The population of Dubai is very diverse with people from all kinds of countries.

I was initially anticipating a city full of Arabs and Sheiks all over the place.

But this wasn’t the case at all.

To be honest I did not read about Dubai as much as I should have before heading out there.

But once I got there I was very surprised at the diversity that I saw. In fact I did not feel like I had left my country. There are people from every corner of the world in Dubai. It is a big melting pot.

My husband knew more about it as he read up on Dubai before heading out there. According to him Dubai has less than 20% local citizens and the rest are made up of tourists like us.

Getting a Dubai visa was not a problem for us at all. But my husband said that depends on the country you are from. The local Dubai laws are very interesting to say the least. They favor some countries and don’t favor others. I guess that is just normal for any country.

My husband asked me if I would consider moving there and to be honest I don’t know the answer. I just did not think of that yet. He said the immigration standards are interesting as most expats come on temporary contracts.

Dubai doesn’t naturalize citizens either. They call the citizens local nationals. So either you are one or you are not. You cannot become one even if you were born there.

Being avid investors I immediately thought that this would impact how we invest in Dubai, particularly investing in property. Dubai has recently allowed foreign property ownership but only in certain areas of Dubai.

It seems like the government is trying to develop these areas with foreign investment money. I guess I will have to think some more and wait before I give him my decision about moving to Dubai.

-Stephanie S.