In recent weeks, I’ve been asked the same questions more than once: Are you safe in Dubai? Are you staying?
When uncertainty touches any region, the instinct for many is to leave first and ask questions later. Flights fill up. Exit plans are made. WhatsApp groups buzz with rumours and worst-case scenarios.
I didn’t move to Dubai as part of some long-held plan. I arrived in 2015 because I was offered a career opportunity I couldn’t turn down. In truth, the city was never on my radar. I’m as pale as a dying Victorian child and tend to thrive in grey skies and cold, miserable weather (preferably with a dash of snow thrown in for decoration). The idea of relentless sunshine felt, at best, deeply unappealing.
Yet, over time, this place has a way of getting under your skin.
The UAE, specifically Dubai, has been good to me. Living and working here shapes you in a way other places don’t. This is my fourth country as an expat, and the cadence and pace of life here are hard to replicate elsewhere. The infrastructure works. The environment is safe. The Emirati community is welcoming in a way that is often understated but consistently felt.
Everyone’s risk tolerance and personal circumstances are different, and there isn’t a single correct response. I don’t have children to consider, and that alone changes the equation. What feels manageable for one person may not be for another, and that deserves understanding, not judgement.
For me, staying isn’t about bravado or denial. It’s about perspective. This is where I’ve built my career, my routine, and my version of family. That doesn’t suddenly disappear the moment the news cycle becomes uncomfortable.
There is also something to be said for not reacting purely out of fear. Resilience isn’t loud. Often, it looks like continuing to show up to work, keeping commitments, supporting local businesses, and contributing to the economy you are part of.
I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done: telling stories and the work that brought me here in the first place. With that in mind, UnfilteredDXB will be resuming interviews and editorial coverage in the coming days, continuing to spotlight the people, places and stories shaping lifestyle in the region.
