Oof.
Okay.
We've got a lot
to unpack in this video
because I wanted to share
what it's like
living in Dubai for the last year,
what my experience has been like,
how I found it and stuff,
because there is a lot to talk about.
I have made a couple of videos
on my channel
regarding moving to Dubai,
sort of like a few months later,
a few weeks later or whatever,
sharing my experiences.
But just to recap some of the reasons
as to why I moved to Dubai,
quality of life here
is incredible.
I've always wanted to live
in another country.
I was looking at all sorts of places.
Actually, I've mentioned before that San Diego,
in America, Southern California,
has been one of my favourite places on earth.
I actually wanted to move there at one point.
And just also kind of like
try something else,
try something different.
Moving to Dubai has made me realise
how big the world is,
but at the same time
how small it is as well.
Because I've realised
there is so much more out there,
so much more
to learn out there,
so much more to see
that's really opened my eyes up
and I realise, actually, to move countries
it's much easier than you think.
But I'm speaking from a person
who was born and raised in the UK.
I have a British passport,
and British passport is a very powerful passport.
I can move and sort of
go to loads of different places
without visas and whatever else.
Obviously, to move to Dubai,
you need a visa, but anyway.
Having a British passport
does make it a lot easier
to move to a lot of different countries.
And of course, the other big reason,
which I'm not sure
why people feel like
they are almost ashamed to say,
is the taxes.
The taxes in Dubai
are incredible.
If you're someone who is a high earner,
but you're not sort of wealthy or rich yet
and you're looking to build your wealth,
I don't see what's wrong
with moving to Dubai for a few years
to sort of build up a portfolio,
build up some money,
build up some tax-free income
because it's completely legal to do.
Of course, that's one of the biggest reasons.
And it's I've never sort of shied away
from that on this channel.
I've always been very open about money,
talking about money,
because unfortunately,
I feel like there's this big culture
that you don't talk about money,
that you don't share
things about money,
that you don't talk
about these sorts of things,
that it's like shameful to talk about it.
And I think that actually
creates an environment, a culture,
that's not designed for young people,
especially to learn about money,
to understand money
to grow money.
to understand what it takes to
sort of use that money to their benefit.
A lot of people naturally
see money as a way
to just sort of buy things
and to do things with
and to live this amazing lifestyle,
when in reality,
money is a lot more important than that.
It can be used to make your life better,
to make other people's lives better,
to make your family lives better.
You need money to survive.
There's no doubt about it.
So I hate this sort of culture
that you should be ashamed to talk about money.
One of the biggest reasons I moved to Dubai
was for the tax benefits.
Now, that doesn't mean I don't pay
zero tax at all.
I still have UK stuff going on.
I still have a UK business,
I still have people there and stuff.
So I pay taxes there,
I'm happy to pay those taxes,
it's not problem.
But my personal income,
I don't have to pay tax on that now
because I've moved to Dubai,
which is super, super powerful.
So I've written down a few things here
just to make sure I cover everything.
One of the things actually was
and probably the most important question
and the question that I get asked a lot
by people is,
am I happy here?
Am I happy that I moved?
Right now,
the way things currently are,
yes, I'm very, very happy.
I have no plans to move anywhere else right now.
I plan to stay here five years,
ten years, maybe longer.
A lot of people say that they'll be here
for only five, ten years,
but they end up staying for 20,
30 years or their whole life.
But in my head, I think to myself,
"Okay, let's try Dubai out
five, ten years or whatever
before I have any children or anything
before I really settle down or anything."
It kind of just makes sense for me.
Safety.
So safety has been
a more important factor
than I realised
since moving to Dubai.
I actually didn't realise
how important
this safety aspect was until--
So I moved here
and I've travelled back and forth
to the UK and to other countries.
I've done quite a bit of travelling
over the last year
and it's really made me realise that
Dubai is incredibly safe.
Now, of course,
does that mean it's 100% safe?
No, not at all.
There's no perfect country, right?
But for day-to-day life,
Dubai is just incredibly safe.
Knowing that I can, for example,
walk around with my phone out,
use my phone in public,
and not have to worry about it
being snatched out of my hand,
as is the case in London,
yeah, it's such a minor thing,
you should be able to use your phone.
