Monocle
A City Special
Live and work in Dubai
Monocle
A City Special
Tue 29 June 2021
Dubai has achieved extraordinary and rapid growth and is now wowing the world with much more than the beach life and bling that hit the global headlines. We meet the movers, shakers, doers and makers who are redefining the city and giving it cultural clout.
Monocle
A City Special
Dubai has achieved extraordinary and rapid growth and is now wowing the world with much more than the beach life and bling that hit the global headlines. We meet the movers, shakers, doers and makers who are redefining the city and giving it cultural clout.
You might think you know Dubai, even if you haven’t been. But while some of the preconceptions hold true – skyscrapers and year-round sun abound – there is even more on offer in the city, across all sectors, as a new wave of locals and expats populate the emirate with cultural institutions, businesses, design icons and hospitality and retail concepts that boom.
Dubai was once regarded as a city of opportunities for those willing to uproot for a few years to make an easy tax-free living before cashing in and returning to where they came from. Dubai has changed. It is still a land for prospectors but there are abundant opportunities for a nuanced quality of life that attracts a more discerning émigré.
Although the earliest written record of Dubai dates back to the 11th century, modern Dubai was founded as a fishing village in the early 1800s. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the city grew, from oil and trading revenues. Today less than 1 per cent of Dubai’s current GDP is derived from oil. Its wealth now comes from banking, financial services, property, trade, aviation and innovation. Dubai combines more tax treaties than Switzerland, Singapore and Lichtenstein, with a best-in-class regulatory and judicial framework. A beacon for women’s rights in the region, Dubai has no restrictions on work, driving or dress codes. Add to this its reputation as one of the world’s safest cities and Dubai’s global approach drives a positive brand of ambition on which the city continues to grow.
Browse all you need to know about this Gulf metropolis from the inside-out, from how it’s done to where to go and what to see. Or download the full guide below.
This guide was created in collaboration between Dubai Corporation of Tourism & Commerce Marketing with Monocle Magazine.
Editor: Saul Taylor
Writer: Leila Molana-Allen
Creative Director: Richard Spencer Powell
Production Director: Jacqueline Deacon
Deputy Editor: Josh Fehnert
Designer: Giulia Tugnoli
Chief Sub Editor: Lewis Huxley
Sub Editor: Katia Hadidian
Photography: Anna Nielsen, Munsif Molu
Images: Alamy, Shutterstock
Illustration: Sally Caulwell, John Devolle, Cami Dobrin
Dubai Corporation of Tourism & Commerce Marketing: Samuel Dulka and Pallavi Sharma