Five myths about Dubai

"I live in Dubai" - this statement is guaranteed to elicit wildly varied responses among my friends, depending on their geographical locations. Friends in the UK conjure up images of me sunning by a pool while tax-free income clicks into my bank account. Across the Atlantic, friends in the USA are convinced I spend my days decked in an abaya, roughing it out among gun-toting neighbours while camels loaded with child jockeys careen past the window.Folks in India hover somewhere in between. While they do appreciate the high standard of living, there's also the pity factor - the Middle East is, after all, not the West.
But I'm one of a rare species - I actually prefer Dubai to other locales, and don't mind saying so. And though I've reiterated this fact a million times, it's always been met with sheer disbelief. Until now, that is - when, thanks to Emirates and Etihad stopovers, my annual visitors count has almost quadrupled. The massive development of Middle Eastern airlines has certainly brought in a good many advantages to the region. But in my rather egocentric point of view, they've brought on a huge benefit to me, in particular. The benefit being - I've been triumphantly vindicated in my statements about Dubai.
For instance, the #1 myth about Dubai: "Women cannot drive here!" That's in Saudi Arabia, people. Not in the UAE, which is an entirely different country. Women do drive in Dubai - a fact few believe until I present them with the proof, by driving out in a gargantuan Land Cruiser Prado (For the record, there are bigger and better cars in Dubai, and this one is strictly mid-range. Nevertheless, this is my only chariot, and I'm justifiably proud of it.)
Then myth #2: Clothes. Most cannot get over their surprise when I don western clothes one day, a salwar the next and possibly a sari on the third. The constant refrain is "I thought you'd wear a burqah!" Well, I certainly could, but am in no way forced to do so.
Myth #3 is a bit nebulous - the "soullessness" of the city. "Dubai's such a soulless place!" This statement never fails to puzzle me - we're all people here, after all…not robots. But the reputation seems to have stuck, however, and is severely shaken when visitors arrive to see a normal world-class city. A bit more bling, perhaps; with taller skyscrapers and more luxury cars than other places. There are people here who think in superlatives, just as there are in other cities. But the majority is as normal as can be. Myth #4: "The weather's awful." So it is, in summer, when we can actually boil an egg on the pavement. But the winters make up for it - 5 months of perfect weather. "Come between November and April" is one counterpoint I always add to any open-ended invitations.
Finally, the biggest myth, which I've put in for the express purpose of balancing out the other four misconceptions: "Everything's cheap in Dubai." No, not at all. There are bargains galore, it is true, but you'll have to trawl through miles and miles of shopping malls to find them. Designer stuff is cheap, if you're willing to settle for 'authentic' counterfeits. Food is cheap too - depending on what you eat, and depending on the currency you're mentally converting the cost. A humble dal-roti would seem quite expensive when you do the "X 15" currency conversion to INR. On the other hand, caviar and champagne would seem cheap in dirhams, until you consider you're actually paying more than what you would in the West. Electronics and gold, however, are cheap, especially compared to India. But sadly, officials have twigged upon this convenient fact, and have upped the taxes for both these goods considerably. Which means you can get a flat-screen TV or a bar of gold for one-third the price, lug it home, and pay the remaining as import duty.
As for the cost of living - I pay a hefty house rent, and I've already spent my entire education's worth of money on my 5-year-old's nursery fees (my employer's contribution isn't generous enough to cover it all). Add to all this the fact that things are not permanent here- should we be made redundant, we might end up packing our gear from both office and home…then ship them, and ourselves, back to our home countries.
So, cheap it's not. Permanency - not guaranteed. But Dubai is a safe, exciting and vibrant place to live. It's is neither Utopia, nor a desert hellhole. Dubai's got its own pros and cons, just like any other city. And while I might be getting my car filled with gas at $1 a gallon, I'd still be paying $5 for an imported bottle of water…so it's level.