Hi I am Manisha - an Indian by birth, wanderer by choice, foodie by passion, nomadic by inclination, and, have currently pitched tent in Dubai!

1. Why did you move abroad?
I am a long time sufferer of the Trailing Spouse Syndrome, sometimes I suspect, even a masochist, since I quite enjoy the moving around! In the last 10 years, I think we’ve moved every 2 years and I’ve enjoyed every move! I suspect its some nomadic or gypsy blood in the family that my folks forgot to tell me about!
2. How do you make a living?
I used to be a banker till about 4 years ago, but decided it was more interesting to be a Trailing Spouse – no going to work every morning, no Monday morning huddles, no budgets & targets and I get to see the world! How much better can it get?

3. How often do you communicate with home and how?
Almost every other day – thank God for email, Skype, Facebook and zillions of iPhone Apps. I like staying connected with friends and family. Left to Etisalat and Du, I would have probably expended my entire month’s budget on my phone bills!

Plus Dubai is on most people’s “to-visit” places, so family and friends are always visiting!

4. What's your favorite thing about being an expat in Dubai?
Its location and the fact that its systems work within a well organized framework, and, they deliver!

Its close home, convenient and it’s a place most people want to visit at least once! So hopefully, shall get to spend quality time with lots of friends and family. It’s child friendly & safe! And the fact that it’s cosmopolitan! After having lived here, I can understand why many people don’t want to leave!

5. What’s the worst thing about being an expat in Dubai?
Beginning to believe that this existence is de rigueur, normal Dubai operates at a significantly material level, it is completely man-made and a cocooned existence – lifestyle and experiences to be enjoyed while you are here but need to ensure a reality check!

Unfortunately unlike some of the other countries I have lived in, different communities don’t really mix – I guess that happens when every expat community is present in large numbers and also because the city is very transient in nature – in terms of work, equations, environment and even landscape

6. What do you miss most?
Since home has been so many different places, almost every 2-3 years, a huge attraction has always been getting to interact with the locals, learning the local language, the challenge of settling into an unknown place, getting to meet different kinds of people – I miss that! The influence of local culture is limited, and integration of varied expat communities tends to be circumscribed – I told you, I am a masochist! Having said that, Dubai is an experience that is a must-have at least once in your lifetime!

7. What did you do to meet people and integrate in your new home?
We had a huge advantage of a large network of close friends who were already based in Dubai. Plus my husband’s workplace and my son’s school helped us meet many new people.

8. What custom/ habits do you find most strange about your adopted culture?
Having lived in the Middle East a couple of times before, having been exposed to Muslim faith in large measure & having great respect for it, I still find the segregation between men and women a little strange. I know it’s religious and cultural, and they have their reasons for it, but I find it a little strange when my husband has to approve things I do, or when you have segregated sitting areas at Doctors’ clinics! Especially when you juxtapose it with an extremely modern metropolis which is so tolerant of every other nationality and religion!

9. What is a myth about your adopted country?
That Dubai does not have any cultural history. Yes it’s a man made miracle, and it may not have centuries old monuments to edify its culture like the pyramids etc but it is an old country that started off as a small village and some of that cultural history has been preserved – only all of it is not here in Dubai! There is enough and more of it to see in and around UAE, not necessarily in Dubai! And frankly, I think there is more to Dubai than pubs, malls and fancy brunches, you just need to have the inclination to do other stuff!

10. What advice would you give other expats?
Every city has its pluses or minuses. How happy you are in a city is entirely in your hands! If you decide that it can be a fun place, it will be!

11. When and why did you start your blog?
I started blogging when I moved to Cairo and found it a fabulous way of documenting my experiences and capturing my memories of the place for posterity, for my benefit. To me, it was a fortuitous accident that many people liked and followed that blog!  So it seemed a natural concomitant to blog about whichever place I moved to – my blogs are a memory of time and life spent in different places, and, something, hopefully we can read, reminisce, be nostalgic and laugh about in our old age! And something that keeps our love of travel alive!

12.  How has the blog been beneficial?
I think it encourages me in my search for interesting things to do, experiences to have and keeps me engaged with the place I live in - it’s a fantastic travel journal and a great way to share my experiences with my friends!

Manisha's blog, To Buy or Not Du-bai

Find out more about being an expat in UAE with Easy Expat's

Recommended Partners