I am in the UAE and planning to move to canada ultimately, hopefully soon. You know what the difference is between Dubai and Canada? There is money here, and less there, on an average, but we, the expats, are all 2nd or 3rd class citizens here, even to each other, because we dont even treat each other with much respect. That is because we all know that as expats, we dont have ANY rights here AT ALL. If ever you have a difference of opinion with a LOCAL guy (something unheard of!) you can expect to be out of this country in less than 24 hours. You may not be even paid what is due to you.So, all the discos and the BMWs and the glitter is just on the surface. The insecurity surely creates psychological problems. People have been living here for decades in this uncertainty, and even brought up children to adulthood. It would be interesting to hear thier experiences. Surely, these would not be normal well adjusted human beings with any dignity and self respect. Money,though important, is really not everything...........

Funny thing you guys should mention Spain and Guvernment. I am in Toronto this weekend. Came down actually to Glen Abbey to see Vijay Singh tee off. He’s done a poor showing so far. Anyway on Saturday some friends and I went to a Spanish restaurant to see a flamenco show on College street and to eat calamari(? – we just call it squid in Goa) and paella( never had this before but the seafood in it was lovely) and drink wine and margaritas. Then we went to Mel Lastman Square to some Latin American festival to salsa and lambada and then went to Guvernment and did not get home till early this morning. Can’t do this stuff in Waterloo, much less in Dubai.
BTW Bambai ka babu- I have a Sindhi friend in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and he tells me the partying is solid there. He has been eating my head to go there since 2000. I think I might go there this winter. Is it worth it? You seem to have gone there and speak highly of the partying scene. Somewhere I read you said there are nude beaches there? Like in some parts of Goa? And are there rave/trance parties like at the Osho ashram and in certain parts of Koegaon park and ABC farms in Pune?
Dubai hater

Hi all Dubai Walas.

Its after long time i have come on CD but to see topic on Dubai i guess i missed some fun here.

The debate going in this thread is very close to delimma faced by every dubaiite. There is no clear answer which place is better. I left dubai in April 2004 and i have been there for last 15 years. Its true dubai wasn't fun till 95 but i think things after that started to change a lot.

I would say Dubai is city of Gold but average life of a common working class person is a life of insecurity and uncertainity. Definately you will find lot of success stories in dubai as compared to toronto. I would say its best place to make money as of now. As someone mentioned that the bubble might burst anytime and I would endorse such comments as i believe too that there are chances that it might just burst. Someone also mentioned that we could buy houses in dubai now a days. I wonder what is the guarantee that you will be allowed to stay in dubai even if you have property.

I have been to bars in dubai visited places like cyclone, imperial, cabcabana etc I personally dont think many of them really offer good clubbing. If clubbing do really happen it happens in joints which are western. All the other places are bars or place to pick up some chick from russia or chinese and more recently arab labanese. You have a choice but of prosititues. There are other good things to miss like apna food and india being approachable.

Bottom line both places have their best and someone who has lived in dubai will definately miss it cause dubai is very flashy. You can see the place has money but here in toronto its not the case. Every thing here is very competitive. Nothing is very straight forward. Here in canada i have landed up at least couple of times in wrong deals as i was mislead but such things never were a problem in dubai. Even a person who doesn't know how to read and write will get fair deal in dubai. There is some honesty in dubai but here in canada every body is ready to rip you. I think i have got into mordern india.

I still miss Dubai.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Manjeet Singh

Vijay Singh finally beat Weir! Hooray!
Dubai hater

I live in USA but applied for canadian PR and now waiting desperately.

Worked in Dubai intialy at Sheikh Ziyad Road and then moved to Dubai internet city(for some reason i will hold secret about my company name), lived in Karama.
Now i realize about the content of my life and feel i realy lived lavish life out there.

Anyway the reason for this post is to share how happily i was ......

Most of the time...

I try to attend my Fajr prayer in mosque and from there i walk around 10-15 mints to come to Karanchi Restaurant and enjoy heavy breakfast(like Paya..)

I go to office by 7.30-8 a.m. ....
missing money and my bachelor life in Dubai :-(

Well for those whom are wondering what Dubai is like now. I was there this past August.

Toronto nightlife is definitely better. We have more variety of clubs, lounges, pubs and bars here. We have more people that actually go out here and more mix of ethnic diversity. In Dubai, you'll hardly see Indians girls goin out (at least to the disco's) and unfortunately the ones whom do are very often confused as prostitutes and many cases, get harassed by ignorant men whom make those assumptions. Here in Canada, there's probably just as many indian girls partyin it up at the disco's as there are guys and prostitution in the disco's is very rare.

Our no-smoking policy does suck, but it isn't strictly enforced. I was at Pearl lounge on Sat night, and my friends freely lighted their DuMauriers, and noone at the club complained. So I guess, it's one of those laws that are on paper but seldomly enforced.

Someone mentioned that people live there insecurely, you're right. People do seem to live there very insecurely -- particularly the expats. I had met a friend of mine in Dubai, whom was a visa student in Canada and now had to go back to Dubai because his visa expired. We were having coffee at the Starbucks in Deira City Centre, and the topic of politics came up and I inquired about UAE politics. He was very nervous to discuss politics, and even suggested we change the topic. I asked him what the problem was, and he told me that people here are too sensitive about issues such as those and that it is actually a danger to an expat to discuss these topics, as it jeapordizes their residence in UAE. I was quite surprised by that and also turned off by the fact that we must carefully censor our ideas and thoughts before we voice them in public.

In Canada, you can discuss whatever he hell you want and don't have to worry about anything, the worst you'd get here are someone whom simply does not agree with you, or a few ugly stares max.

As for owning property. The old law was changed in 2002. You can buy property in Dubai now. According to what I've read when I was over there. A person can own property under a single name for a maximum of 99 years.

Also, expats from India, Pakistan and Iran, seem to have a 2nd/3rd-class status in Dubai, whereas Western expats (even those whom are of indian/pakistani/persian origin) in Dubai are living much better, however in public life, if they are not flashing any expensive clothes, jewellery or cars, they too will also be treated as 3rd class citizens.

In Canada, it doesn't matter what colour, race and creed you're from. If you maintain a respectable appearance, professional and social etiquette you'll have no problem getting along with people of different cultures, faiths and races.

Indians in general have alot of respect in Canadian community, especially because they're known to have the lowest crime-rate, open and welcoming culture and hospitality, least use of government assistance and welfare, and they're notoriously known for owning very large homes and property.

I am leaving this country on 24th of this month after 8 yrs of expat life. Will be landing Canada by the end of August.

mujhe chalate jhaanaa hai – bas- chalathe jhaanaa….
ek raah rukh gayi, to aur ju gayi
main mu dhaa tho saat saat, raah mudh gayi
havaa ke paro an pe, meraa ashiyaanaa
musaafir...
din ne haath thaam ke, idhar bi taa liyaa
raat ne ishaare se, udhar bhulaa liyaa
subah se shyam se meraa, dosthaanaa
musaafir...
(Lyrics -Hashmat)