I lived in Dubai for nearly three years. I could only take so much before I finally got the courage to up and leave.
Dubai is a city of superlatives. It’s home to the world’s tallest building, largest malls, and craziest man-made islands like that one of palm trees. But behind this glitzy exterior I will always verbalise my most nagging critique of it… Dubai has no soul.
My time in Dubai will always be my most impenetratable source for this claim. Visiting Dubai and living in Dubai are two different things. If you haven’t been, I implore you to visit and enjoy the lavishness it offers. If you already live here, then take this article with a pinch of salt. You might agree with me; you might not, but read on anyway.
In my opinion, Dubai is a glittering display of wealth, devoid of authenticity. I think it’s all surface-level glamour and does not have anything more to offer that other Gulf contries cannot. Here we go.
Dubai is All Façade
You can’t talk about Dubai without mentioning its obsession with biggest, tallest, and most expensive. Take Burj Khalifa, standing at 828 metres, it is the crown jewel of this trend. It’s a testament to Dubai’s “bigger is better” mentality. However, it tells you nothing about the people who actually live there and built the city.
The Burj Khalifa lights up like a guiding star for many people. It’s gorgeous. Jaw-dropping. Newsflash: The building itself is mostly filled with empty luxury apartments. Many units remain vacant, owned by overseas investors who rarely visit. The tower feels more like an investment tool rather than a living community, reinforcing the notion that Dubai is really just for show than for actual substance.
Oh, but well, they use it as the focal point of their NYE fireworks so I guess it’s okay. You know your city prioritises imagery when you have the world’s tallest building and it’s mostly uninhabited. It’s like buying a Ferrari and leaving it in the garage to collect dust.
Mall Culture
Dubai Mall is not just a shopping centre, it’s also an entertainment complex complete with an ice rink, aquarium, and indoor theme parks. On the surface, it’s a modern marvel, but this is what passes for culture here. This is basically what Dubai is in a nutshell.
With over 1,200 stores, Dubai Mall attracts more tourists than the entire city of New York. But what does it say about Dubai that the mall is its biggest attraction? When your culture revolves around high-end retail therapy, surely you can see why I think the city lacks soul. I had nothing to look forward to every weekend but doing food shopping in the mall and going to the mall to… shop more.
If Dubai Mall is the cultural heart of the city, then I guess the soul is 100% air-conditioned. Because God forbid you stay outside, it feels like when you’ve opened the oven on full-heat and you feel the hot air spitting on your face.
A Playground for the Rich and Trying to be Rich
Dubai’s skyline and tax-free benefits have attracted a lot of rich people over the years, including those who are looking to dodge lawsuits and criminal charges. Private message me I guess if you want the tea. The UAE has no extradition treaties with several countries, which makes it a great hideout for anyone with a dodgy history. While not every billionaire lounging by the Burj Khalifa is on the run from the law, it does leave a bit of a sour taste when you realise some people are using the city as a legal loophole.
Take the case of Vijay Mallya, an Indian millionaire. He defaulted on loans that’s worth billions, he then conveniently relocated to Dubai. With no extradition agreement in place between India and the UAE, he’s been living his best life while creditors back home scramble to recover their money. Brazy. This isn’t a one-off case, either. Many fugitives have found refuge in the UAE, they don’t even have to be wealthy. I, personally know people from my own life that have partaken in this trend to evade certain legal matters. They take advantage of its lack of cooperation on legal matters with many countries.
For a city so committed to projecting an image of progress, luxury, and modernity, this legal loophole issue definitely makes it feel like Dubai is playing fast and loose with justice. To be honest, it leaves a bit of a bad aftertaste, like a five-star meal served with a dash of corruption.
Crypto-Bros
If you’ve spent any time online at all, then you would have probably seen the rise of “crypto-bros” hyping up their move to Dubai. It’s all part of the city’s brand as a haven for digital nomads, tech investors, and Bitcoin millionaires (or at least people pretending to be). The allure? A tax-free income, luxurious living, and a sunny climate that looks great on Instagram. But the life they’re selling is not the same as the one they’re living. I know, I lived there. Our buildings are decaying and not built properly. Maintenance had to be called every month! They looked good outside, though.
These crypto-bros portray a lifestyle of non-stop partying, yacht cruises, and living in penthouses with skyline views. But if you look a little closer, it’s not actually as glamorous. They sell you the dream, the lifestyle, and their… courses. Sure, maybe some are genuinely wealthy, but a lot of them are just flexing for the ‘Gram, renting luxury cars and flats for a weekend to keep the narrative going. You’re funding this lifestyle, by the way. It’s not Dubai that’s magic, actually, it’s you on the other end of the screen. Congrats.
A favourite move for most, is the ‘rent-a-Lambo’ trick. For a small fee, they can rent a luxury car for a day or two, take a few photos for Instagram, and leave the impression they’re rolling in crypto millions. The crypto community in Dubai has turned this kind of lifestyle marketing into an art form. But the truth is, many are chasing the same mirage, trying to project an image of success while struggling to stay ahead in a volatile market. It’s less about living well and more about selling the idea that they’re living well.
But I digress.
Dubai’s History — What History?
Dubai’s lack of history is part of the reason it feels soulless to me. It went from being a complete desert to a global metropolis in just a few years. There are no ancient ruins or centuries-old architecture here. For instance, the oldest building in Dubai, Al Fahidi Fort, dates back to the 18th century, but most tourists don’t even visit it. Why? Because Dubai’s selling point is its future, not its past. While cities like Rome or Paris balance history with modernity, Dubai has skipped over the history part and gone straight to modern glitz.
