arniegang
- Liban wrote:
- MaaaD wrote:
except no one has good sour cream here :(
Many men have sour cream.
It depends on what they eat.
Please refer to "Swallow" thread
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
SGMD1
I have considered moving to Dubai (or at least living there for several months) but I have lived in the United States my whole life and am very used to the lifestyle. So I was wondering if the things that I am used to here are readily available in Dubai. For example:
How good are the grocery stores?
How easy is it to purchase alcohol? Is there decent variety?
Will I have any access to fast food/pizza?
Are there any American bars?
I only speak English. Will that be enough to get by?
My parents are Indian but because I am an American (born there) and have an American accent, will I still experience significant racism?
Thanks in advance for any input!
PrettyPenny
- SGMD1 wrote:
I have considered moving to Dubai (or at least living there for several months) but I have lived in the United States my whole life and am very used to the lifestyle. So I was wondering if the things that I am used to here are readily available in Dubai. For example:
How good are the grocery stores?
How easy is it to purchase alcohol? Is there decent variety?
Will I have any access to fast food/pizza?
Are there any American bars?
I only speak English. Will that be enough to get by?
My parents are Indian but because I am an American (born there) and have an American accent, will I still experience significant racism?
Thanks in advance for any input!
Categorically
Grocery stores - we have a few that you could compare to Walmart.
Alcohol to non muslims is relatively easy to purchase with an alcohol license and is available to all at the airport. Plenty of variety.
Pizza - Dominos, Pizza hut, Papa Johns, etc etc.
American Bars - All kinds of bars and clubs exist in Dubai. If there are specific ones for just Americans I wouldn't know.
English - Even cab drivers speak English. I speak English with an American accent and I am Pakistani. I have not experienced any kind of racism.
Best thing to do would be to visit some of the websites on Dubai that you can easily find on the web. If you have any questions do send me a message.
Good luck with your move.
the_zooter
Hi,
Many of your questions have been answered before, so I will firstly point you towards the search function!!
Grocery stores are pretty good - much the same as you'd find in the states I would think.
Alcohol - this has been discussed often. Basically once you get your residency, you can purchase alcohol with a special licence.
Fast Food - you'll be well served in Dubai!!
American bars - you know, I don't think there are that many Americans in Dubai, but not sure about the bars.
They speak other languages in Dubai than English?? Wow. Don't worry, nearly everyone speaks English, all signs are in English, and local newspapers are in English too.
As for the last one - well it might be a controversial answer, but I would say you will encounter some racism. As to whether its significant, only you can judge that.
Good Luck!!
the_zooter
- PrettyPenny wrote:
Good luck with your move.
You beat me to it!!
PrettyPenny
- the_zooter wrote:
- PrettyPenny wrote:
Good luck with your move.
You beat me to it!!
:P
SGMD1
Thanks for the quick responses! Those were for the most part exactly the answers I was hoping for :wink:
(And sorry for not searching...I'll be sure to do that next time.)
arniegang
look at the sticky's in Expat Help forum
Liban
Emaratis use falcons to hunt down Americans here... :P
arniegang
- Liban wrote:
Emaratis use falcons to hunt down Americans here... :P
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
1 Dubai Jobs .com The First Place to Find a Job in Dubai
scarlet
they do have American bars here - not sure why'd you'd want to go though? there is Tgi fridays, though thursday is the new friday here.
There is chili's. There is a bar called longs which is kind of like a cheers bar.
^ian^
- scarlet wrote:
There is a bar called longs which is kind of like a cheers bar.
and full of desperate overweight Americans looking something on the side.
Just like a bar in the US!!!
fayz
- scarlet wrote:
they do have American bars here - not sure why'd you'd want to go though? there is Tgi fridays, though thursday is the new friday here.
There is chili's. There is a bar called longs which is kind of like a cheers bar.
There is funily enough also a bar called TGI Thursdays, (TGIT), lots of Americans but depending on your scene this may not be the place for you.
useless tidbit....the only ever bar fight I saw in Dubai was outside of this place while i was having dinner next door.
MaaaD
i would also say Rock Bottom is an "american bar" ... it reminds me of those white trash bars where the local town peoples would hang out in on a weekday night hehe ..
Concord
- scarlet wrote:
they do have American bars here - not sure why'd you'd want to go though? there is Tgi fridays, though thursday is the new friday here.
There is chili's. There is a bar called longs which is kind of like a cheers bar.
Scarlet, those places are not "American Bars" neither here nor there! Junk Food with Alchohol maybe.
