When I decided to make the move to Abu Dhabi from Boston, US, in 2014, I had no idea where the journey would take me, metaphorically at least.
At the time, I had never visited the Middle East and had a difficult time imagining what the capital really looked like, despite the images I saw on Google.
I was worried about mundane things such as the weather and what to wear, but I also wondered if I’d regret making this decision, especially considering I didn’t know a single person in the UAE. At worst, I told myself, I could always go home if I felt too homesick or wasn’t happy.
Fast-forward a decade and I’m still in Abu Dhabi after spending nearly a third of my life in the Emirates. Although I was once unsure of my decision to move abroad, it turned out to be the right one for me.
Almost every year I have conversations with my family and friends in the US, and eventually the topic comes up about whether it is time to return home. But I always come to the same conclusion. Not yet.
Sometimes it feels difficult to explain why, but it boils down to how accustomed I have become to the life I have chosen. Here are some of the reasons why I’ve continued to uphold my life and location choices.
Safety and security
Abu Dhabi was recently named the safest city in the world for the eighth year in a row. While this doesn't imply an absence of crime, the designation holds true in my personal experience.
I've forgotten my phone in taxis and once even left my wallet at the mall, yet each time I was able to retrieve my belongings without any complications (and nothing was missing from my wallet, either). I can leave my purse in my shopping trolley and go to another aisle or even arrive home late at night by myself without any issues.
The city has always made me feel safe because of its visible security measures, such as well-lit areas and security cameras, as well as the country’s commitment to respecting different cultures and fostering an atmosphere of peace.
While people still need to be smart about their surroundings no matter where they are in the world, I've found that living in the UAE provides a certain ease in navigating day-to-day life.
Melting pot
I cannot count the number of people I've met from different nationalities in the past 10 years, something I don’t think would have been the case had I stayed in the US.
I’ve learnt a lot about other cultures, as well as my own, through these experiences with people from various places. I've participated in all manner of cultural celebrations, joining in Diwali festivities with my Indian friends, observing Chuseok (South Korean Thanksgiving) with my South Korean friends and marking Ramadan with my Muslim peers. I also have plenty of opportunity to celebrate my own Chinese New Year.
The UAE’s cultural diversity is also apparent in its eclectic selection of restaurants and speciality shops catering to its varied residents. I can get everything from Thai street food and authentic Ethiopian dishes to French fine dining and local seafood sourced fresh from Mina Fish Market.
Culture and sport
Over the years, the emirate has upped its ante when it comes to hosting events.
Just this year, there was a month-long showing of the award-winning musical Hamilton and the launch of Saadiyat Nights, an open-air concert series with performing acts such as Mariah Carey, John Legend, Alicia Keys and Sting.
A few years ago, partnerships were announced with the UFC and NBA. This means there are annual UFC events as well as the NBA Games Abu Dhabi, which are two pre-season games held at Etihad Arena. There is also the annual Formula One Grand Prix on Yas Island.
The creation of Yas Bay and Mamsha have helped to elevate the dining scene in the emirate, with more options than ever to go out and have an enjoyable evening with friends and family.
This has become one of my favourite things about Abu Dhabi – having enough things to do to keep entertained, but not feeling any pressure to have to attend everything.
Travel options
One advantage of living in the Middle East is that it is an ideal place for travel, given the UAE is a great departure point because of its location.
I’ve been lucky enough to go on great trips, such as a safari in Tanzania and a holiday in Japan. Besides trips abroad, the Gulf itself has plenty of exciting places to explore – be it taking a road trip to Salalah in Oman during khareef season or visiting one of Saudi Arabia's mega projects. These are destinations I perhaps wouldn’t have considered if I didn't live in the UAE.
With time and, by extension, money not as much of an issue, I feel grateful for living in a country that affords me the chance to experience travel in such a convenient way.
My own community
This might be the biggest reason why it’s hard for me to leave. Even though I came to this country not knowing anyone, I’ve created my own family of sorts here now.
I’ve been with my partner for almost five years and I’m also a proud cat mum to five little personalities rescued over the past decade. I’ve also cultivated strong friendships with people, those with whom I joyously celebrate significant milestones and those who inspire me to strive to be my best self.
Whether it’s the simple joys of birthdays to profound moments such as weddings and childbirth, I’m happy to be a part of these occasions. This is not to say that I don’t miss my own family or childhood friends back in the US – because I do – but I also realise that for all the things I may have missed out on there, I’ve also gained much over here.
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 366Nm
Price: Dh200,000
Malcolm & Marie
Directed by: Sam Levinson
Starring: John David Washington and Zendaya
Three stars
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Al Montaqem, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m | Winner: Daber W’Rsan, Connor Beasley, Jaci Wickham
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m | Winner: Bainoona, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: AF Makerah, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 | Winner: AF Motaghatres, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,600m | Winner: Tafakhor, Ronan Whelan, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Bahrain%20GP
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Company%20profile
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
SPEC%20SHEET
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More on animal trafficking
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
SHAITTAN
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Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
The years Ramadan fell in May
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
