Moving to Dubai, my honest experience 1 year later.

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 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 years,

30 years or their whole life.

But in my head, I think to myself,

okay, let's try Dubai out

for 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

the 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.

You 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.

Simple 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.

I'm not joking.

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 it.

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 there 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 sort of 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, and stuff like that,

I obviously already have friends

who are in the space

of doing this sort of 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 is 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 the 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,

friends coming in and out all the time,

YouTubers, other creators,

other people in the space,

business people, entrepreneurs,

I'm meeting them

randomly here and there.

They'll message me and 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

at rush hour.

Because of the way they've designed
highways, the roads and stuff,

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 150 kilometres or something.

It's quite far,

but you can get there very, very quickly

because it's just one straight road.

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,

have this misconception

that Dubai is this sort of 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 it on YouTube videos,

and it's usually stuff

that's in like the Marina

or Downtown Dubai.

But those are actually very small parts.

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 wanted 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 isn't my sort of thing.

I love music, I listen to it all the time,

but super loud music,

where I just can't even talk
to the person next to me,

that's not my sort of 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

that I had in the UK here,

and you can do that.

And the great thing is

I can drive 20 minutes,

15 minutes,

and 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 the Sports City,

where you can have in Sports City.

There's also a pet-friendly community.

So if you have a dog

and you wanna take your dog
for walks regularly,

you wanna go to the park and stuff.

There are specific communities in Dubai

where it makes it 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 smart.

During the winter months between

October and March.

I don't think I would want

to be anywhere else on Earth,

the weather here is just about perfect.

It hovers anywhere between 20 to 30 degrees.

Sometimes it goes over 30 degrees,

but 20 to 30 degrees in the day.

And ten the sort of 10, 15 degrees in the night

during the winter months.

It is so, so nice.

I really don't wanna 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,

you're mainly sitting in AC.

Yeah, 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 wanna 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.

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
you're running and stuff,

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 that actually.

And most of it is going into

my investments, into my savings,

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 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,

sort of personal income taxes

is just incredibly, incredibly powerful.

Especially if you're someone
who is a high earner.

If you're someone

who's earning more than six figures,

if you're someone who's earning more

than seven figures,

the amount of money you save
in taxes moving Dubai

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 move 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 wanna 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 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,

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 HENRY, 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

just 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,

they 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 wanna deal

with any of the paperwork,

you don't wanna 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 earner.

You don't really wanna be dealing

with the paperwork

and sort of 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 over a thousand businesses alone

and they've helped

thousands of people move to Dubai.

So if you guys are interested, I'll leave a link to it.

I partnered with them.

And yeah, if you're interested

in moving to Dubai, 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 video.

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 talk about,

there's so much more sort of to discuss.

I know a lot of people
are gonna have questions as well.

Please leave them in the comments.

I'll try to answer some of the comments.

I can't reply to everyone's comments,

but if there's anything interesting

in the comments,

I'll definitely reply to them.

Hopefully, you guys enjoyed it.

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