It’s hard to explain to a person who has never been there. A few things are obvious, but most aren’t.

When you live there you start to feel that vibe, the fake vibe. You start to question why. Why aren’t you seeing anything wrong? Why is that happening?

You know when you go to Vegas and they have the Eiffel Tower? It’s nice, but it’s damn silly. They have Venice too. They try to make it as realist as possible, but you can’t brag about visiting Venice.

Dubai has the same vibe. Even the most stunning things will feel fake. They are there for show purpose only, not to be part of something. You have the feeling you are in amusement park: Here are all the options and places you can go. You can’t do those other things. It’s not planned yet. Follow the schedule.

You feel controlled, observed. I’m not saying that is not possible to break the law, because it is and it’s not even that hard. But that feeling never goes away.

It’s not a walkable city, especially at the new and more touristic places, if you try to go to some places by foot, you feel stupid. Because it’s too hot and there is nothing to help a pedestrian. It is, in fact, stupid. Drive, take a cab, but don’t walk.

The old downtown feels like a real city, but it’s not where the tourists go and they (the government) prefer no one going there. They are inhabited mostly by Indians, Pakistanis and Filipinos and if you have lived in Dubai, you know they don’t enjoy the highest status there. It’s a whole different city. The shining buildings tend to disappear there.

When you are at the “main” places, the only people you see in public parks or public spaces, trees and grass are the menial workers. They can’t afford to be visiting all the shinning places. There is a invisible, non written, accepted behavior to follow.

I remember when once living in a very, very suburban area in Abu Dhabi, police had stopped me and my friends because we were jogging at 10pm, like “what do you think you doing?”. It was a quiet place, you couldn’t see anyone doing normal things at their own streets. There is no life on the streets. That’s one of the reasons behind the “Fake city vibe”. I’m not saying you can’t jog around, because you can, but there will be places that just feel weird.

Nightlife is interesting. You can find Arab (Levant) clubs, Filipino clubs, African, Indian clubs and International clubs. By international I mean “for white people”. It doesn’t mean exclusively for white people, but they are aiming for white people or general high income people. And people will be dressed the same, listening to the same music everywhere. The owners can’t even take the risk to play something different. Homogenous is the rule. Oh, I almost forgot, people go searching places that looks “classy”, but most people there aren’t classy, they are trying to look like that.

One night stands can happen all the time. But clubs are full of prostitutes disguised as regular guests. Half of the Tinder is composed of prostitutes too.

Beautiful women know they are in high demand. So they are even more demanding, be prepared to find gold diggers everywhere. Dating scene kind of suck.

Dubai it’s a city made to make you spend, to make you consume. Do you wanna go to the beach? There is the public beach, but you can’t drink alcohol.
Do you wanna drink alcohol? Go to the clubs and get overpriced drinks.

If you have a family, girlfriend/boyfriend, life can be easier, but there is always the feeling that you have no one else to talk. It’s strange because everyone complain about that, but no one is willing to change their own behavior.

In Dubai there is not that easy going vibe you can find in other cities, like you you just go to pub or bar near your home, just to have a beer and relax, talk to some random people. If you have bars near your home that people are not dressed to impress, so it’s not a good bar. You prefer not going there.

When you live in a big international city, you have many options of things to do. In Dubai the main entertainment is: Going to the Mall, buy some stuff and have a dinner inside some big chain restaurant. Cool, isn’t?

Movies? Mostly Blockbusters.

Another thing? Ok, some water parks. Although I admit I used to love Ski Dubai. I learned snowboarding there.

They have dinner in the sky, sky diving, jet ski etc. They are nice, but they aren’t things you do when you have a regular life. Those are things for tourists.

Even nature (the best places) are controlled. Many “don’ts”

Everything there is for taking pictures, not to feel that they are there for you. Having new friends is hard.

It’s almost like they are saying: you are here to make money and leave. Or else, spend here all the money you got here.

I left Dubai during the pandemic, company not paying salaries, bills are high, I left. I could go back someday, but I know how it is.

You know one of the favorite things people do in Dubai? Travel to another place

Just a curiosity: I remember when I was checking my drone during the night in a parking lot. Later on, checking the videos I saw many truck drivers sleeping in their trucks, most of them Pakistanis. They didn’t have money to pay an accommodation.

Adding a few more notes:

Dubai doesn’t have an identity. Many people here can say “They are Muslim”, but can you imagine going to the Netherlands, coming back and saying “They are Christians”? People wouldn’t be very excited about their culture. Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, they are all Muslims too, but they have more to show.

Looks like Dubai doesn’t want to show their roots, their Museums doesn’t have the same investment as the other regular buildings.

That one will sound a little harsh, but they have a culture where if I’m your boss or you are my servant, then you I’m your owner. Many other cultures there in Dubai seems to comply easily with that. Westerners really have a hard time though.

A guy in the comment say “Westerners say Dubai is not Green, then they build the Miracle Garden, only for Westerners say that is fake”. That’s the kind of opinion that shows exactly why Dubai is fake.

You can’t compare the beautiful parks and gardens like, for example, Vienna. They have astounding gardens, in the middle of the city, they are part of the landscape, not something you have to drive for 20 minutes and pay to see. And a very tacky design…

You want nice beaches? Mediterranean, Caribbean, Asia, Miami are better.
Amusement Parks? Orlando, Florida, they offer more value to your investment.
Shopping? USA too.
Arab World? Middle East offers a better experience.

It’s not as sterilized as Dubai, you have to “dirt your feet” but it’s more authentic.

Dubai have this: