Dubai

Went to Dubai 3 times and spent over 3 weeks to get a better taste of the city (Feb/march). It is an amazing city with lots of young people and offers unique city views and experiences. Watersports, night sky pools, great choice of fine dining and always with great service. Everything is new and clean, at least where I've been. It is somewhat expensive for southern Europeans, but we don't have these kind of places around in Europe.
Asking some locals, seems like the major issues are heat in summer and traffic.

I loved Dubai, and if you love beauty and structure, you will too. I was there in February, and the weather was perfect, about 28 degrees celsius. You need a cab to get around, the city is not walkable at all. It's also huge, you'd need to walk probably 5h from Dubai Marina to the Burj Khalifa. I used Uber, but Careem is also fine.

There's free Wifi almost everywhere, but you often need to enter phone number, email and name. In general you get checked a lot, it feels like they always know where you are currently.

The community is great, there's a lot to do and if you have a lot of money, you can get to so many beautiful places!

I visited Dubai a few times, last time I stayed 2 months. The first month I felt it was the perfect city, brought out a fun and driven side of me, very glamorous and creative spots for dining and going out. By second month, I felt the city was too fake and lacked a soul. So for me, it's a place to visit but not to live in.

I liked Dubai a lot! It's definitely an indoor lifestyle especially in the summer when it's 45'C outside. But that's very similar to Bangkok which is also an indoor lifestyle in my opinion. Generally airconditioning everywhere is great, except in the older pre-2010 buildings/malls.

It's super modern, super international. You'll be in having lunch in a cafe and next to you is a table of Africans, the next table is Asians, the next table is white (often Russians). You don't actually see Europeans so much here. Also when I was in Dubai I started getting messages from all my European friends "ohh Dubai is so horrible! so fake! so soulless" which just astonished me.

I get that there's problems like the labor exploitation, but it feels like the Dubai government is working actively to fix that. It feels a lot like Singapore where the government is trying to improve the lives of everyone in a methodical way which seems to work.

If you like indoor aircon lifestyle, going to nice malls, cafes and restaurants and having great international food. As well as great gyms. And you have money to spend (you don't even need a lot but okay). You'll definitely like Dubai.

If you are an outdoor person that values democracy, is more lefty in politics, don't have much money. You'll definitely not like Dubai.

Lived here for over a year, but I only recommend short visits. Contrary to what you hear, there is plenty of crime in parts of Dubai. Talking about that crime is considered taboo and, in many cases, is illegal. Sexual assault and gang violence against expats took place just outside my building, to people who lived in my building.

I went to the police station a few times, but the issue was never handled and no arrests were ever made. I have videos of (unspecified) crimes taking place here, but there is no free speech in the UAE, and I was threatened by the police if I ever shared them online.

Unless you make at least US$150k a year and live in an upscale area, you are unlikely to be comfortable.

I liked Dubai. Rents can be decent and offer a lot more compared to Western Countries, spend $1,600 on a Studio for 3 weeks, much better than many developed Western Countries. WiFI speeds are consistent and reliable. Nightlife is amazing but easily the biggest money pit as many places even a bottle of beer goes up to 20 USD. Not a bad place to use as a staging ground to explore the region or take advantage of the well connected airport. Very multi cultural place as well. Just wish the food offerings were more robust than sit down Lebanese/Turkish places and western fast food joints.

People either hate this place or love it. I am more on the hating side. Feels fake af, overpriced. The city is either a business downtown, either an outdated fancy chick area, either a slump. And don't get me started on human rights here.
I'd visit it for a week or two just as a tourist, but definitely not live here for longer.

Dubai is good if you’ve figured out a way to pay 0 income tax and live in 2 places (away doing vacations during the summer) - bonus if you don’t spend money on alcohol.

Nightlife is amazing, especially if you’re a woman. Free unlimited drinks for ladies, open bar, no catch, in two clubs in Media One Tower on Thursday. There is no place in the world that offers this. My female friends love Dubai because of these types of deals lol.

The easiest way to waste money here is by buying drinks. Search for “cruise liquor bags” on Amazon, and buy alcohol in bulk and sneak it in. No one body-checks here because it’s very safe with no crime.

You live in the city, but super close to a beach. It’s still pretty cheap if you compare similar places like Miami.

Great home base to travel from and set up your life. Convenience of flights and 0% income tax. I would recommend this for a part time digital nomad that is looking for a base of operations. Also, tons of other contacts you can make who also love traveling and have disposable income.

So/so. Is not a bad place to live. Standard of living is really high, apartments are amazing as well. There is basically any kind of cuisine you can think of. Great (and expensive) nightlife. 0% taxes is great if you are willing to go through the hoops.

Cons: Is oppressively hot during summer. You need a car to get around or spend absurd amounts monthly on taxis. It might get really expensive but you can definitely save by buying smart. I would be back as a tourist but not for remote working on the short term.

The architecture is the most stunning thing of this place, it feels like the 22nd century. It's as cosmopolitan as a place like New York but more with people from the other side of the world. Great alternatives for getting coffee and food. Nightlife is expensive but it's good.

I was in Dubai for 1 week, It's the best place for doing business and modern lifestyle, You can see an impressive infrastructure and what the mankind can build.

I was in Dubai briefly. It's not the cheapest location, but it can be very cheap if you're in Old Dubai, which is the traditional part. The supermodern parts are more expensive and also fairly unwalkable, whereas the old part is quite walkable and like a real city. It's not my favorite city and the gender ratio is quite weird with statistics showing about 3 men to 1 woman. It's good for vacation more so than nomading in my opinion