Housing is expensive

Here's my place. It's very open with 12 foot ceilings and gets alot of sunlight. A lovely one bedroom place for me. The only problem is, it's $2600 a month, not including utilities. And when you have to pay 4 months or more in advance, that's a good chunk of people's income. Gives you some idea about why real estate is big in Dubai.

My old place was a spacious studio in a residence hotel. Nothing terribly fancy, mind you, but clean and safe.

Being in a hotel meant buffet breakfast, maid service (I don't do hospital corners), utilities, free parking and of course, fully furnished. This was $4500 a month and the exclusive domain of white collar expat contractors. Like in every city, you can rent for alot less, but your commute will be 45 min to 2 hours each way, depending on traffic. If you can't do that, there's alot of rooms advertized and even communal living arrangements.