Let’s talk about where I currently live….
Nine months ago, I packed up my life in the UK, sold pretty much everything we owned, said goodbye to the rain and the comfort of knowing which aisle sells custard creams — and moved to Dubai. This isn’t our first move abroad but it was still stressful as fuck!
We now live in Creek Harbour, an area in Dubai that lies along the creek and it is it’s own little oasis. To tell the truth, you don’t even feel like you’re in Dubai most of the time as its so chill. It’s beautiful. It’s hot. It’s really hot.
When we first landed, everything was overwhelming. I went from navigating Tesco in Crocs to navigating Carrefour while trying not to melt into the tile floor. Nine months in, and I’m still adjusting — but I’ve learned a few things.
Firstly, time moves differently here. It’s either too fast (weekends vanish in a blink) or painfully slow (waiting at the traffic lights that seem personally offended by your need to be somewhere). The pace is weird. Everything gets done eventually… just not necessarily when you expected.
Secondly, expat life is a strange little bubble. It’s a constant mix of excitement, homesickness, and trying to remember which drawer you’ve shoved your passport into. There’s always someone leaving, someone arriving, and someone inviting you to a rooftop brunch you didn’t realise was bottomless until it was too late.
I won’t lie, there are things I miss. Proper sausages. A decent cup of coffee that doesn’t cost the same as a small mortgage. Family. Seasons. But there’s also something liberating about starting fresh, stepping out of your comfort zone, and figuring out who you are when everything familiar is 7,000 kilometres away. It’s not forever, just a little excitement once the kid had flown the nest to university and I wasn’t needed daily anymore. We were so disillusioned with the UK, we needed an out and Dubai was an easy option. So much easier than our first expat adventure to Bangkok.
So here I am — sweaty, slightly disoriented, but mostly grateful. Grateful for the chance to experience something new, to complain about a different kind of weather, and to live in a place where the skyline still makes me stop and stare like a tourist with a very full camera roll.
Dubai is mad, magnificent, and occasionally maddening. But for now, it’s home.
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