You should be able to wear a nice watch.
You should be able to have a nice car,
you should to enjoy the fruits of your labour, right?
I mean, even just enjoying your phone isn't a fruit of labour.
That's just an essential need to use your phone in public.
Maybe to get directions,
maybe to call someone, maybe to see--
Whatever it might be.
But in London,
unfortunately, there is this
weird thing of, like,
your phone will get snatched out of your hand.
It's a shame that it's like that.
But of course, there are a lot of layers
to sort of go down
when it comes to that sort of thing,
which it will just take forever.
But yeah, growing up in the UK and stuff,
growing up in London,
yeah, it's not exactly safe.
Especially when-- So for example,
in the estate that I used to live in the UK,
we have like a Facebook group in that estate,
and we used to see all sorts of
sort of video
footage and stuff
from people, security cameras,
who live in the estate of just things
being robbed, cars being robbed,
people trying to get into the house and stuff.
I'm just like,
this is the norm.
How is that the norm?
When did that become the norm?
In Dubai, that is not the case.
Now, of course,
does it never happen?
No, I'm sure things like that do happen here,
but it is not the norm.
And if you're found to do anything like that,
you will be punished severely.
Now, of course, that can also mean
that there's this aspect
of, oh, everyone's scared of the law,
everyone's scared of the police.
But I kind of think to myself,
that's how it should be in some ways.
And of course, there's no perfect system, like I said,
but I feel like that's how it should be.
I shouldn't have to worry
about being mocked, being hurt,
getting into fights or whatever,
when I'm just walking down the street,
that just shouldn't happen.
So it's really nice
that that safety aspect
is so important here
and so nice here.
And from travelling to other countries
and being other places
I have been in the last year,
the only other place that I feel like
really comes close is Japan.
I went to Japan in October last year
and that felt very, very safe.
Y`ou could go out at midnight
and it will be safe.
Now Japan is obviously to an outlier, right?
Japan is known for being safe.
But of course, Japan has its own cultural issues
just like every other place.
Would I want to live in Japan?
Probably not, especially as a foreigner.
There's this culture in Japan
where they really do treat their own as their own
and anyone else outside of that,
welcome.
In Dubai, that is not the case.
In Dubai, I feel like most people are welcome here.
as long as you're someone
who is an active part
of the community and society
and you sort of just keep yourself
and you're not causing any trouble,
you would be fine in Dubai, it's amazing.
Next up is cleanliness.
So cleanliness in Dubai is another level.
Again, I didn't realise
how dirty other countries are
until I stayed in Dubai for half a year.
And then I started going to other places,
other countries and stuff,
I realised, wow, okay,
Dubai is really clean.
Graffiti doesn't exist here,
unless it's being placed purposely,
the graffiti, by an artist or something,
graffiti is not here.
And I realised going back to London,
wow, there's graffiti everywhere,
it's wild.
And again,
I'm going to be comparing it to Japan here,
Japan is known to be
one of the cleanest places on earth.
I would say Dubai is cleaner,
which is crazy.
I just didn't expect Dubai to be that clean.
But it really, really is.
It's cleaner than Japan.
And Japan is definitely up there.
No doubt.
One of the cleanest places.
I've also recently been to Singapore.
Again, Singapore,
is known to be
a very clean place,
but I wouldn't say it's clean as to Dubai is.
Dubai, they take it really to another level.
Is that a reason as to why
you should move to Dubai?
Because it's so clean?
No, not at all.
I don't think that really matters too much.
Of course, you don't want to be living in a city
that's really dirty.
But just having a place
that's immaculately kept
can really, I feel like, help
when it comes to just
this image that you have in
your head of the place where
if a place is clean
and it looks well kept together,
then you also are more likely to keep it
well kept together
because you want it to look clean.
It sort of activity plays in your head
that keeping things clean
is the way of life here.
Cost of living here is cheaper.
There's no doubt about it.
Now, of course, this very much depends
on your current situation.
It depends on your lifestyle
and it depends on
where you're originally coming from.
