Perceptions of Dubai are by far more short-sighted than you think. Dubai is a city of distinct transition—is the grass greener on the other side?
It still seems like a blur my time spent in the Middle East, it was circa 2010-2012. For the later part, I constantly fell in and out of love with this one-dimensional city that laboured artificial trees, tall buildings and skyscrapers, unfinished structures, and artificial islands, driven by tourism, aviation, real estate, all things I would sneer at, the diabolical RTA taxi system. Traffic on the Sheik Sayed road, and then on the brighter side; beautiful sunset, sand, sea hidden gems, the ‘old’ Dubai, a relatively reliable metro railway, crazy cheap petrol costs.
I recall staring out the plane window when I was younger and looking over a baron city in development. The airport exuded luxury and grandeur that was fit for a queen. A 99% populated Islamic country, a religion I knew nothing about at the time. It was the last place on my Wishlist of countries to visit, let alone working and living.
Because of the nature of my job, I got to know Dubai pretty well the hidden spots and witness the country’s natural beauty, plenty exploring. My experiences were a mixture of memorable and nostalgic memories balanced with homesick days.
I spent two memorable birthdays in the UAE, one being a significant one, I found this sandpit with no postcodes, lacking in personality, no real identity, and soulless. There is more than meets the eye, so much to explore and go and see, I believe each state in the Middle-east are still in transition with growing and expanding.
I loved the feeling of mystery and being introduced to new surroundings. There was something I liked in the Middle- Eastern air but could never pinpoint what —finding myself hating the city one day and then falling in love with it the next. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the streets and the beautiful flower-printed garbage bins trailing some of Dubai’s streets. I had no feelings of claustrophobia as if I could breathe volumes this highly energetic air, like entering the world after an apocalypse; new, fresh, exciting words sprang to mind. I found luxuries in everything.
I checked off all the “touristy” activities in our first week with the company of good friends. We did it, and there was a hell of a lot of sunbathing, playing charades at the beach, and a humongous amount of giggling and banter —thank you to the Entertainer book, a bible of discounted vouchers. We got the best of buying one-get-one-free discounted vouchers, enriched discovering every corner of this spectacular city. I cooked my signature marmalade duck and red cabbage for my friends – back that when I had the culinary motivation.
And one of my favourite things to do is brunch. It is a severe culinary and social institution to begin the weekend and an expat’s dream weekend. Brunches took place at several 5-star hotels, and we indulged in a feast of different cuisines. This was the ‘not yet a parent’ era, a great excuse to get piddled before lunch with food and free drinks galore on a Friday (Dubai’s Saturday for us). A brunch was tailored to everyone’s needs, and many fun times were ahead.
The commercially expected must-do is the desert safari, camping in the Middle of the desert, next to Snoopy Island road trips. My good old visa runs on the Oman road, and the gorgeous landscapes driving through Oman not to mention the unforgettable mountainous views.
Thinking about it now, I realize how adventurous and intimidating it was to drive to the Oman border and pay for a stamp on your passport. It felt like one of those scenarios your parents would tell you ‘NOT TO DO’, but you did it anyway.
Remember the infamous nightlife you get enthralled in? I can’t forget some crazy house parties in villas on the palm. I had a ball on my first few visits to Dubai—some of my best memories were made in Dubai.
Cheekily, before booking my next ‘holiday’ to Dubai, I scowled the internet for jobs and was fortunate to land a telephone interview, which led to me meeting a potential employer – I made my luck, which is my mantra nowadays. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel ready; my intuition told me it wasn’t the right time to jump. Also, I had another opportunity waiting for me back home in London, so I wanted to give it another go.
I decided to ponder the idea of moving halfway across the world on a whim – a year later, returning to London. I couldn’t stop thinking about Dubai; the Skype calls of encouragement from my friends enticed me even more. Tax-free, sun, sea. 2010, I still hadn’t made a conscious decision on whether I should make a move and then, to my surprise, I was contacted by another member of the company I went to meet on my last visit with an opportunity I said no to, the position did not match my experience. However, it was nice to know I was approached by word of mouth, which gave me that final nudge to make the jump.
With another visit on the cards for Christmas by this time, I had already resigned from my job months before, and then it just happened as if overnight. I don’t remember much after that apart from my lifestyle had changed overnight.
It all happened super fast. My boyfriend and I had sold our seven-year-old car, and we also had to say goodbye to my boyfriend’s brother, wife, and daughter, who were moving to the Philippines. I took these as all signs, pivotal with many changes at the year’s end.
I remember spending two lovely months relaxing and catching lots of vitamin D before I started work, eating Bu Qatar on a Friday night. Doing more than the above multiplied by ten, and after much anticipation and delegation back-and-forth meetings, I was finally welcomed as a Production Coordinator for a huge International Still production house. The adventures and the next step of my career began.
Every person I met was intrigued their story, why and how brought them to the Middle-East. I went on to co-produce several advertising campaigns, one being the Emirates Hello Tomorrow campaign, working with Adam Taylor, shooting with Todd Selby, collaborating with some of the biggest advertising agencies Impact BBDO Leo Burnett, discovering old and new Dubai, travelling to Abu Dhabi on several occasions, worked over Ramadan and with some very great talented people. I learned a lot and soaked it all in.
