tapi walaupun begitu adanya ...
UAE adalah salah satu negara paling di minati oleh para pahlawan devisa kita
...
salam hangat selalu
/Lu2 ( yang kebetulan juga tinggal di dubai )
mediacare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Dipromosikan dengan gencar, Dubai adalah kawasan paling gemerlap dan
paling maju di Timur Tengah. Tapi kenyataannya? Sekilas saya baca, ternyata
lebih enak tinggal di Jakarta dan Bali......:))
The Top 20 Reasons Not to Move to Dubai (in no particular order!)
By Tia O'Neill
Living in Dubai is not wonderful and glamorous, as many would have you
believe. Forget about what you've read, seen, and heard; those shiny
buildings and manmade islands are all just smoke and mirrors. There are so
many things wrong with this place that I have decided to compile a list, a
must read if you are considering a potential move to Dubai.
1. There is no standard address system making mail-to-the door delivery
impossible. In fact, it makes anything nearly impossible. The taxi driver,
here for only two days, and having learned English from old Beatles albums
has no clue where your house is. He won't tell you that of course, he'll
just keep calling and saying, "Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah." When you purchase
something that requires delivery they do not have an address line, but a box
where you are expected to draw a map. Not able to draw a map? Explain like
this: I live on the street after the airport road, but before the
roundabout. Go past the mosque and make a U-turn.
2. The government blocks all web sites that it deems "offensive" to the
"religious, moral, and cultural values" of the UAE. That's hard to swallow
for a freedom loving American, but I get it. I do not understand, however,
why all VOIP access and related web sites are blocked. I guess the
government also takes offense to people inexpensively contacting their
families back home. You're welcome to call using the analog service provided
by the government-owned telephone monopoly, but it will cost you a whole lot
more. So much so, in fact, your frequency of calls will be greatly
diminished if you can afford them at all. The government says VOIP is
blocked for security reasons, yet even the residents of communist China and
North Korea have access to these inexpensive calls.
3. It is really hot outside. Not Florida in July hot; Hot as if you were
locked in a car in Florida in July with sufficient humidity to make it feel
as though you are drowning. Hot as in 120 degrees with nearly 100% humidity.
Do not look to the wind for relief. This is the equivalent of pointing a
hairdryer on full blast directly at your face. Pour fine moon dust-like sand
over your head as you do this and you get the picture.
4. There are too few trees, plants, and grass – or living things aside from
us crazy humans, for that matter. Ever see a bird pant? I have. In my
opinion, human beings were not meant to live in such a place. If we were,
there would be sufficient water and shade. The only greenery around are the
roadside gardens planted by the government, who waters the hell out of them
in the middle of the day. Thanks a lot! Didn't you say we should cut down on
our water consumption because you are unable to keep up with the demand? I
have an idea: let's all move someplace where it's not 120 degrees outside.
5. This country prides itself so much on its glitz and glamour that it put a
picture of its 7-star hotel on the license plate. Yet, the public toilets in
the king-of-bling Gold Souk district are holes in the ground with no toilet
paper or soap. Hoses to rinse your nether regions, however, are provided.
This results in a mass of water on the floor that you must stand in to pee.
Try squatting without touching anything and keeping your pants from touching
anything either. Oh yeah. It's 120 degrees in there too.
6. This country encourages businesses to hire people from other poor
countries to come here and work. They have them sign contracts that are a
decade long and then take their passports. Even though taking passports is
supposedly illegal, the government knows it happens and does nothing to
enforce the law. These poor people are promised a certain pay, but the
companies neglect to tell them they will be deducting their cost of living
from their paychecks, leaving them virtually penniless – that is, if they
choose to pay them. Companies hold back paychecks for months at a time. When
the workers strike as a result, they are jailed. Protesting is illegal, you
see (apparently this law IS enforced).
These people will never make enough to buy a ticket home and even if they
do, they do not have their passports. They live crammed in portables with
tons of others, in highly unsanitary conditions. The kicker: they are
building hotels that cost more to stay in for one night than they will make
in an entire year. Things are so bad that a number of laborers are willing
to throw themselves in front of cars because their death would bring their
family affluence in the form of diya, blood money paid to the victim's
family as mandated by the government.
7. Things are not cheaper here. I'm sick of people saying that. I read the
letters to the editor page of the paper and people say to those who complain
about the cost of living rising here, "Well, it's cheaper than your home
country or you wouldn't be here." The only thing cheaper here is labor. Yes,
you can have a maid - but a bag of washed lettuce will cost you almost $10.
8. There are traffic cameras everywhere. I consider this cheating. Where are
the damn cops? I drove around this city for weeks before I ever even saw a
cop. Trust me, they need traffic cops here. People drive like idiots. It's
perfectly okay to turn left from the far right lane, but speeding even just
a couple of kilometers over will get you fined. These cameras are placed
strategically as you come down hills, or just as the speed limit changes.
Before you know it BAM! Fined. Forget to pay the bill and your car will be
impounded..
9. The clothing some of these women wear makes no sense to me. I understand
that as part of your religion you are required to dress in a particular way,
but a black robe over your jeans and turtleneck and cover your head when it
is 120 degrees outside? In the gym some women wear five layers of
clothing-sweatpants and t-shits over sweaters with headscarves. Yet the
men's clothing makes absolute sense: white, airy, and nothing underneath but
their skivvies.
