gonna comment on this because i also got psyoped by it for many years disclaimer: my experience is specifically a Canadian (and before that, Turkish) person moving to Dubai, your experience will vary I do not care to convince anyone to move to Dubai, I really couldn't give less of a shit, but I do wish I read something like this while I was in Canada so I didnt take so long to move I truly regret waiting so long so here are some points ill make after having lived here for over a year now i) understand that how European and Western media portray the UAE is completely detached from reality The Middle East is not a homogenous place, UAE is very different than Iran for example, just like how Singapore is very different than North Korea ii) the UAE is a monarchy and interestingly you feel much more free here than in Toronto In Toronto, you pay infinitely higher taxes, your currency is worth less, your public infra is awful, the health care is barely functional, the weather is awful, and you dont even feel safe due to rising crime rates all over the city It is true the UAE is not a democracy, and yet I feel freer here financially, medically, and socially Ive been to the ER twice in both countries and somehow Canada ended up costing more while taking over 8 hours each time!! Toronto has way more religion related crime somehow than a place in the middle east UAE has no free speech, but neither does Canada! Most of the wild news you see about the UK around draconian laws also happens in Canada iii) you'll hear that Dubai has no "culture". Idk what this means but it's the exact same as Toronto where you have a ton of "diverse" groups all doing their thing iv) Emirates is an infinitely better airline than Air Canada, it's not close ...