Now that I have been in Dubai for two weeks, I have noticed
a few things your casual tourist might not pick up on.
It did not make sense to put these notes in any other of my posts, so I decided to put them
all in one.
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I am sure many have seen rooms in buildings that spin,
but what about a whole building
that spins (unfinished one on the left)? |
- There is
a low crime rate: Crime is extremely low in Dubai. I hear hundreds of
stories where someone loses their wallet or phone and it randomly appears at
their office two days later. As for my own experience, I was lying
in bed the other night and realized something unfamiliar: complete silence. Unlike Chicago or New York City, sirens do not pierce
the air in Dubai.
- People
move slow: Unlike the hustle and bustle of New York, people in Dubai walk
slow. Very slow. No one is ever in a
rush to get anywhere and people even sit and ride the escalator! Just as I would do in Chicago, I went
sprinting up the stairs to try and catch a departing metro. People stared at me like my head was cut
off.
- There are
no addresses in Dubai: As odd as this sounds, it is entirely true and makes
getting to places very difficult. You need
to become very familiar with landmarks and areas of the city if you hope to
arrive at your location on time.
- Cab
drivers do not know the city: This point is a continuation on my last point;
it can be tough to get around if you do not know the area. Specifically because a lot of cab drivers do not
know where they are going, and at times they might not know how to drive. I found this out last night as I took a hotel
cab and realized he did not know what he was doing behind the wheel.
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| Cab line outside my office building. |
- Soccer is
the game of choice in Dubai: After all, soccer is the world’s sport and
Dubai is the world’s melting pot. I
should actually be calling it football since I got yelled at for saying
"soccer". I even got to participate on
FactSet’s intramural football team. We
first lost to a group of Brits and then got slightly embarrassed by an Egyptian
team.
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| The British vs. the Egyptians at soccer intramural. |
- There are
no taxes: Whether you are buying a coffee or a tailored suit, the
price you see on the tag is the price you will pay. There are no taxes in Dubai which is extremely
nice if the price is not marked up. It
is also nice for my co-workers who have contracts locally in Dubai.
- Engineering
creativity: As I mentioned before, everywhere you look in Dubai there is
another building being built. Yet some
of the already completed skyscrapers are rather incredible both in size but
more so in design. Never have I seen
such creative structures that paint a skyline.
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| An odd shaped building across from the marina. |
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Two buildings across from my apartment. Look
familiar for those who have been to NYC? |
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