The development of Dubai infrastructure began when oil was discovered in 1966, Sheikh Rashid utilized the oil revenue by heavily investing in building roads, schools, hospitals, a modern telecommunication network, and Dubai International airports. The largest man-made harbor in the world was constructed at Jebel Ali.
In 1971 Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and (in 1972) Ras Al Khaimah, joined to create the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dubai quickly became a business and tourism hub due to visionary leadership, high-quality infrastructure, an expatriate-friendly environment, zero tax on personal and corporate income and low import duties.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Dubai took a strategic decision to emerge as a major international-quality tourism destination. The beautiful Burj Al Arab hotel presiding over the coastline of Jumeira beach is the world’s only hotel with a seven-star rating. Dubai is now a city that boasts unmatchable hotels, remarkable architecture and world-class entertainment and sporting events.
That was a bit of a history lesson, so what tends to happen as you live in a place is that you may be quite spirited and continue to check out what is new in your neighborhood, or depending on the hours you work and your responsibilities you may restrict yourself to work, home and visiting your family and friends. The beauty of Dubai is that it is always evolving. There is continuous construction meaning that there is also something new for you to explore. I went for a morning wander around Downtown Business Bay area with my new friend in town, who confesses that she Loves Dubai and there is no place she would rather live.
She asked I met her at Happiness St, this was about 3 minutes walk away from the Business Bay Metro station. It was a great start to the morning. We walked along the Bay Avenue, explore the Opera House, Burj Khalifa Blvd, Souk Al Bahar, Bay Square Downtown and South Ridge. We grabbed some lunch at a vegan-friendly place and continued our walk to Souk Al Manzil and along the canal. The morning walk lasted just over 4 hours. With so much architecture, art to take in along our walk, it was both relaxing and inspiring. Just to think that a few decades back there existed only sand and a port. As I got to explore this area and I got to know more about the people living here. Dubai is always changing not just in the ever-expanding buildings surrounding this place but also in the attitudes of the people living here. I wanted to know more about what it is like to live here so I asked my new friend how Dubai has changed since she was a child? She explained that she always felt safe here like no other place in the world. She has lived outside the UAE. She loves that Dubai is always adapting and that there is always exciting meetups to attend and plenty of ladies night options to get to know new friends and there are a lot of expats here and the weather half the year is very pleasant. Burj Khalifa has a dancing fountain show that takes place from 6 pm – 11 pm every day repeated every half an hour.
Dubai as a society aims to be open and forward-thinking however it is still very young and growing, you need to be mindful of the culture of the locals, be conservative in your dressing and behavior. It is slowly but surely beginning to realize the vision of the forward-thinking nation.