My New Life As An Expat: Hello, Dubai!

“THE BREEZE IS SO DAMN HOT”, I smirked at my friend who fetched me while tucking my heavy backpack at the back of his Jeep. It was still early, though, 6:30 pm, when I went outside of the airport. After all this time, there I was, switching time zone. I must have been extremely tired after an exhausting 7-hour flight but my spirit was giving me so much physical energy it’s insane.

Moving to Dubai only proved to me that you are just one decision away from a completely different experience.

It’s hard to ignore these massive infrastructures as we were driving along the 12 mega-lane of Sheikh Zayed road. And flickering in front of my eyes, Burj Khalifa is standing tall at my 10 o’clock for the very first time. My eyes are popping open.

Dubai, my friends, is playing the damn game.

I completely embraced my new life as an expat in the UAE by the first week. This is the life I have now so I might as well start living it, right? I’ll be honest and tell you that I like it here. It’s an awesome choice perhaps Dubai is an international city with 80% of its population is being formed by expatriates. So that only means you can easily make friends from people all over the world.

This city is a huge playground for young people who wants to cultivate in their careers. But in my case, my new life here means adventure. This city is not boring because there’s always something going on and you’ll be super crazed about it: 30 days fitness challenge, free yoga by the beach, free fun runs, fantastic concerts, etc.

I also loved the fact that I am always a few minutes away from open beaches. La Mer, for example, is offering a very nice Santa Monica Pier vibe.

My personal favorite is Jumeira Beach Residence, a wide stretch of beach in Dubai Marina. Love chilling there, to be honest! I’ll go there in the afternoon and have some mango Rani and I won’t complain about my life.

There’s also a place called Al Seef that is built in the shores of Dubai’s historic creek. When I went there with my friend one hot afternoon it was empty. That’s because the temperature was so inviting then if you want to kill yourself being roasted. But I like it there! Felt like I time-traveled back in time during ancient Arabian days where you will see Aladdin just lurking around the streets freely.

I’m lucky to arrive just on time when the weather is switching from summer to winter. Okay, Dubai winter is not really the typical winter whatsoever with snow and all that stuff but the temperature can be so chilly. Thank goodness I brought a hoodie and a jacket.


So right now, I am living in a villa together with my 2 friends and we are with an awesome bunch of Filipino titos and titas that likes to eat. Boy, I swear we are having Pancit Bihon every weekend. I also just recently discovered that I can cook. Only because it’s my task to do it as I am always at home whilst my friends are off to their respective jobs.

You see I have all the free time in the world so I managed to get back into running every afternoon. Good thing there’s a nearby park from our villa that is 5 minutes walk away. I run there every afternoon listening to a motivational playlist I created on Spotify. I also met local kids playing soccer and they were so welcoming to teach me how to!

Most days, I will just have my coffee as I read a book overlooking the lush golden desserts rolling out at a distant. And at night, I will go to my top bunk bed and watch movies, documentaries, and series. Swear to god, sometimes all you need in life is a Harry Potter Marathon.

I don’t know how long I am going to stay here yet. I don’t know what I am going to be while I’m here just yet. I’m still figuring it out.

Lately, I was thinking of going back to university to study again. Graphic Design is what my brain is telling me. So most likely I will just work here, save money for a couple of years and continue traveling to fuck-knows-where. But I also promised my friends in United Kingdom that I will do anything to come over and visit (I love the fact that this country is close to Europe) so the ultimate plan is to save as much money as I can.

I don’t know where I will be going next. Perhaps I will just let the universe tell me which destination. One day soon, I will wake up, pack up everything, go to the airport and I will take it from there.

Living the life,
Marron