Until a few weeks ago, all I knew about Dubai was the Palm Islands (that I saw constructed on the Discovery Channel) and the Burj Al Arab hotel where Agassi and Federrer played tennis. I knew that the city was nearly brand new, chocked full of oil money, and that’s about it.
Now, things are very different. I resigned my position as Director of User Experience of the NY office of Wunderman on Friday. I have accepted an offer for a contract position as a Technical Project Manager for the reconstruction of the website of a major international airline. The IA and creative is being done by a NY agency (that hired me) but the development is being done in Dubai by a number of different vendors, and I moving there in less than three weeks. You read that right. I am moving from NYC to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, on the other side of the planet, in just a few weeks.
This is very exciting news for me. One of the biggest regrets of my whole career is that I have not travelled nearly enough. I think I’m a smart guy, but I feel like an ass when I sit down and have conversations with well-travelled Europeans. In addition, this is a really meaty, really technical project where I think I can add a ton of value. I’ll be living in Dubai for 6 months to a year, depending on the progress of the project, and the client will be taking care of my accommodations. So, I’ll be keeping my NY apartment (though I will be selling my car) so I can move right back into my own bed when the project is complete. And, I’ll do my best to travel around the region when I get the chance.
Dubai is an unbelievable city. Probably 10 – 15% of the population is made up of westerners, Brits, Aussies, South Africans, Germans, etc. The city itself is doing everything it can to cater to the needs of these westerners to ensure they can import the right talent, and continue to build business at its incredible rate. That means they have air conditioning! and alcohol! and pork! and prostitutes by the truckload! and McDonalds! They also have indoor skiing, even in the middle of the summer when temperatures top 110 with 105% humidity. For residents, there is no income tax, though that won’t apply to me since I’ll still be getting paid by a NY ad agency. It is statistically one of the safest big cities in the world. There are beaches on one side, and desert on the other. It is literally becoming the center of the middle east, and a hub for travel throughout all of the region, including Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia.
So, not only will I be getting paid to work on a fantastic project, but I will be living in one of the most incredible cities in the world, and I’ll have access to travel to places like India, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, all within 6 hours away. It’s an incredible opportunity for me, one that I could not turn down without risk of regretting it for the rest of my life.
I’ll be planning a ridiculous going away party for next week. EVERYONE will be invited, including all of the blog readers. I am just not sure where it will be yet. An invite is coming soon, so please look out for it, break up with your significant others, and generally make yourselves ready for a sick, sick time.
If you’d like to learn more about Dubai, try these places:
Time Out Dubai
Dubai Tourism
Go Dubai!
Dubai City Guide
Dubai.com
