Life in the Emirates crew buildings, what nobody tells you before you move to Dubai
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#1 Four years in. Things I wish someone had told me:
1. Your flatmates are assigned; some become family, some you never see. Both are fine.
2. The buildings have gyms and pools, and the social side is huge, join something in month one, not month six, or the fourth-month wall hits harder.
3. Groceries and taxis are cheap by European standards; brunches and "just one drink" are not.
4. Dubai summers are brutal; plan leave for July/August.
5. Sleep hygiene in a shared flat with three different rosters takes negotiation. Blackout curtains, earplugs, a written "quiet hours" agreement. -
#2 All true, and the fourth-month wall is very real. The crew who did well had one recurring thing, a class, a team, a volunteer group, that survived the roster.
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#3 Starting in June and this is the most useful post I've read about Dubai. The quiet hours agreement idea is going straight into my first flat.