If you're coming from
a major US city,
you're coming from the UK,
those sorts of places,
which is obviously-- I'm used to,
Coming to Dubai,
the cost of living is much cheaper.
Now of course, if you're moving from
like Thailand or India,
then cost of living is outrageous here,
no doubt.
But when you're coming
from Western countries, from a Western city,
the cost of living here is so, so cheap.
Stuff like the prices of groceries and stuff
can depend on where you shop,
but generally it is cheaper,
especially with-- I know in the UK,
the cost of living has gone up so much
and the price of just general everyday
things like groceries have gone up so much,
that it's definitely more expensive
to buy
groceries there
compared to Dubai.
And it's the same with things
like electricity and fuel.
Like fuel for your car,
it is so much cheaper here
compared to the UK and the US.
It's crazy.
Really is impressive
how much cheaper it is.
Now there are things that are more expensive,
things like your phone plan,
your internet plan,
but it's not like it's outrageously expensive,
but it is definitely more expensive
compared to the US and the UK.
I'm not sure how many people
will agree with me on this one,
but I do think the quality
of food here in Dubai
is just better.
Considering it's the desert
and most of the food has to be imported,
now they do grow some of their own food
because they have their own farms here,
indoor farms.
But most of the major supermarkets
that I've been to here,
the quality of the fruit and veg
and the meat is just incredible.
Everything tastes amazing.
I've noticed since moving here
that I eat a lot healthier,
purely because the fruit and veg
is just tastier to eat.
I'm more likely to eat it
because I know it's of amazing quality.
Same with the meat.
Meat can be more expensive
depending on the type of meat
you're buying.
If you're buying steaks and stuff,
yeah, it is more expensive,
but the quality of it
is just incredible.
It's really blown my mind.---
Like, I'm not joking.
My my health
and my quality of intake of food
has just shot up incredibly.
And of course, when it comes to choice,
the choice you have here for food
and the way you want to eat,
I don't think there is
any other city in the world that beats
whatever type of food
you want, whether it be
high quality Japanese food
or whether it be some Turkish food,
you will find it here
and you will find it
in its most authentic form
if you know where to look.
And it's mainly because there are so many
different types of people
from all different countries
that move here, and they're looking
for authentic food, for food
that reminds them of their own country.
And there are, of course,
people from their own country
making restaurants, creating restaurants,
creating food
that match the quality of the food
that they would find in their country.
So you can find all types of authentic
food here.
And it's been really,
really impressive to me.
I don't think in my lifetime
I've had such a wide variety of food
in such a short amount of time.
I can go one week from having, like I said,
authentic Japanese food
all the way to having
if I want dirty American
barbecue ribs, I can get that as well.
It's just amazing
how many different types of food is here
and the quality of it all.
Making friends and having a community.
So this is something
I completely understand
is very difficult for some people.
I am an outlier here.
I'm not going to lie.
I have found it very, very easy
to make friends here.
Maybe it's a type of person I am.
Maybe it's because I'm willing
to talk to anyone
and have a conversation or whatever
and just discover what a person is like.
Also, having an online
presence like I do,
having followers on Instagram,
YouTube, stuff like that.
I loosely already have friends
who are in the space
of doing this whole thing,
and a lot of them live in Dubai.
A lot of them visit Dubai.
Dubai seems to be like this hub
for people to sort of meet up.
So for me, it really hasn't been an issue.
I found it very easy to make friends.
I also think
a lot of people who complain about
they can't make friends because
I don't think they're making enough effort.
I found that since moving here,
I'm meeting up with friends a lot more
regularly and the variety of those friends,
the range of those friends is
much, much wider.
When I was in the UK,
I was usually just meeting their friends
who are local to me because that's easy.
That's where they are.
But with Dubai, there are people,
like I said, always flying in and out
with friends, coming in and out
all the time.
YouTubers are the creators
are the people in the space
business people.
Entrepreneurs are meeting them
randomly here and there.
They'll message me, be like,
Hey, man, I'm in Dubai.
Let's meet up.
And Dubai has been designed
in a very unique manner
compared to a city like London,
where when you're in London,
it can take maybe like an hour, hour
and a half to get across London.
