Dubai is actually a great place to visit. That said, I was told by a trusted friend that Osama bin Laden was flown into Dubai when his kidneys were failing, and that the airport closed a whole terminal to get him in (and out). I don't know if it is true or not but he worked for a certain national airline there...
I do know it isn't paradise for ex-pats from India or other like countries since they are worked to death and abused, and can't go anywhere to escape because their passports are confiscated. They don't do that to the Europeans or Americans though.
They however have been known to arrest and jail Europeans for too much public displays of affection (PDA). You just have to be more careful and a little smarter to not get caught up in some of their laws. Don't get drunk and go out in public and start being a complete dumbass, don't have anything to do with drugs (even certain prescription ones), and make sure you know about any vpn or voip laws they may still have.
I was there for 3 weeks about a decade ago, and brought my wife for a week. She had a blast, went all over the city alone in taxis, and people went out of their way to help her. Remember - Oil is now less than 1% of Dubai's economy. Everything else (tourism, trade, manufacturing, retail, real estate, etc.) relies on people wanting to live there. That is a good reason to keep most of the terrorism and ideology out of there.
I wouldn't move my family there, but would go back some day for a vacation.
Dubai is actually a great place to visit. That said, I was told by a trusted friend that Osama bin Laden was flown into Dubai when his kidneys were failing, and that the airport closed a whole terminal to get him in (and out). I don't know if it is true or not but he worked for a certain national airline there...
I do know it isn't paradise for ex-pats from India or other like countries since they are worked to death and abused, and can't go anywhere to escape because their passports are confiscated. They don't do that to the Europeans or Americans though.
They however have been known to arrest and jail Europeans for too much public displays of affection (PDA). You just have to be more careful and a little smarter to not get caught up in some of their laws. Don't get drunk and go out in public and start being a complete dumbass, don't have anything to do with drugs (even certain prescription ones), and make sure you know about any vpn or voip laws they may still have.
I was there for 3 weeks about a decade ago, and brought my wife for a week. She had a blast, went all over the city alone in taxis, and people went out of their way to help her. Remember - Oil is now less than 1% of Dubai's economy. Everything else (tourism, trade, manufacturing, retail, real estate, etc.) relies on people wanting to live there. That is a good reason to keep most of the terrorism and ideology out of there.
I wouldn't move my family there, but would go back some day for a vacation.