Dubai is often seen as a blank canvas, a place where culture is manufactured for tourists rather than organically grown. The artificial islands, such as Palm Jumeirah, further amplify this problem. Literally building a city for show, not for living.
Dubai is like the new kid at a history fair who shows up with a 3D-printed artifact and still wins the prize for most impressive.
Manufactured Experiences
While Dubai does make attempts to showcase its culture, a lot of the experiences feel staged for tourists. Traditional souks, for example, are packed with gold and spices, your typical Middle Eastern favours that are often more catered toward tourists than locals. Figures.
And then there’s the desert safari, where you can ride a camel, try on some traditional garments, and have dinner under the stars, all while a belly dancer performs. It’s fun, but it’s a curated, sanitised version of Bedouin life, presented in a way that feels more like an amusement park than an authentic cultural experience. I guarantee you even that camel has an Instagram or a Snapchat account.
If you wish to witness the real and authentic Bedouin life, go to Morocco, for this!
Expat Domination
Dubai’s population is circa 85% expatriates, a majority of whom come from countries like India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the UK. This creates a melting pot, but also complicates the city’s cultural identity.
Many of the expats, like I was, live in insulated communities and rarely interact with Emirati culture. The result? The cultural feel of Dubai is more cosmopolitan but lacks a cohesive identity. Instead of fostering a unified sense of belonging, Dubai can feel like a temporary stop for people passing through for work or luxury which is true for many of my friends and at one point, me too.
Because the local population is so small, many visitors never get a real sense of what Emirati culture is like. With so many temporary residents, it’s hard for the city to develop a “soul” that isn’t tied to consumption and luxury.
It’s like Dubai is hosting the world’s longest international layover. Everyone’s here, but nobody’s staying.
Everything Is Manmade
Nothing says “artificial” like an indoor ski slope in the desert. Take Ski Dubai, located inside the Mall of the Emirates. It’s a perfect example of how Dubai bends reality to cater to extravagance. In a place where temperatures can hit 50°C, you can don a parka and ski down man-made slopes.
But this artificiality isn’t limited to snow.
Look at Palm Jumeirah, the man-made island shaped like a palm tree. It’s an engineering marvel, one of the few things I actually liked, but it’s also a symbol of how much Dubai is willing to manipulate its environment to create something visually impressive, often at the expense of nature.
Constructing these mega projects often leads to severe environmental degradation. Palm Jumeirah, for example, disrupted marine ecosystems, and the sand it was built on had to be imported from other regions. It’s spectacle over sustainability, reinforcing the notion that Dubai prioritises appearances over long-term well-being.
And if you want a bit of nature, there is the Dubai Miracle Garden which is the world’s largest natural flower garden. Yes, it’s manmade. It’s the world’s largest, though, so still right up Dubai’s ally. Or if you want a bit of animal touch, there’s the Butterfly Garden, also manmade.
None of it Is Real
Beneath that glittering skyline, some parts of the city feel oddly vacant, like what’s left of a movie set after they’ve finished filming. All the buildings and towers you see? Yeah, they’re all either lined up on a strip or scattered. Everything else is vacant or dirty or dead. This isn’t just a metaphor. Dubai’s real estate sector has long struggled with ghost towns, neighbourhoods full of towering flats with only a handful of residents. The seduction of buying property in Dubai is strong, particularly for foreign investors. It’s cheaper than a studio flat in London, of course. But once the rose-tinted glasses are taken off, many leave or choose not to live there full-time.
The city prides itself on being a global destination, a melting pot of cultures and ideas. And to be fair, it does offer a lot in terms of entertainment, luxury, and innovation. But when it comes to real community or cultural depth, Dubai feels like it’s missing something. It’s hard to build a genuine sense of belonging in a place where everything feels transient and temporary. This is where my family unit broke apart. And so, I left.
The working class in the city is made up of migrant workers from South Asia and a few from other parts of the world. These are the people who literally built Dubai, yet their stories often go untold. They live in cramped quarters outside the city centre, working long hours to keep the city running, but rarely reaping the benefits of the city’s wealth. Their poor working condition is abhorrent. Sometimes they live in places with dirty floors with no beds or pillows, cockroaches running on them as they sleep. It’s the side of Dubai you don’t see.
Dubai is undeniably a city of extremes. It’s exciting, glamorous, and larger than life, but at the same time, it’s a place where appearances matter more than reality. Whether that’s enough depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re after Instagrammable moments and a tax-free lifestyle, Dubai delivers. And for a moment, I enjoyed this. I slept in the bed I made. I had my fair share of designer handbags and shoes, lived in a complex where everything I could ever want was handed to me on a silver plate, and partook in events surrounded by people who mattered.
But I quickly got sick of it. I ran away as soon as I could, as quick as I could have. I craved depth, community, and cultural richness. Dubai just didn’t have any of those.
Rachel is an intrepid world traveller, lifestyle connoisseuse, and the resident beauty advisor at Girls Who Travel. A true ocean lover with a soft spot for flowers, films, and storytelling, she also has a growing collection of medium-sized tattoos. When she’s not immersed in her next adventure, Rachel shares stories from her travels along with practical tips and insights to help other women make the most of their journeys.