Even when you're using public transport,
it can be quite a lot of effort
just to go see a friend in London.
But in Dubai,
you can usually drive
anywhere in Dubai
within 30 minutes,
as long as you're not driving
a rush hour
because of the way
they've designed highways to rise
and stuff, you know,
sure, there is no public transport.
It would be really nice
to have public transport,
but as long as you're not driving
at rush hour,
you can usually get anywhere
in Dubai within 30 minutes.
And I found it super easy
to see friends
who are either staying in like the marina
or staying in downtown
or just staying in another part of Dubai.
Even going down to another city
like Abu Dhabi
only takes an hour to get there
so I can get down to Abu Dhabi in an hour.
And that's like I think that's
like 150 kilometres or something.
It's quite far,
but you can get there very, very quickly
because it's just one strike, right?
So for me, making friends here
and the sort of community aspect of
it has been incredible.
I have not had any issues,
unfortunately, for people
who are outside of Dubai,
I have this misconception
that Dubai is this off
party, lavish lifestyle, living
sort of place where everything is
to the max all the time.
But that's actually a very,
very small portion of the Dubai.
I don't think a lot of people realise this
because they just see
the stuff on social media,
they see on YouTube videos,
and it's usually stuff
that's in like the marina
or downtown Dubai.
But those are actually very small pores.
The lifestyle you have in Dubai,
you can very much choose.
You can choose to have the party lifestyle
to go out all the time,
to be amongst the craziness all the time.
You can do that if you like,
but you can also have a very calm
and serene lifestyle here.
That's something that I want to do
since moving here because I don't drink,
Don't party really.
I've been to like sort of beach bars
and beach clubs and stuff,
but they're not also really my thing,
loud music and stuff.
I sound really boring here, don't I?
But loud music.
Super loud music just is a massive thing.
I love music I listen to all the time,
but super loud music.
I just can't even talk to the person
next to me.
That's not my sole thing.
If that's what you like,
you'll also love Dubai.
But like I said,
Dubai can also be a very calm
and serene place.
I live in a gated community, family
orientated community,
and it is so quiet
here, So, so quiet.
I wanted to basically match
the sort of calm lifestyle
it had in the UK here and you can do that.
And the great thing is
I can drive 20 minutes,
15 minutes,
so I can be at the beach and again,
just enjoy the beach
and enjoy the sunshine.
There's so many things here
that is designed
for comfort, really
to have a calm and comfortable lifestyle.
Also because of the communities
they have in Dubai,
you can live in
any type of community you like,
so you can live in a community that's
very sort of sports orientated
like Sports city,
where you can have a sports city.
There's also a pet friendly community.
So if you have a dog
and you want to take your dog for walks
regularly,
you want to go to the park and stuff.
There are specific communities in Dubai
where it makes the super easy
for you to just leave your apartment,
leave your house
and take your dog for a walk,
take it to the park, whatever.
And there are other people there
who also own dogs
and other animals and stuff.
It's just designed to be pet friendly,
which I think is actually super,
super small.
During the winter months between
October and March.
I don't think I would want
to be anywhere else on Earth like the
the weather here is just about perfect.
It hovers
now between 20 to 30 degrees.
Sometimes it goes over 30 degrees,
but 20 to 30 degrees in the day.
And that is sort of like ten, 15 degrees
in the night during the winter months.
It is so, so nice.
Like I really don't
want to be anywhere else.
And it's one of the other reasons why
I really like the lifestyle here.
Now, there's a big con with that,
which is the summer.
The summer in Dubai is brutal,
there's no doubt about it.
You're mainly just sitting
inside in many sitting and.
AC Yeah, it's it's
not exactly ideal for someone
who is a very outdoorsy person.
I'm not super outdoorsy
doing the job that I do
and the lifestyle that I have.
I do spend a lot of it inside.
So for me,
it's not been too much of an issue.
But I also have the luxury
of being able to afford
to travel quite regularly.
So during the summer months here,
I like to travel.
I'd like to go back to the UK,
I'd go to parts of Europe
and just anywhere else that I want to go.
I usually do during the summer
to avoid the heat here
and to go somewhere cooler.