My days consisted of 3 a.m. call times and long pre-production meetings. I rarely saw the walls of my rather large apartment and the magnificent view of Dubai’s skyline. Days were long, preparing call sheets late in the evening and sitting at ppm meetings. I recall staying in the office until 4 a.m. and the photocopying machines breaking down after 150 copies of PPM booklets. In a ‘producer’s life’, anything can happen, so I was told the beauty of my job was being able to do things nobody else would have the opportunity to do, like ride roller coaster rides all day as part of a recce. Did it cancel out the not-so-good factors about my job? You can be faced with anything found in random and remote locations.
Although there were 1-2 perks, it wasn’t a glamorous job. You needed 100% stamina and top form; there was no room for fault. A good producer must be a) diplomatic, b) super organized, c) a good communicator, and know how to negotiate; having to think on your feet and solve problems on the spot, spreadsheets became my best friend. Belonging to an umbrella of companies, the office wasn’t your conventional but a crazy one, making it an all-so-good workplace. I was also responsible for representing and managing some great illustrators, Hatty Pedder and Sasaan, to name a few; I gained so much inspiration from being given an Illustrators Agent role besides working on Still production.
To my amazement, Dubai has just started a new art scene, and I learned there is a slow demand for illustration and CGI within the Middle Eastern market. I attended Dubai’s first glam art party, Al Serkal Avenue, which opened in September last year. They opened doors to several art galleries, the atmosphere was buzzing, and the layout and the vibe reminded me very much of Hoxton Square in London – it felt a little bit like being home. It was a fresh scene, and the Mojo Gallery is a fantastic gallery space exhibiting artists’ work.
Thoroughly enjoying work, meeting new people and working like a dog living off of production-set food, which consisted of dry sandwiches and cold salads, everything was hunky-dory for the first two years, then homesickness began to kick in. I won’t lie; I did cry my eyes out once or twice. It was inevitable; I came to the stage where I wasn’t enjoying myself. It was a million things. I did try to fight it off, but eventually, the novelty did wear off; Dubai’s energy wasn’t clinging to me. I started to feel unfamiliar and stagnant work-wise too. I had a lot of creativity to put forward somewhere; I wasn’t passionate about logistics.
Feeling like an empty vase was how I would describe the feeling, I was finding it hard to relate. I tried to brush it off and embrace the opportunity and my surroundings, but small things began to bother me. I found myself faulting everything about Dubai. I asked myself why I was doing what I was doing and considered every expat’s roller coaster of emotions. It’s easier to say get over it, thanks to work, without giving too much away. Everything followed like a domino effect.
On the other hand, working slowly was less rewarding after a while. Although I loved being on set and loved my peers, I learnt I had too much creativity bursting at the seams., bizarrely this was the time I started experimenting with poems and songwriting; I even started journaling way before it was a ‘thing’. All I did was write in my journals and moleskin diaries – my friends would even tease me and say “what do you write in there” Or tease me with ‘Dear Diary’ teasing.
My role as a Production Assistant became monotonous. I could do the job but couldn’t find the passion for it. I didn’t enjoy the pre-production process and couldn’t deal with models, and my model booker days started to haunt me again – big time. I didn’t like babysitting models; I found it difficult to be upbeat. Through experience, I slowly learnt my strengths and weaknesses and my tolerance levels – you do have to learn to dance to everyone’s music, be gregarious at all times, and be a bit savvy, and it just got all exhausting. I longed to voice my opinion and express some entrepreneurial spirit. This so-called dream job was in other people’s eyes, but it wasn’t for me.
Then there is office politics, in which people don’t talk much about human decency in the office. Recent research has uncovered dark triad characteristics which are commoner among senior authorities than the usual celebrities: psychopath (cold, ruthlessness, callous), Machiavellianism (manipulative game-playing) and narcissism ( me grandiosity), it’s not what you do but the way you do it is what I learnt -anywhere you are going tone there is this factor of how you wise up and develop political attained I don’t tolerate it become this person who deliberately created pretences.
I took some of my mid-twenty years and separated me consciously from what was familiar: friends and family; it acted as my spring tonic and renewed my spirit. Dubai is a bit like Marmite. I lusted after greenery, the simple things that made me happy, places I love eating at and the aura of London as a city. I will always remember my time in a city that never slept, the bright lights of the city, sand storms, the people I connected with, learnt from, and loved, and I will never forget some of the things I saw and got the privilege of doing and people I met.
I’d encourage everyone at one time or another to get out of their comfort zone, step away from the norm, do the cliche ‘soul search’ this is what makes you grow. It has helped me immensely; will I go back one day? A trip to Oman this year is on the cards, would love to see what has changed as our visit to Abu Dhabi last year was a short and sweet one, we didn’t get to be nostalgic.
The job that helped me massively in more ways than one, utilizing what I was good at, made me who I am to date – my spring tonic.