

No, Dubai will probably not become a start-up hub: "The Top 20 Reasons Not to Move to Dubai" - falsestprophet
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/94/art_20_Reasons_Not_Move_to_Dubai.html

======
avinashv
I spent 20 years in Dubai, and when this article came up on other sites months
ago, it urked me how many mistakes there were. I'll address the glaring ones.

1\. No, that's not true. Taxi drivers usually have a <i>great</i> sense of
direction and locations. It takes time to get used to giving directions by
landmarks, but that isn't always necessary. Houses are usually in areas where
it is easy to reference the community, street, house number etc. Apartment
buildings have names, and if you name the location, street and building you're
fine. I've never been "expected to draw a map". Mail delivery to your door is
not impossible.

2\. Got nothing here, unfortunately. Etisalat (the oldest and primary ISP)
does do this, but mine (my parents still live there) does not. I speak to my
parents using Skype, I can play poker online and since the ISP is privatized
(Etisalat is not), they aren't bound to obey the Islamic laws that make
Etisalat filter content through a proxy.

3\. There isn't sand everywhere. It is in a desert, but if you walk around you
won't get covered in sand. It is incredibly hot though, yes. But so is Texas.

4\. First, the author complains that there aren't enough plants. When the
government solves this problem, then it becomes an issue of water consumption.
All water is desalinated, and the government foots the bill. By the way, Dubai
has more greenery than Manhattan.

5\. I don't know where this author went, but of course there is poverty and so
there are going to be poorly maintained toilets. In 20 years in Dubai, I never
had to use anything that wasn't a proper, Western-style toilet. Oh, and Burj
Al-Arab is a 5-star hotel.

6\. There were issues with labor exploitation, and I can't argue that this
isn't a problem. Unless you're working in construction or something along
those lines, this isn't going to affect you. I have never met anybody (neither
has anybody I know) that has had their passport taken from them for a decade.

7\. That is true. Dubai is very expensive. But this isn't a secret:
<http://www.citymayors.com/economics/expensive_cities2.html>

8\. This is just idiocy: break the law and you will be fined. I actually find
the way the city of Dubai manages intersections very well. Everything is
clearly marked out, if you can turn on red then there will be a separate lane
to do so that will actually turn off. Cops are much more ubiquitous than
claimed; "weeks" driving around without seeing one? Bah, maybe in your
driveway.

9\. And now we're insulting people on their religious beliefs? If someone
wants to dress like that, let them. You are under no obligation to do so. In
the summer, I walk around in shorts and sandals. 15% or so of the population
is local, and I guarantee you not everyone dresses like that.

10\. Maybe people stare at her because she is hot. Or extremely ugly. Or
because she is a white girl who for some reason thinks she should be wearing a
full burkha. As I already mentioned, around 15% of are local, so it's not like
they haven't seen a white girl before.

11\. No, it isn't. Prostitutes are illegal. There are also prostitutes in New
York, London, Tokyo, etc. etc.

12\. No. Alcohol can only be sold for on-site consumption at bars and
restaurants in hotels and some clubs. To buy it for yourself at home, you have
to go to government-approved stores (African & Eastern is the company that has
the distribution rights) and buy from them. Yes, it is expensive. Canada does
this in much the same way (government stores that are more expensive than they
would be in, for example, the United States). The liquor license isn't needed
to consume alcohol in your house, it is needed to buy alcohol.

13\. One by one: for rent: I've never heard of this, and I can't attest to
it's accuracy, as my dad owns his own business. For telephones: I think this
is wrong. I have friends who have walked into stores and gotten their own
phones. In fact, there are special cheaper tourist packages that have shorter
expiry dates etc. Satellite? Again, can't speak for sure, but I am going to
say this is wrong, just as I've never heard it.

14\. There is no road where the speed limit is 160 kmph (100 mph) in the
United Arab Emirates. Kids are kids. Kids in Dubai aren't more prone to be
stupid.

15\. "Litte business"? No. Weekends are what they are for religious reasons--
Friday has the religious signifance in Islam that Sunday does in Christianity.

16\. Dubai has MBC2, which was, at conception, the world's only free-to-air
movie channel. I've watched lots of big-name movies on there. As with all
other channels. Television is syndicated late for the most part because
American networks don't feel that the UAE is a market worth giving premiers
to. As for commercials...come on. If a show is 42 minutes long and is put in
an hour slot, the time has to come from somewhere. Commercials repeat
regularly--this isn't a problem only with Dubai--because companies bought two
slots. That's it.

17\. This is because the author is unfamiliar. I've mentioned what I think
about the roads already.

