An American woman moved her family from Dallas to Dubai and has no regrets

So when the school year ended in May, we packed up and moved to Dubai.

It’s only been a few months, but I love it here. It’s convenient to get services like food delivery quickly, and I don’t think I’ve ever lived where I felt so safe.

It’s not the first time we’ve moved. In 2015 my husband and I moved to London for 15 months for his work. Although it was an amazing experience, our move to the UK was much harder than moving to Dubai. I had a hard time finding the things I was used to in America when I lived in London.

We were surprised to see so many American fast food chains

The Cheesecake Factory is my favorite because, being a true Texas girl, I can get a large glass of iced tea along with free refills. It teleports me back to the US.

We also go to Five Guys, Buffalo Wild Wings, Raising Caines, Papa Johns, and KFC. We can eat out and feel at home.

But Dubai also has amazing local restaurants. This is one thing I love about the city: if you want to feel at home, you can; and if you want to explore new things, you can.

The malls are similar to those in Texas

Dubai malls have well-known brands such as H&M, American Eagle and Gap. As an American mom, the only thing I miss is a consistent trip to Target where I can get everything in one place.

However, Dubai has big stores where I can find many items that my family is used to. One of them – Park n Shop – is gold if you’re from the US or Europe. My kids’ favorite discovery was the Chick-fil-A dip. This was a win from the US with kids who love chicken nuggets.

I drive around, like in the US

The roads here are great and the parking system is great. Unlike in the US, many parking spaces are covered or underground. I rarely get into a hot car here, which is helpful, especially in the hot Dubai summers.

The downside is that the GPS doesn’t work well here and often takes me in circles. But it also created fun memories for the kids – we discovered and explored places we stumbled upon because we drove the wrong way.

Before our move, my husband and I felt that living in Dubai could be a great learning opportunity for our children, ages 5, 7 and 8.

The city is more culturally diverse than Dallas. According to the Dubai Statistics Centre, 92% of its population of 3,655,000 are non-Emirati. The number of foreigners increased by almost 100,000 between 2022 and 2023.

As such, you can experience any other culture and learn about different parts of the world.

It seems you can have two experiences in Dubai: you can come here and stay in your own culture, or you can step out of your comfort zone and learn about other cultures. We managed to do both and that was very exciting for us.

We are still not sure when we will return to the US as it depends on my husband’s job.

But so far, I like it more than I thought I would. If I could move all the people I love from the US here, I would stay here for decades.

Have a story about moving abroad that you want to share? Connect with the reporter, Erin: [email protected].