DaveDXB
Since u mentioned ur from pakistan, im sure u have a bit of history of ur country right? the food, the ppl etc etc...so think of dubai as a combination of pakistan, india, bengal......ull feel right at home....
and dont worry...the majority here speak urdu / hindu maliyalum ...english is just a second language.
arniegang
Hard Rock Cafe
MaaaD
- arniegang wrote:
Hard Rock Cafe
Best nachos in Dubai i would say .. except no one has good sour cream here :(
fayz
- MaaaD wrote:
- arniegang wrote:
Hard Rock Cafe
Best nachos in Dubai i would say .. except no one has good sour cream here :(
Safestway on SZR is the only place in Dubai I've found decent sour cream should you wish to make nachos at home.
Liban
- MaaaD wrote:
except no one has good sour cream here :(
Many men have sour cream.
It depends on what they eat.
terranova
:shock:
arso304
- Liban wrote:
Emaratis use falcons to hunt down Americans here... :P
haha ;)
MaaaD
- arniegang wrote:
- Liban wrote:
- MaaaD wrote:
except no one has good sour cream here :(
Many men have sour cream.
It depends on what they eat.
Please refer to "Swallow" thread
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
exactly, and now we know for sure that liban does swallow.
scarlet
You can enjoy?? :usa2: starbucks to your hearts content - there is at least three in most shopping centres
Concord
- scarlet wrote:
You can enjoy?? starbucks to your hearts content - there is at least three in most shopping centres
I don't call it "Starbucks", I call it "FourBucks" as everything costs four bucks or more!!!!
Chocoholic
I hate to be the one to say it - well not really as I guess you'd expect it from me, but I find it sooooo typical of an American to expect all their crap to be available, whatever happened to trying 'local' things!?
Personally all their junk and fast food rubbish is an absolute tragedy in this place.
the_zooter
- Chocoholic wrote:
Personally all their junk and fast food rubbish is an absolute tragedy in this place.
Some of it is a tragedy in the US, so even more so when its exported!! :lol:
the_zooter
- Concord wrote:
- scarlet wrote:
You can enjoy?? starbucks to your hearts content - there is at least three in most shopping centres
I don't call it "Starbucks", I call it "FourBucks" as everything costs four bucks or more!!!!
Good value though - if you want a buck-sized mug of Hot Chocolate!! I had one at the airport and spent 45 minutes trying to drink it!! Never did finish it!! :lol:
Concord
- the_zooter wrote:
- Chocoholic wrote:
Personally all their junk and fast food rubbish is an absolute tragedy in this place.
Some of it is a tragedy in the US, so even more so when its exported!!
Supply and demand, I suppose. I imagine that the people patronizing those junk food places in Dubai are 99% non-american. Simple to shut them down (don't frequent them - nothing personal but in general).
the_zooter
- Concord wrote:
Supply and demand, I suppose. I imagine that the people patronizing those junk food places in Dubai are 99% non-american. Simple to shut them down (don't frequent them - nothing personal but in general).
You are right.
Hmmm - think I might go to McDonalds for lunch after all this talk of junk food!! :shock: :shock: :shock:
Chocoholic
Hahahaha, go watch Supersize me and you'll never touch it again!
I just find it really rubbish to want to move to a new place, but to expect everything from home to be readily available, I mean isn't half the fun checking out new things?
There's definatley a reason very few yanks hold passports, they'd have heart attacks trying to cope with anywhere new.
the_zooter
- Chocoholic wrote:
Hahahaha, go watch Supersize me and you'll never touch it again!
I just find it really rubbish to want to move to a new place, but to expect everything from home to be readily available, I mean isn't half the fun checking out new things?
There's definatley a reason very few yanks hold passports, they'd have heart attacks trying to cope with anywhere new.
I've seen Supersize Me - great documentary - but I still eat McDonalds, but admittedly less often!! Maybe 2 or 3 times a year tops.
As for the other things you say - I couldn't agree more with you!!
Some Americans (and not all, I must admit) seem to live in a bubble and don't even want to admit that life goes on perfectly well outside of that bubble, let alone have a taste of that life!!
constantine
- the_zooter wrote:
- Chocoholic wrote:
Hahahaha, go watch Supersize me and you'll never touch it again!
I just find it really rubbish to want to move to a new place, but to expect everything from home to be readily available, I mean isn't half the fun checking out new things?
There's definatley a reason very few yanks hold passports, they'd have heart attacks trying to cope with anywhere new.
I've seen Supersize Me - great documentary - but I still eat McDonalds, but admittedly less often!! Maybe 2 or 3 times a year tops.
As for the other things you say - I couldn't agree more with you!!