18\. Are we back on taxi drivers again? There is some definite racism by a
white person here against people who are normally from in and around India.

19\. Speeding is a major problem, yes. I'll be the first to say that I won't
be surprised if Sheikh Zayed Road has the highest per-capita death rate on the
planet of any single road. 30% tinting is allowed to anyone, local women can
get much higher because they can take off their burkhas in the car to drive
with unhindered vision but with the security that their face won't be seen by
a man that isn't their husband.

20\. Touché.

There's about 50 words of <i>real</i> complaint spread into 20 link bait
points. Hilariously enough, the author mentions "tax breaks, multi-cultural
environments, and beautiful buildings" which to me, are incredible. There are
few countries, nay, cities, in the Middle East that are as welcoming and
appealing to expatriates. They should take her visa away.

~~~
jamescoops
>>6\. There were issues with labor exploitation, and I can't argue that this
isn't a problem. Unless you're working in construction or something along
those lines, this isn't going to affect you. I have never met anybody (neither
has anybody I know) that has had their passport taken from them for a decade.

Well hey unless you hang out with penniless migrant workers you're not likely
to hear of it are you?!

------
daniel-cussen
The ad at the end was a little off.

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world’s most secure destinations, but is not Singapore. It has opulent city
hotels and superb beachside resorts but it is not Bali. It has world class
shopping, but is not Hong Kong.This is the Insiders Guide to Dubai, city of
merchants, cultural crossroads, and surprises. A Scientific Approach - Your
goal is to move to Dubai, to find a excellent employment there, to purchase
real estate and take advantage of the booming market. How do you accomplish
your dream? As in any pursuit, determination helps, but it takes more than
determination to relocate to Dubai. It takes facts. Anyone can thrive in
Dubai, the now and future playground of the rich and famous, after getting The
Insiders Guide to Living in Dubai, UAE.</quote>

------
fiaz
I find it interesting that there is no mention of the Dubai "Free Zones"

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_economic_zone#United_Arab_...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_economic_zone#United_Arab_Emirates)

Most notably:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_Internet_City>

I will always maintain that because of the internet, it should have very
little impact where you are physically, unless you absolutely have to network
with people like pg in person. In this case, the only place to be is on an
airplane jetting between locations chasing after such important people because
they are not always in one place (but most likely all are somehow connected to
San Fran).

~~~
falsestprophet
I did not know about the free zones. They are really interesting. Thanks for
sharing that.

However attractive they are, the cost of flying a team out to Dubai probably
equals the cost of the average web application beta.

------
mynameishere
I can't conceive of a single reason to move to Dubai. I would seriously rather
live in a shanty in the middle of Appalachia.

------
rapind
This is an advertisement for her ebook (insider's guide thingy). Trying to
establish herself as an expert. Marketing huey. Annoys me that I'm voting
simple by commenting.

------
jdavid
crazy awesome response post.

i do however think that if dubai wanted to fix anything on the list, it would
happen with dictators speed.

~~~
Tichy
Thing is, it sounds like the classic dictator problems: bureaucrats try to
solve problems of complex systems top down (like traffic, urban development),
which is just not possible. So I doubt a dictator would come up with a good
solution.

~~~
delackner
Despite the old saying that the trains always run on time, just about
everything else seems to go to hell.

Note Singapore is one of the few modern examples I can think of of a
dictatorship that turned out pretty well. Of course the plain-clothes police
everywhere probably have something to do with why in two solid days of
counting I never saw a single person laugh or grin. I didn't even notice that
it had been happening until crossing over to Kuala Lumpur I was struck by
seeing laughing and smiling people.

------
domnit
Thanks for the reply, avinashv--I almost took the article at face value. I
should know by now to be wary of "Top n Xs" articles. Good to have both sides,
anyhow.

George Saunders has a great study of Dubai in his essay collection, the
Braindead Megaphone. He mostly focuses on the exaggerated class division
between guest workers and the rich natives. The book is worth picking up for
the other essays, too, but certainly if you're interested in an intelligent
Western perspective on Dubai. He was there as a tourist and journalist, not a
resident, though.

------
jamescoops
here's another reason
[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/arti...](http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3395661.ece)

you can get four years for 0.05 of a g of cannabis

------
r7000
Martin Newland is "starting up" a new well-financed (naturally) English-
language newspaper in the Emirates
(<http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/dec/23/1>).

Web-startups probably don't mop enough cash fast enough to be interesting yet.
??

------
jawngee
No weed. No move.

~~~
avinashv
There's weed everywhere. Here, too.