10. People stare at you. I am sick of being stared at. I'm stared at by men
who have never seen a fair-skinned blue-eyed woman before, or who have and
think we are all prostitutes so it's okay to stare. They stare at me when I
am fully covered or with my husband, and even follow me around. It's beyond
creepy and has brought me to tears on more than one occasion. The staring is
not limited to men, either. I'm stared at angrily by female prostitutes who
think I am running in on their territory by having a few drinks with my
husband at the bar.
11. Prostitutes? Oh hell yes, there are prostitutes. Tons of them. So, let
me get this straight, I can't look at a naked picture of a person on the
Internet in the privacy of my home, but it is okay to go out in public and
buy a few for the night?
12. Alcohol can only be sold in hotels and a handful of private clubs. A
person must own a liquor license to consume in the privacy of their own
home. To obtain a liquor license you must get signed approval from your
boss, prove a certain level of salary that determines how much you are
allowed to buy, and then submit several mug shots (aka passport photos) for
approval. Pay the fee and the additional 30% tax on every purchase and you
may drink at home. Then again, you can just pick up a few bottles in the
airport duty free on your way in to the country, but two is the max. Why not
just drive out to Ajman where it's a free-for-all and load up the SUV? It's
easy enough, but crossing the Emirates with alcohol is illegal -
particularly in the dry emirate of Sharjah, which just happens to lie
between Dubai and Ajman. Go figure.
13. Not only do you have to get your boss's approval to obtain a liquor
license, but you must also get the company's approval to rent property, have
a telephone, or get satellite TV.
14. Back to the craziness on the roads: If I see one more kid standing up
and waving to me out the back window while flying down the road at 160
kph whatever happened to seatbelts?
15. When is the weekend again? Let me get this straight: the weekend used to
be Thursday and Friday, but no one took off all of Thursday, just a half day
really. Now the government says Friday and Saturday are the weekend, but
some people only take off Friday, others still take a half day on Thursday,
but some might just take a half day on Saturday instead. Anyway you slice
it, Sundays are workdays and little business can be accomplished Thursday
through Saturday.
16. There are few satellite television operators:. The movie channels play
movies that are old and outdated. Many of them went straight to video back
in the States. Every sitcom that failed in the US has been purchased and is
played here. Old episodes of Knight Rider are advertised like it is the
coolest thing since sliced bread. The TV commercials are repeated so often
that I am determined NOT to buy anything I see advertised on television here
just for thee principle of it. When I say repeated often, I mean every
commercial break - sometimes more than once.
17. The roads are horribly designed. Driving ten minutes out of the way to
make a U-turn is not uncommon. People are not able to give directions most
of the time (remember reason #1), and the maps are little help because most
have few road names on them, if any. Where is interchange four? You just
have to hope you got on the freeway in the right place and start counting
because they are not numbered. Miss it and you'll likely end up on the other
side of town before you are able to turn around and go back.
18. Taxi drivers are dangerous and smell. Taxi drivers work very hard here
to earn a living because travel by taxi is still relatively inexpensive,
even though the cost of living is not (see reason #7). Because of this you
may have a driver who has had little sleep or the opportunity to shower for
several days. Many of these drivers have just as much difficulty finding
their way around as you do, but add to this a third-world country driving
style and extreme exhaustion and, well, remember to buckle up for safety.
19. Speeding is an Emirati sport and Emirates Road is just an extension of
the Dubai Autodrome. I know I keep mentioning the roads, but really, much of
this city's issues are encompassed by the erratic and irrational behavior
displayed on its streets. Visions of flashing lights on even flashier,
limo-tinted SUVs haunt me as I merge on to the highway. Local nationals are
somehow able to get the sun-protecting dark window tint denied to us lowly
expats and use it to hide their faces as they tailgate you incessantly at
unbelievably high speeds, their lights flickering on and off and horn
blaring repeatedly. It doesn't matter that you can't get over, or if doing
so would be particularly dangerous, they will run you off the road to get in
front of you. Don't even think about giving someone the finger; the offense
could land you in jail. Tailgating is, unbelievably, legal.
20. Dubai is far from environmentally friendly. Ever wonder how much damage
those manmade islands are doing to the delicate ocean ecosystem? Coral
reefs, sea grasses, and oyster beds that were once part of protected marine
lands lie choked under a barrage of dredged up sea sand. Consider the waste
that occurs from erecting buildings on top of these sand monsters and from
the people that occupy them coupled with the lack of an effective recycling
program and you have an environmental disaster on your hands. Add to this
more gas guzzling SUVs than fuel-efficient cars on the road and the need for
24-hour powerful air-conditioning and its evident that the environment is
not high on the priority list of the UAE.
So while I'm sure there are benefits to living in Dubai, tax breaks,
multi-cultural environments, and beautiful buildings aside, reconsider your
plans to move here if any of the above mentioned reasons strikes a chord
within you. Dubai is a city caught in an identity crisis. Struggling
somewhere between its desire to be a playground for the rich and its
adherence to traditional Islamic roots, rests a city that lacks sufficient
infrastructure to support its delusions of grandeur. Visit if you must, but
leave quickly before you are sucked into its calamitous void.
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