She Moved to Dubai Last Month, Got a Pay Raise — and Has No Regrets

This as-told-to essay is predicated on a dialog with Renee O’Drobinak, director of selling and communications at PMKConsult, a building and venture administration consulting agency primarily based in Dubai. Her phrases have been edited for size and readability.

I’ve been in Dubai for a few month, and my husband and I are actually having fun with town — however the transfer from London could not have been extra dramatic.

We flew Emirates and landed in a thunderstorm with heavy turbulence. I even noticed lightning strike one wing. Inside two hours of touchdown, we received our first missile alert on our telephones at round 2 or 3 a.m.

Exterior the airport, the roads had been flooded. Dozens of individuals had been ready for taxis, and it took us about 4 hours to succeed in our Airbnb.

I used to be terrified. I checked out my husband and thought, “What have I dragged us into by accepting this job?”

Settling into our new life

The primary week of our life in Dubai was fairly disconcerting. We had been woken up early, round 3 a.m., by missile alerts, however aside from that, we felt secure.

Today, Dubai is far quieter than once I visited final 12 months in November. Understandably, there are actually fewer individuals within the metropolis, however they’re getting on with their lives. There appears to be a concentrated effort to make every little thing seem like enterprise as standard.

However hospitality is battling decrease footfall. You discover that whenever you go to a restaurant, there are a number of open seats, however we do not really feel as if we’re in any explicit hazard.

We received used to the alerts pretty shortly.

Our first few weeks in Dubai

Apart from the quiet begin, site visitors has picked up as people who left Dubai are returning. Within the final week, life feels largely regular — only a bit subdued.

I began understanding inside 5 days of arriving, which has helped.

I grew up in Tokyo — my father is American, and my mom is Japanese — and moved to the UK for college. I ended up staying for 23 years and married a British man.

In London, I used to be head of communications at an architectural follow. I preferred my job and wasn’t planning to depart, however a few 12 months in the past, an opportunity in Dubai got here up.

After a couple of visits, I used to be drawn to the individuals and the position greater than town itself. My husband, an architect, and I weren’t trying to leave the UK, however we had been open to the proper alternative.

I accepted the job in November 2025 and gave three months’ discover. Then, about 4 weeks earlier than my transfer, the war started. It was scary — individuals stored asking if I’d pull out.

What satisfied me to go anyway was how my future boss dealt with it. He acknowledged the state of affairs however reassured me that the authorities had been managing it nicely and that my security was a precedence.

HR additionally stated I might begin remotely from the UK if wanted. It made the choice really feel a lot simpler, and I selected to maneuver ahead regardless of the uncertainty.

Life right here could be very totally different

Again in London, my husband and I owned a small one-bedroom flat in southeast London, and I commuted to Marylebone three to 4 days every week.

My job concerned a number of journey, and I might typically go to the health club after work, getting residence round 9 p.m. We might eat shortly and go to mattress. On Sundays, we batch-cooked for the week as a result of consuming out in Marylebone was so costly.

Each day, I carried my lunch, health club gear, and laptop computer in an enormous bag. We weren’t poor, however the price of dwelling in London was extremely excessive.

Over six years, I rose to the place of head of selling and communications. Even with the upper wage, our life-style did not actually change.

We stayed in the identical flat, packed lunches, and handled the identical commute. I felt financially stagnant — not due to my employer, however as a result of every little thing in London had gotten so costly.

A better lifestyle

Life in Dubai feels a lot simpler. My wage is about 45% increased than in London, and I hire a two-bedroom condo close to a significant practice station within the Dubai Marina area.

My commute is round half-hour, and there is sunshine practically on daily basis — the grey climate in London actually received to me.

After work, I return to Dubai Marina, the place my husband and I normally go for a stroll. Individuals have a tendency to depart the workplace at 5 p.m., and with the shorter commute, I’ve a lot extra time than I did in London.

There is a health club in our constructing, and I can afford to eat lunch out. I carry a a lot lighter bag and do not convey my laptop computer in all places.

I used to be shocked by how Dubai was portrayed in Western media and by individuals telling me I might hate it or that it was cheesy. I do not discover that in any respect — I take pleasure in it right here.

Regardless of what I might heard about tensions within the area, individuals right here have simply been getting on with life. I’ve actually appreciated that.