South Africans in Dubai

Some of the 50,000 South African expats in Dubai tell Time Out about life in the UAE Discuss this article

1

© ITP Images

View slideshow

• 
• Picture 1 of 2
• 

Eve Stubbs, in her fifties

‘It’s been close to two years since I moved to Dubai. We moved here because of my husband’s job; he’s a civil engineer and is fascinated by the infrastructure of the city. I work at Middlesex University. The UAE is very different from South Africa and it’s a little hard to compare the two at times. I think that both places have their own charm.

‘In Dubai you have this amazing cultural environment. It’s such a cosmopolitan city with people from every corner of the world. There’s always something to do. Luckily, SA is similar on the cosmopolitan front. You have a huge range of people from everywhere to interact with. We experienced no culture shock when coming to Dubai, just a big but pleasant surprise!

‘I’ve been so busy working and spending time with my family, my friends and my students that I haven’t had time to feel homesick! It’s great that I get to mingle with people from SA out here. We love to have braai (barbecue) in the garden. Back home my garden was my soul place, and that’s what it’s becoming out here as well. ‘I think we’ll stay out here until my husband retires – old age should be spent at home, I feel. In the meantime we’re satisfied. The only thing I miss is the bush – you feel incredibly at one with nature out there.’