My 3 Month Recap of Being Irish in Dubai
I was totally green moving to the Middle East in April, I had never even visited the Emirate on holidays and I definitely didn’t get the memo not to move here before the summer. How difficult could 45 degrees heat be? Despite living in Liverpool for two years, it never really felt like I was “away from home” as the 30 minute flight would attest.
I felt settled in Liverpool within 24 hours and Conor and I had the best couple of years there with the city’s independent culture, Popworld 4am stints and a very comfortable life on a salary that stretched every last few pounds to cover council tax, rent, electric and Camden Pale Ale pints.
We made the decision to leave Liverpool with the goal of saving for the immigration journey we’d been talking about since the first night we met. But before we could get to the luxurious Airbnb’s in Dubai, we had to endure a year in the mobile, the perfect remedy for renter fatigue and a paradise for the spider population of Derrynoose.
Living in a mobile home to save for the next big thing has quickly become a family trait. On one hand, it is an ingenious way to save money fast and on the other, sometimes you have to be prepared to look down on your pancakes toasting on the floor. It’s all about balance.
Moving across the water was as simple as a Stena Line ticket and a jam packed Volkswagen Beetle that didn’t make it back across the Mersey. If only the trip to the sandpit was as easy. After a nine hour flight from Dublin and the loss of 2 litres of tears, we arrived in the UAE and the holiday plume of hot air hit a whole different in 38 degrees.
It was very difficult to know what to expect from a place I’d never been before and after 3 months I am still very much finding my feet. With no fixed abode yet, it still feels like holiday mode moving flats each month with a suitcase that’s getting bigger and the best travelled bag of sugar in the desert. I’ll not pretend like it’s been a breeze, adapting to the pace here has been difficult.
Social media would have you thinking that Dubai is an influencers haven, filled with fake people on the social climb. If you’re looking for that dream, I’m sure you’ll find your tribe, like you would anywhere in the world. But like everything about the internet, it’s not reality, Dubai is made up of all kinds of people.
You go for your groceries alongside cars I’ve never heard of and G-Wagons, so many G-Wagons, (and I’ll not be coming home without my matte grey G-63 to drive to Rice’s). You wait for your lunch beside people in head to toe designer. You’re in a truly international city with people from all over the world. Thankfully, the wonderful people we’ve met are from Derry. It’s all about who you surround yourself with.
Life here is fast paced and leaving your comfort zone can be the most difficult thing to do but 9 times out of 10, you’ll appreciate the departure. And despite the international population, the Derrynoose accent remains the most difficult to understand.
Who knows what the next 3 months in Dubai will look like, but the last few have flown by. It’s definitely not as plain sailing as it would seem on Instagram with the shiny boat trips, the bottomless brunches and the Sunday sips in McCafferty’s but it’s a hot, humid and sandy journey I’m willing to take.