Particle.news

Download on the App Store

Young Briton's Dubai Move Means Six-Day Weeks to Cover Sky-High Costs

Tax-free wages collide with steep rents, prompting her to take extra shifts.

Image
Image

Overview

  • Elbi Henshaw, 23, left Barnet for Dubai in January and now trains clients at a luxury gym after finding work through a local run club.
  • She says she works six days a week and may add a seventh to meet expenses after finding everyday prices far higher than expected.
  • Her examples include coffee at about £7 to £10, yoghurt at £12 and a glass of wine at roughly £20, with £5,000 a month cited as a comfortable budget versus typical pay near £3,000.
  • She moved with parental help, shifted from a studio to shared housing and faced large deposits for rentals and cars plus time-consuming setup for documents and banking.
  • The lifestyle offers sunshine, spotless public spaces and high-end leisure, yet she describes early loneliness, app-based dating and missing UK pub culture, with no immediate plan to move back.