The International Schools Review Forum

Please, for those with experience in the UAE, what do you wish you had brought when you moved to Dubai/UAE?

First, I could have planed my wardrobe better for the weather. I had a really nice umbrella I never used. I sweat everywhere, and the local deodorant was not an antiperspirant, and I doubt anything in the world would have been strong enough to help. The solution was really just lots of t-shirts, and constant changes. Cotton is reasonable in coin but its not very breathable, silk and linen are by far more coin but worth it.

Second, learning some Arabic.

Third, more options to entertain myself. Everything worth doing basically costs coin, and not on the cheap side. Setting up a VPN before leaving and making sure it works with streaming. A bigger library of material to watch.

Not necessarily just the ME, but we always bring certain spices or flavors that are hard to get. In the ME, it was impossible to get vanilla flavoring, because apparently it contains alcohol. We always bring chipotle and adobe chilis, etc.

When we worked in Saudi, of course it's crazy HOT, but then in November-December it would feel so cold when the temps hit the 60s. Our first year we didn't have any long sleeves--plus the air con everywhere was wicked cold. We ended up actually wanting pants and long sleeves more than we expected--friends in Qatar h ave said the same thing.

@mamava

Your vanilla extract does contain alcohol, and silly as it seems customs would be well within their authority to confiscate it as alcohol. What you can bring in and can get in the UAE are vanilla beans which you can use to make your extracts or substitute for extract directly.

I would agree on bringing a few long sleeves, nights can be cold too, but many ITs simply arent prepared for the pervasiveness of the heat.

there is at least one big spice market/bazaar in dubai and certainly a couple in abu dhabi. with all the indian nationals there, you don't have to look very far to get anything like that...lots of chilis and spices!

i would second the cooler type of clothing. VPN for sure. i'd buy some 'starter' booze at the duty free if you can manage it, not that it's difficult to get booze.

november - february was my favourite time over there, at least in the early evening on.

best of luck!

v.

I really appreciate the input. VPN, DVDs, Apple ID and clothing sorted. Will stop off in Duty Free. Any thing else?

An exit plan in case you need to pull a runner.

Often thin, loose long sleeved shirts are cooler than tshirts. There is a reason for long, flowing robes.

@Thames Pirate

If there isnt an AC blowing up under those robes Id still need a couple tshirts to keep the robes from being see thru.

You really do enjoy arguing with any comment I make simply because it was me who said it.

There is a reason for robes, and it has to do with heat. Thin long sleeves can often be cooler. Something to consider or at least look into.

::sigh::