You have now spent a month or so in the UAE.
In that time, you have completed what first seemed like a daunting set of tasks – making the initial move, setting up a bank account, buying a car, renting a house and starting to make friends.
Now that you have time to breathe and are familiar with some of the country, you're probably starting to feel more settled.
Here is our guide to reaping the benefits of life in the UAE and making that all-important transition from a newbie to a veteran.
Getting used to the roads
Cars are an important part of life in the UAE.
But while you may have acquired a driving licence and purchased a car after researching the market, it takes time to learn how to master the roads here.
Although the UAE offers relatively cheap fuel, costs can still add up for drivers who use their cars frequently. Here's nine tips for how to save on fuel costs.
Driving in the UAE is also affected by the seasons. During the summer months, it's important to keep your car safe from the heat – here's our guide on how to avoid any sun damage.
Heavy fog can lead to dangerous conditions on the road – follow our guide to minimise the risk.
If you do witness or experience an accident, here's how to report one.
And for those without a car who want to travel between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, here's a guide to the free shuttle bus.
Finding the best deals
The UAE is one of the most popular shopping destinations in the world, and there is no shortage of world-class malls and markets to find treasured goods.
In the UAE, the mall isn't just a place for shopping – there are a whole range of attractions within, ranging from roller coasters to an aquarium and even an indoor ski slope.
Grocery shopping will also be a central part of life in the Emirates. In 2022, Abu Dhabi introduced a ban on single-use plastic bags. Find out here what this means for shoppers, and which bags are excluded from the rule.
Online shopping is booming in the UAE and can be done from the comfort of your mobile phone. Here's our list of the most useful apps, ranging from food delivery to essential services.
And to avoid those unwanted offers, here's how to block cold calls and sale offers over the phone.
Mastering the weather
Having spent a month in the Emirates, there's a high chance you will have been treated to the UAE's most common weather – blue skies and sun.
But the country does occasionally experience more extreme bouts of weather, ranging from sandstorms to dangerous low-lying fog.
If you suffer from hay fever, you may also want to check out our guide to avoiding symptoms.
Enjoying the Emirates
The UAE boasts a wide variety of things to do.
It's impossible to list the full range of activities here, but we've collected some highlights to help you decide how to spend your leisure time.
For families, here's our ultimate guide to keeping your kids entertained in Abu Dhabi.
If culture is more your thing, these are some of the best museums to spend an afternoon meandering through.
Abu Dhabi's most popular cultural attractions include Louvre Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Qasr Al Hosn, Ferrari World and SeaWorld. Here's our guide to the top 15 things to do in the capital emirate.
Dubai also offers a vast range of activities and attractions. Here's our top 20, including the Museum of the Future, Global Village, and the Mohammed bin Rashid Library. To familiarise yourself with the UAE skyline, here's a quick guide to Dubai's 30 most famous buildings.
Eating the UAE way
Food is a massive part of UAE culture.
Emirati cuisine is just one part of the country's diverse culinary landscape, with rich offerings from India, the Philippines, and more.
Dubai has 14 Michelin-starred restaurants while Abu Dhabi has three one-star venues and four included in the Bib Gourmand category.
Check out our guide to the best restaurants in the UAE here. For those looking for less well-known options, here's our list of hidden gems. And here's the verdict from our readers.
Experiencing Eid and Ramadan
The UAE observes a number of public holidays and religious festivals.
Unlike in some parts of the world, the start of religious holidays such as Ramadan, Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha is determined by the Islamic lunar calendar, which changes each year.
However, National Day and Commemoration Day take place in early December every year.
Check out our guide to UAE public holidays or our rolling update on when the next public holiday is taking place.
Exploring further afield
One of the attractions of the UAE is its location as a central travel hub for the world.
Many residents first start their travels by exploring the UAE's southern neighbour, Oman.
It only takes an estimated four-and-a-half hours to drive from Dubai to Muscat – here's everything you need to know before embarking on your road trip. Another option is to explore the stunning greenery of the khareef season in Salalah.
And for those wanting to get a plane and go further afield, here's a list of ten destinations within a five-hour flight of the UAE.
Applying for a golden visa
For those who want to stay in the UAE for the long-term, the golden visa is the ideal option.
The 10-year residence permits are given to people who have made an outstanding contribution to the country, have highly prized skills or work in key industries that are crucial to economic growth.
Hundreds of thousands of UAE residents have been awarded a golden visa since the scheme was first introduced in 2019.
There are several categories of people who are eligible to apply for the golden visa.
Check out our full guide on how to apply for the golden visa here.
See you soon …
We hope this has helped you feel more at home in the Emirates. When the time comes, make sure to check out our next guide: Leaving the UAE
Previous guides:
Before Moving to the UAE
Just Arrived in the UAE
First Month in the UAE
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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THE RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Alnawar, Connor Beasley (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Raniah, Noel Garbutt, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 2,200m
Winner: Saarookh, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Rated Conditions Dh125,000 1,600m
Winner: RB Torch, Tadhg O’Shea, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: MH Wari, Antonio Fresu, Elise Jeane
7.30pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,600m
Winner: Mailshot, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
ENGLAND SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Meydan Sprint – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (Turf) 1,000m
7.40pm: Curlin Stakes – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (D) 2,200m
8.15pm: UAE Oaks – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
10pm: Al Shindagha Sprint – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
Kill%20
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'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Tips for SMEs to cope
- Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
- Make sure you have an online presence
- Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
- Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
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Meghan%20podcast
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
