and just drive whatever you want. Make sure that you're
not going in the peak-hours, you will sit there for hours. There's a lot of accidents in Dubai as well, so many people have cars, so you need to be careful in traffic. Another topic is about the healthcare,
it's actually really good here in Dubai. If you are an Emarati, you get it for free, but if you're Expat, you
normally get it from the employer, or your Visa. So, we have it through our Visa, you get normally a basic package, but you can upgrade yourself, you pay a little bit more, and then you can get
a better coverage. You can choose between better hospitals as well, so I wouldn't be worried about
the healthcare here. So where to start, how will I be able to go to Dubai, so the hardest thing is to get a job here in Dubai. You need actually to be in Dubai, to be able to get anything, and
especially if you're a woman because three quarters of the population is men, and is dominated by men,
with all the work as well. So, you really have to push yourself into the work. But of course, there is
opportunity if you really want to go. I will advise you to have an higher education, to go here, because
there's a lot of work that is not paid well. So, you need to have some experience to be able to work
here in Dubai. About the work culture, I have heard different stories about it. It could be quite rough,
especially because there's so much males compared to women and the women really need fight to
get their voice heard. I can't really talk about it that much because I'm a freelancer, so I work by
myself. You kind of need to be prepared that it's not going to be like Europe, it's much much tougher
culture. I know women can feel that it's harder for them to get a a job as well, but women can both
be employed or have their own company. So, I know it's a lot of women who goes to Dubai and open up
their own company or if they're an influencer so there are different ways to to be able to come to
Dubai. I would say one downside to be in Dubai is friends, because there's so many Expats and there's so many people that go to Dubai for a couple of years and then they go back. It's kind of hard to find like real good friends, that you will have for a long time. We've been playing a lot of padel and we met a lot of lovely friends there. So you just need to find the right environment. There's a lot of chat groups, there's a lot of events that's going on, especially for women. So, if you're actually taking your time and find the right people, you will actually get some really good friends, but I will say that that will take some time. Because people are getting it tax free,
the accommodation is quite expensive. It will be more expensive than you have in Europe. And I will
say a good tips is that there's a lot of groups that you can find people to stay with, to share apartments. So it might be tough in the beginning but you will get it there. Dating in Dubai, I haven't done it, because of Jacob of course. But when I'm talking to my girlfriends and also with
the men, it's really hard to get a partner here in Dubai. Especially because a lot of people is here temporary, so they're here for a couple years and then they move back. Another is the culture
thing, it can sound really good in the paper but when you actually get to know each other, you can
feel the differences in the culture wise. Even if Dubai guarantee equal rights on the paper, it's not
always working like that. It will be harder for you, to get a work, to buy properties and have
the same equal rights. Of course not everything is perfect in Dubai. It has ups and downs, but I
would say it has more ups now. And it actually is changing. You can see that the last 10 years, it's been
changing a lot. Of course there's a lot of things that they still need to work on. On the equal rights and everything, but they get in there, it's much better now. So if I compare the first time I was in Dubai to now, it's a huge difference. Before I felt a lot of people were staring at me. I
was afraid what to wear and I felt I was more strict compared to now. It's so much tourism, it's so much Expats, so it's actually feel like another city in Europe. It's super easy, it's friendly, people respect each other, so I will say it's a huge different. Especially if you drink alcohol. Before it was really restricted, now it's more open as well. You can drink it in most other places. You can't drink on this street of course, but if you are in a beach club, or a restaurant, or a bar, there's a plenty places. You can actually go to the store now. Not all the supermarkets, but some of the stores
have alcohol, that you can buy as well. A lot of people coming to Dubai, to follow the
dream, to get the perfect job, to get so much money, to live this flashy life. But that's not really
Dubai, I would say that's probably 5% of Dubai. Normally a lot of people is just living a normal life there.
Of course they will get more money compared to what they have back home. But you need to know that there so much more expensive to live in Dubai as well. The accommodation, the food if you go to the supermarket,
so much more expensive. So, there is actually people living a normal life
in Dubai as well. If you're thinking about going to Dubai, or move to Dubai, you should definitely do it.
You need to prepare yourself, you need to have the right education, you need to have some experience and
you need to have some buffert as well. Because it is expensive in Dubai. But take the chance if you have it, because it is amazing and the weather is super good. People are really friendly, it's a cool place to be in.
It is like a bubble, but it's a nice bubble. If you be there for a couple of years,
you will really enjoy it. So, definitely try it out and if you have any questions let me know and I'm
happy to answer it. So, if you like this video, subscribe and let me know if there's anything else you want me to discuss. See you, bye. [Music]