But even then when I go
somewhere like UK or Europe
or whatever in the summer, it's still warm.
It's technically Dubai's winter,
so it's just funny
how basically all year round
I have the summer
and what the seasons.
For me, I can choose the season,
which is wild.
When I think about it.
I'm in this
very fortunate position where
I can choose the season
any time of the year
and it's a very, very lucky
and fortunate position to be in.
But yeah, the summers in
Dubai are pretty brutal.
Now, like I mentioned earlier,
the 0% income tax is
and the 9% corporation
tax, depending on the company
wanting and stuff
like it has really changed
my life in terms
of how I'm planning
my sort of retirement,
my portfolio, my future.
Since moving here
I am saving over
50% of my income,
over 50%,
probably a bit
more than I actually.
And most of it is going into
my investments, into my savings,
which is just it's crazy
how quickly that's growing
compared to how slowly
it was growing in the UK,
because obviously I was having to pay
a lot of taxes in the UK.
I've realised how powerful
that can be
in terms of sort
of like life planning
and how I'm going to live
my life
in the future,
how I'm living my life now.
I can have a lot more freedom
in what I spend my money on.
Having 0% income taxes
self personal income taxes
is just incredibly, incredibly powerful,
especially if you're someone
who is a high earning
for someone
who's earning more than six figures.
If someone is earning more
than seven figures like
the amount of money you save
in taxes, moving to buy is
just it's
it's like you're taking home double
the income, pretty much depending
on the country you're leaving from.
So it can make a huge, huge difference.
Now different
laws in different countries.
In the UK, for example,
I can live from the UK
and still be a British citizen
and go back to the UK
whenever I like,
but be a tax resident of Dubai.
Obviously I have to spend
a certain amount of days in
Dubai and I can only
spend a certain amount of days
in the UK whenever I want to.
I can move back to the UK.
Like I said,
if I want to move back to the UK
in five years, ten years,
whatever, I can do that, no problem.
I think there is this thing
about with capital gains
and stuff, capital gains taxes.
If you if you move back within five years,
you are liable to pay the taxes in the UK.
But I'm not a tax expert.
It's why I have an accountant.
I actually have two accountants,
I have an accountant in the UK
and I have an accountant here in Dubai
who and obviously they manage
my various different things.
My UK accountant manages all my UK stuff.
So yeah,
there's someone who is a high earner,
but you're not rich yet.
So and we like to call them.
I would very much take
into consideration moving to Dubai
doesn't have to be permanently,
but it could be a good way
to build a portfolio to get yourself
sort of further
along the path
than you would
in another country.
If you are interested
in moving to Dubai yourself or the UAE.
I've actually partnered with an agency
that has a done for you service.
They help me manage my business
to help me manage
all aspects of my business,
and they've helped out
other friends as well.
This service is specially designed
for those who want
a streamlined experience in moving.
You don't want to deal
with any of the paperwork
and you don't want to deal
with any of the hassle or anything.
You're willing to pay
someone just to do the job for you.
This is the agency
that does it all for you.
I think this is very much ideal
for someone who is a high end.
And, you know,
you don't really want to be dealing
with the paperwork
and all the logistics and stuff.
You'd rather pay someone else
because you don't have the time.
I was the same.
I don't really have the time
to learn about everything moving to Dubai.
I want someone to do it for me.
And these guys are incredible.
They do it for
so many different businesses.
They manage like over
a thousand businesses alone
and like they've helped
thousands of people move to Dubai.
So if you guys are
interested, I'll even link to it.
I partnered with them
and if you're interested
in moving to the bank, check it out.
So yeah, Dubai can be a very wild ride
or very calm, serene way of living.
It really depends on
how you want to live your life.
Hopefully you guys enjoy this for now.
Hopefully you guys have enjoyed me
rambling about Dubai
and my experience here over the last year.
I feel like there was so much more
that I could sort of other
so much more
so to to discuss.
I know
a lot of
people are going to have questions as well.
Please leave them in the comments.
I'll try to answer some of the
some of the comments.
I can't reply to everyone's comments,
but there's anything interesting
in the comments.
I'll definitely reply to them.
Hopefully you guys enjoy it.
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