Quote:
Originally Posted by AuburnAL
Dubai
Abu Dhabi
Doha
^Those are the places to be in the Middle East.
You hear the names of two cities in the Middle East. Mecca for religious reasons, and Dubai for worldly ones. Dubai is to the Middle East what New York was to the US in the early 20th century or what London was to the world in the late 19th century. It is the place where people know things are happening. If you are from a Middle Eastern country, and you want to be where the action is you go to Dubai. If you are from a Middle Eastern country and want education, work experience, or any other career oriented item equal to what can be gained in the West without leaving the Middle East you go to Dubai.
However, Abu Dhabi flies under the radar. They bailed Dubai out when they got behind on debt payments, and the thing is despite it being a ridiculous amount of money it really wasn't all that much to Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE and a world class city in its own right, but it lets Dubai get all the press because it doesn't need it.
Doha is really the new kid on the block. They are up and coming, but they aren't as flashy as Dubai. This is partly because they are mostly about business and are not as interested in attracting tourists as Dubai is. I think with the World Cup in a few years and hopes of hosting the Olympics in the near future they are really poised to challenge Dubai in the 2020s.
Keep an eye on the UAE in the future too as the other emirates besides Abu Dhabi and Dubai are just starting to open up to foreign business in similar manners. They are doing what Hong Kong did only better because they have even less taxation and regulation on business with a few exceptions.
|
Great post! I'd love to see that part of the world, and Dubai seems like a great base. I also saw they have a budget airline, flydubai.com, which makes a great hub for the entire region to explore as well.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
