A recent Quora post by a user who described living in the United Arab Emirates for six years has drawn widespread attention for its candid take on the realities of expat life in the Gulf. The writer, who identifies as a UK national and a molecular biologist with a PhD and MBA, offered a balanced account of the country’s comforts and challenges, and shared a surprising reason for eventually deciding to leave.The writer, who appears to be a UK national named Muhammad Zaman, according to his Quora profile, expressed deep affection for the country and its people. “I loved the locals, whom I had the chance to get to know well, and I loved the place,” he wrote. But like most expatriates in the United Arab Emirates, his stay came with limits.
A life built on temporary ground
For many foreign residents, the UAE offers opportunity but never permanence. Zaman’s first reason for leaving was practical: non-locals cannot settle permanently unless they continually renew their residence visa through employment or business ownership. “You cannot stay there permanently anyway if you aren’t a local,” he explained. “The length of your tenure there is dictated by your work visa.”Permanent residence or citizenship is rare, reserved for individuals who have contributed “extraordinarily significantly” to the country. Even then, naturalisation is not guaranteed. “I feel very sad for the people who have spent their entire lives there as foreigners, forgetting that they will have to leave everything behind one day,” he wrote.
The costs of a comfortable life
Dubai’s attraction for expatriates has long been its tax-free salaries and benefits. The author of the post noted, however, that the rising cost of living is gradually narrowing that advantage. Western workers benefit mainly from tax exemptions and perks rather than high base pay, while non-Western workers often earn both better wages and benefits compared to home. Yet, he warned, “higher salaries are increasingly mitigated by greater rises in the cost of living,” meaning that those relying solely on employment, not business ownership, “will get relatively poorer the longer you stay.”Career stagnation was another concern. Many Western professionals accept short-term gains at the cost of long-term progression. “If you stay too long,” Zaman observed, “you will become relatively unemployable if you return home to the same profession.” For many, the trick lies in leaving at the right moment — before the comfort of a good salary erodes one’s prospects elsewhere.
“You get lazy” — The unexpected admission
Then came the confession that caught readers off guard.“In the UAE, labour is so cheap, that there is a temptation to get lazy and to lose one’s self-sufficiency skills.”The author of the Quora post, Zaman described himself as a hands-on person, someone who enjoys fixing his car, gardening, cooking, and doing laundry. But in a society where low-cost labour is available at every turn, he said, it’s easy to forget how to do things yourself. “You will need those skills upon returning home,” he cautioned, “unless you plan to spend a fortune every time you call an electrician to change your lightbulb.”Beneath that candid and light hearted admission was a clear observation: the UAE’s comfort and convenience rest on the work of millions of low-wage migrants.
The labour equation behind his realisation
More than 80% of the UAE’s total population consists of expatriates, and around 90% of the workforce comes from abroad, mainly from South Asian and African nations such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and parts of Africa, as well as the Philippines.The abundance of low-cost labour creates a lifestyle where personal convenience is both accessible and normalised. For many middle- and upper-income residents, domestic and service assistance is affordable in ways that would be considered a luxury elsewhere.This reliance stems from structural and economic factors:
- Oversupply of labour: The UAE continues to attract large numbers of workers for low- and semi-skilled jobs in construction, cleaning, hospitality, and logistics.
- Employer-controlled visas: Employment visas are sponsored by employers, who act as legal guarantors for foreign workers. This ties a worker’s residency status directly to their job.
- No national minimum wage: The UAE does not have a single, standardised minimum wage law. Salaries are negotiated between employer and employee, often reflecting the worker’s nationality, skill level, and willingness to accept the offer.
- Cost-of-living argument: Employers frequently note that even modest UAE salaries exceed what many migrant workers could earn in their home countries.
As a result, unskilled labourers often earn AED 900 to AED 1,200 per month (approximately ₹21,537–₹28,716), while skilled technicians, electricians, or drivers may earn AED 1,800 to AED 3,500 (₹43,074–₹83,755). Domestic workers typically receive around AED 1,600 (₹38,288). These figures vary depending on experience, education, and the location of employment.
UAE sponsorship system and work visas
Employment in the UAE largely operates under a sponsorship-based structure, a system with roots in the traditional kafala model. Under this framework, a worker’s legal status is tied to their employer, who acts as the official sponsor responsible for securing and maintaining the residence visa. While reforms have softened some of its stricter aspects, the basic dependency remains: employees generally cannot change jobs or remain in the country without the consent of their sponsor.A standard employment visa is typically valid for two to three years and must be renewed upon expiry. The process requires a series of documents — from the company’s trade licence and employment contract to attested educational certificates and the employee’s passport — followed by a medical test and Emirates ID registration.In recent years, the government has sought to modernise this model through new visa categories that allow for greater independence from employers. The Green Visa targets skilled professionals and investors, the Golden Visa provides long-term residence for highly qualified individuals and outstanding contributors, and the newly launched Blue Visa recognises talent in sustainability-related fields. These visas, unlike traditional ones, are not tied to a single employer and allow holders to sponsor themselves — a marked shift from the old dependency structure.Yet, for the vast majority of foreign workers — who make up more than 80 percent of the UAE’s population — the conventional sponsorship system still defines their stay. It remains both a gateway to opportunity and a reminder that life in the Emirates, for most, is built on temporary permission.
The allure and the limits
Despite his reservations, the author’s reflections are not bitter. He maintains that the UAE remains an immensely rewarding place to live and work — safe, family-oriented, and deeply multicultural. “Most of the foreign worker abuse,” he noted, “is not by Emiratis, but by expat bosses or company owners who take advantage of the powerlessness of South Asian, Filipino, and African workers.”He praised the warmth and hospitality of Emiratis once relationships were formed, recalling how locals would invite him to weddings and home-cooked meals. What struck him most, however, was the sense of safety: “You can let your kids walk to a friend’s house without worrying someone will abduct them. Women can walk alone in most places at any time of the night without being harassed or attacked.”The UAE’s cosmopolitan mix — with foreigners from nearly every corner of the world making up over 80 percent of the population — also adds to its appeal. It is a place where cultures coexist side by side, bound by shared professional and social spaces. Geographically, its location is another advantage: destinations in Central Asia, China, and Africa are only a few hours away, making travel both accessible and appealing.Generous leave policies complement these benefits. Private-sector employees are typically entitled to at least one month of annual leave, while those in government positions often receive more. For many expatriates, these factors make the UAE an attractive place to spend a few years, even if they know their stay will never be permanent.In the end, for the author, it wasn’t the heat, the distance, or the bureaucracy that drove him away, it was the quiet discomfort of ease itself.