Some Americans (and not all, I must admit) seem to live in a bubble and don't even want to admit that life goes on perfectly well outside of that bubble, let alone have a taste of that life!!
i find it amusing and perhaps a bit cocky that CD covers in the US proclaim "for the world outside of the U.S of A." and when you are visiting the US...everyone is termed an "alien" in immigration lingo :lol: :lol:
GAB
- Chocoholic wrote:
Hahahaha, go watch Supersize me and you'll never touch it again!
I just find it really rubbish to want to move to a new place, but to expect everything from home to be readily available, I mean isn't half the fun checking out new things?
There's definatley a reason very few yanks hold passports, they'd have heart attacks trying to cope with anywhere new.
Unfortunately it no longer surprises me. You always meet the person that whines because the milk doesn't taste the same and their brand of butter isn't available. They are the sort of people who whinge at Spinneys to the cashier while you hope and pray they don't have the same accent as you. They need to move to places where you can't buy these things on a regular basis. Actually some people just shouldn't move period-they make poor ambassadors for their country of origin.
Chocoholic
So true GABs! Plus there are so many alternatives and many are better than what you're used to as well. I like the trial and error factors too - hehehe.
Personally I love the fact that I can use different things from all around the world and am totally up for always trying new things, it's what makes life interesting.
SGMD1
- Chocoholic wrote:
I find it sooooo typical of an American to expect all their crap to be available, whatever happened to trying 'local' things!?
- Chocoholic wrote:
I just find it really rubbish to want to move to a new place, but to expect everything from home to be readily available, I mean isn't half the fun checking out new things?
There's definatley a reason very few yanks hold passports, they'd have heart attacks trying to cope with anywhere new.
Isn't that just a bit stereotypical? I by no means am saying I need the exact same lifestyle I have in America (if that were the case, I wouldn't be interested in living halfway around the world). Rather I want to make sure that I won't experience complete culture shock. Immersing yourself in a completely different way of living can be overwhelming, and I want to be able to experience the new things while still having a little taste of home (now if I were planning on coming to Dubai just for a vacation, then of course I wouldn't have these same concerns).
Chocoholic
Stereotypical? Not really! I did say 'NOT ALL' and have many American friends here and all love it here.
I found it a bit silly to ask if there are American bars - not really! They're EXPAT bars! Which means that expats from all over the world frequent them. I found it a little narrow minded and silly to ecide whether to move to a place judged on whether home conveniences are available or not - who cares, if everyone thought like that them people might as well stay where they were born and never go anywhere. Variety is the spice of life. The UAE is not a third world country you know.
It's things like that which turn people off Americans in the first place, is the unwillingness to integrate and try new things, like America is the greatest place on earth to live - news flash - it's not.
SGMD1
Did you even
read my post chocoholic? Where did I imply that the UAE was a third world country, or that I was unwilling to integrate and try new things? If you took the time to actually read what I had written, you would realize we actually agree for the most part. I want variety and I want to experience something different. But that doesn't mean one should abandon their heritage (and I consider mine to be American, as I was born here) and I'd still want to celebrate American holidays and watch American sports from time to time with other Americans...hence my curiosity about American bars.
Lighten up :!:
MaaaD
SMGD .. its just choco .. you will get used to it eventually :D
the_zooter
I see both of your points guys and gals.
From my part, half the fun of wanting to move to Dubai is to try new things and have a new and different lifestyle, that's just not possible where I am. But sometimes I'll want things to remind me of home. There will be things I miss, like some TV programs, I'll miss the cricket too! There are some things I don't ever really want to forget or not celebrate about being British (equally there are some things that are the reason for me wanting to move!! :lol:)
Concord
I'll give you a dollar for every american you can find at the fast food places in Dubai, in the next 24 hours. I bet, again that 99% are non-american.
Chocoholic
Thanks a bunch maaad. American heritage - oh please that's a good one! Mate I used to live in Plymouth - the Mayflower steps where your Pilgrim fathers left from is your heritage.
I'm being sarcastic!
Well obviously you can see all the sports and stuff, but I wouldn't say there's any American bars, more British, Irish, Lebanese and Aussie. But many show all the big sporting events, but all the satelite networks have sports channels.
I'd have to say the tv networks are dominated by American shows, which personally is a shame as there's so many better things out there, I just find it all cras, very few shows I like.
Sadly I just find many Americans too arrogant.
thorntonashley
You must like prison break chocs! its a fantastic program, well produced and gripping. Id suggest that you check it out.
Welcome back anyway.....good trip?.....i see your refreshed and back in the spirit of things! lol
regards..