Dare to Dubai?
Updates from Dubai
I’m coming up to 3 months in the UAE, so it now seems a little bit more appropriate to share some snippets on what you might need to do if you make the same move, as well as some observations I’ve noticed.
Getting up and running in a new city can be a fairly daunting experience, however, thanks to the Erasmus programme at Uni, it’s not the first time I’ve relocated to another country for a short while. What was nice this time, however, is that I wasn’t limited to a “student’s bank balance”.
For the rest of this article, I will be assuming that you’re not likely heading to the UAE for a university exchange programme.
Where to stay?
One of the surprising things about Dubai is how expensive AirBnB is for short-term rentals, in comparison to how well-priced hotels are. Unless you’ve travelled to Dubai extensively before, the reality is that you won’t know it well enough to have developed preferences. The practical aspect of staying in a hotel is getting to try out different areas, “no strings attached”.
I wanted to make my life as easy as possible for the first few months, so my hotel was a 15-minute walk from the office (no it wasn’t too hot to walk). Whilst Dubai is relatively easy to get around in by car, traffic around rush hour can be pretty horrendous. For those interested in shortening time spent driving:
- Office in DMCC; Palm, The Springs, Jumeirah Park
- Office in DIFC; Downtown, Business Bay, Jumeirah 1
Your Visa / Residence Card
There are a good few businesses in Dubai that handle the process of helping international businesses set up in one of the many free zones up and down the city (if your company doesn’t offer this themselves).
To get a bank account, you’ll need your Resident Identity Card:
- Photos, you can get these done before you arrive in the UAE, but there’s a strong chance that they won’t be the right size. Save yourself the hassle and get them done in the UAE when you get there (if you can).
You’ll need to go for two appointments in person to get your residence card, so factor this into your first week’s schedule:
- Medical
- Biometrics
Banking
I gave Wio Banka chance…
- 3 hours after my first tax-free pay day, £2500 worth of Vietnamese Dong left my account in 3 transactions over 6 minutes before I froze the card.
- The “fraud enquiry” could take 90-120 days. That’s quite a long time to not be sure if you’re getting your money back, especially after you’ve relocated to another country. Besides that, the functionality was actually pretty impressive.
Deferring banking suggestions to this link – I notice a familiar name is missing from this list.
Get Active
This is perhaps the easiest way of networking with people (in Jan / Feb / March), I will update you with other suggestions later in the year!
Check out Jumeirah Johns Running Club (Dubai’s most social running club). It’s suitable for anyone keen to get active and you can choose from 1 or all 4 of their sessions each week. 06:15 Sunrise runs on the beach are quite the start to a Friday, let me tell you.
Also, Padel is all the rage in Dubai – if you don’t know someone playing Padel, I’d guess you’re only one degree of separation from someone who does!
If you go to the gym, you’ll already be familiar with the sequence of events in making a new bestie, which can come in handy for tackling an international move
1. Go to the gym at the same time on the same days throughout the week.
2. If you recognise someone who goes at the same time as you, after 3 to 4 sessions you have 2 options:
- “The nod”: this lets them know that you are aware of their existence and admire their commitment.
- Fist bump + “What are you working on today?”
3. Suggest shared workouts when plans align.
4. Probably become their best man/maid of honour or Godparent to their children.
General Observations
Walking
For a place that is home to so many people with low BMIs; Dubai certainly seems to make them pretty lazy. It’s not uncommon to see people drive around in a loop more than once for a car space that is as close to the entrance of a building as possible.
Listen, I know that this advice won’t cover the summer months, but Dubai is actually way more “walkable” than you expect. Sure, travelling between two other ends of the city will be best done by car, but…
…the Metro isn’t that bad, especially if you used to catch the central line at rush hour in London before the Elizabeth Line got up and running. It’s also unbelievably well priced: ~£1.30 for a journey between the DIFC and the DMCC.
Driving
Not all driving licences are created equal. The lack of consistency is the most terrifying thing when tackling Dubai’s roads and there is direct correlation between people least likely to be in a hurry outside of a vehicle, being the most likely to merge at the last minute with an exit on the motorway.
Prayer/telepathy seem to be good substitutes for indicators/turn signals. Those already using turn signals, take all the time in the world, to make the move they indicated initiating.
Advice: ride with the punches, seek God, or take out good life-insurance.
Air Quality
One of the things no one really prepares you for (or seems to talk about) is how bad the air quality can sometimes be. But, then again, it has its moments.
Cheap Italian Food
I absolutely love Italian food but it seems that the dreaded Instagram effect really does have a stranglehold over this shining bastion of global cuisine. My personal viewpoint (which doesn’t mean it’s right), is that Italian food has the highest premium on it vs. other cuisines in Dubai.
Conclusion
Dubai has been a welcoming giant to me over the last few months. The office is up and running and Rahnpreet Sandhu and I have enjoyed decorating it – the Aux cord gets shared equally. Will keep you updated with any more observations I have in the coming months, but if you’re looking for a discrete conversation before then, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Written by Warwick Poelman (واريك بولمان)
Crypto Corner
If you’re involved in the crypto sphere, it’s highly unlikely that you’ve missed the news of SBF’s sentencing. In case you’ve somehow managed to avoid it, let me be the lucky fella to remind you: US Judge Lewis Kaplan (Southern District of New York) sentenced Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison on Thursday the 25th of March. This decision was made due to Bankman-Fried’s “apparent lack of remorse,” “exceptional flexibility with the truth,” and the “brazenness” of his fraud during his tenure as the former FTX CEO.
Notably, this sentence was approximately half of what the prosecutors had sought, aiming for 40 to 50 years.
A typical defendant may express remorse to potentially lessen their sentences, however, during Thursday’s hearing, Bankman-Fried, dressed in beige prison attire and shackled at the ankles, occasionally struck a defiant tone as he addressed the bench. He reiterated his previous failed defence from November, attributing FTX’s collapse to “mismanagement” and a “liquidity crisis,” rather than outright fraud.
Bankman-Fried went as far as to argue that FTX’s customers could have been reimbursed if he had retained control of the company, asserting that there were sufficient assets available. However, Judge Kaplan found this argument unconvincing, likening it to a thief who uses stolen money to gamble in Las Vegas and then expects leniency.
The question of whether a 25-year prison sentence is just is extremely subjective and depends on your interpretation of justice.
I think he’s getting off easy.
Written by Karolis Kundrotas
Market Headlines
On the morning of March 11th, one Bitcoin Inc. could buy $72,219 (£56,303). The price has grown 51% in the last month alone as the halving event approaches whereby Bitcoin production will fall from 900 to 450 a day, on 19 April. As well as the UK financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), becoming the latest regulator to pave the way for more people to invest in and track the value of Bitcoin.
Abu Dhabi officials are quietly orchestrating a fresh package of perks (including lifestyle support and visas) that they hope will help propel the city up the ranks of the world’s biggest financial centres, from helping traders obtain coveted school admissions for their children to assisting them with securing memberships at country clubs.
Mustafa Suleyman will be leading Microsoft‘s consumer artificial intelligence business, hiring most of the staff from his Inflection AI startup as the software giant seeks to fend off Google in the fiercely contested market for AI products. Suleyman, who co-founded Google DeepMind, will report to Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadellaand oversee a range of projects, such as integrating an AI Copilot into Windows and adding conversational elements to the Bing search engine.