
Dubai: Thoughts From a New Oldie
Looking back on a year of being a newbie in my ol’ stomping grounds
Returning to one’s childhood home — well, home city in my case — is a mix of nostalgia and dull irritation at all the change. Especially when that childhood hometown is Dubai. So many parts of this city are totally unrecognizable today. It has been a year since I moved back (April 2017) and I’m still mildly bothered that 90% of my childhood is pretty untraceable thanks to all the unstoppable innovation.
The first and biggest challenge I faced upon return & Dubai Life 2.0 was finding a job.
There’s not much scope when the trend leans towards internal hires or bringing in very highly qualified expats. If you’re mid career, you’re the in between and it’s pretty bleak. You’re not hot new requested property and you’re in the way of local residents who didn’t leave the country for higher study and job experience. Know your place, keep your head to the ground and write a documentary treatment on The Sham of Job Hiring if that’s what it takes to stay sane. I quickly learnt that LinkedIn is key, recruiters can save the day and personal connections are pretty much THE way. None of these were instrumental in me landing my current job but there’s a tip for those moving back!

Also, it takes time and depends on when you’re here. Job prospects are scant in the summer (the actual summer), and during Ramadan. People are quick to advise patience but this is one legit struggle that is all too familiar to me. Assimilation with regard to career will always be a gamble unless you’re highly qualified or a specialist. If you keep moving in your 20s — a time when it’s very tough to be either of those — you’ll have to keep restarting.
Dubai is high on constant innovation and sure, this has made it impossible for me to remember the parking lot where I first learnt to ride a bike BUT it makes me feel amazed, grateful and inspired when I wake up to a spectacular cityscape every morning.

This really helped between moments of extreme cynicism regarding work and relationships. Oh yes, making friends once you’re back to your hometown is a mixed bag. Turns out the few childhood buddies still around tend to have largely differing lifestyles and tastes, 10+ years later. My quest for a social life led me to comedy nights in dank bars, Tinder, working out in public places, attending random events through Eventbrite and finally to the writing pad. This situation is something I want to explore through a web series that goes by “How To Make Friends As An Adult” at the moment.
Some of the struggles I had as a new oldie were some of the most basic things like securing a phone connection, getting a bank account and oh man, finding a gym! The gentrification is real. All the cool fitness classes totally miss Bur Dubai & Karama and thrive in JBR/Marina. The other issue I noticed is the lack of free trials. In general, fitness studios are trying to rope you in with an offer. For someone without a job and no clear plans, working out with just body weight in the park had to do the job until I landed a job that could pay for a membership. Boy did I miss the YMCA. Same goes for a phone plan where every good plan required a year’s commitment or a bank account setup that doesn’t move unless you have a salary coming in.
A cousin of mine is now back in Dubai as a ‘new oldie’ and to my well concealed suprise, I see that she has all her affairs in order — phone connection (Virgin is most efficient, people) and a swipeable card (Emirates NBD’s Liv is a win, I hear). It’s sort of obvious to me now why it took me so long to get on my feet here despite having it easy in a big way — rent free stay with the ‘rents.
What stood in the way was resistance.
Giant resistance to a new way of life, to not knowing what lay ahead. I didn’t wholeheartedly accept the cards I’d been dealt and that really slows down a move. A lot of youth go through this, especially the ones who do the whole study abroad thing. The common reality is finishing a degree and savoring that sense of fleeting accomplishment enough to drown out the deep discontent at leaving behind hopes, dreams, your tiny little legacy in the form of friends & connections and the achievements that now seem pointless. My mindset stalled my assimilation and like I said, I’m surely not alone.
This same cousin has already started the process for securing a drivers licensce. I still can’t commit. I don’t think it’s an inability to accept the present. I feel like it’s more of a fear to dream. A self induced minimalistic approach. I’m not unhappy, but I just can’t commit.
If you ask me where I live, I’d still say Dubai. For now :-).

