Dubai in 1980's?

[abvgroup]

Just wondering, did any one here live in Dubai in the 1980's?

I lived in Jumeirah, Dubai from 1984 to 1990, what beautiful memories I have of that place!

we use to live very near the beach in a villa which was provided to us by our dad's company, it had every thing from swimming pool, spa, sauna, tennis court etc... you name it, and almost every day I use to go the beautiful Dubai Beach. If you were a kid in the 1980's Dubai, I am sure you had the best time of your life.

I visted Dubai recently after almost 20 years and the placed and totally changed

sure they have the biggest buildings, but the city has lost it's soul

 

[abvgroup]

Dubai 1986:

 

[abvgroup]

nobody live there? or even the gulf region?

 

[turbo charged]

not bad...it looks like florida's coastline.

 

[Awesome]

Grown up in Dubai... 80s to the Present. Not in some posh place like Jumeira though.

Nice pictures - if only the roads you showed were as empty as they were then.

I avoid going there at all costs.

The city has not lost its soul, but back then we Pakistanis got the best jobs and today the Americas/British get them. So they are still enjoying the free villas, with all the amneties and everything. For most of us its a struggle making ends meet.

The job market is very racial and hence Pakistanis don't normally stand a chance.

 

[humanfirst]

The city has not lost its soul, but back then we Pakistanis got the best jobs and today the Americas/British get them. So they are still enjoying the free villas, with all the amneties and everything. For most of us its a struggle making ends meet.

Its off topic but is it true that for the same job,americans/british get paid more than Indian/Pakistani..?

 

[shelly]

i went to dubai, i hated the place. all desert and very racist. islamic and a few spoilt rich brats run the show but bow to the white man.
plus they keep hosting dawood who shuttles between there and karachi.
however the indians seem to prosper there. especially in banking and other service sectors. i also saw even more indians as labourers. so as long ast hey can make a living great. and its tax free. so unless i have an offer i cant refuse i am not going there agian.

 

[Awesome]

Its off topic but is it true that for the same job,americans/british get paid more than Indian/Pakistani..?

Twice as much. But thats not something new, my father worked here since the 70s and he had subordinates who made more than him . But way back there were very few westerners, now they are everywhere. In fact they so adorably refer to their salaries packages as "Expat package" - I'm like okay I'm an expat too! "But Asim, you're not that kind of an expat".

 

[Awesome]

i went to dubai, i hated the place. all desert and very racist. islamic and a few spoilt rich brats run the show but bow to the white man.
plus they keep hosting dawood who shuttles between there and karachi.
however the indians seem to prosper there. especially in banking and other service sectors. i also saw even more indians as labourers. so as long ast hey can make a living great. and its tax free. so unless i have an offer i cant refuse i am not going there agian.

It's very hard to hate Dubai. There's no evidence Dawood frequents Dubai (there are rumors of another Emirate and I don't like to get into such rumors right now). IMO the problem of racism starts with the lower grade Indian crowd. They are too much of what you call "Go with the flow" kinds. They give preferrential treatment to the rich and powerful over following procedure.

The westerner over here, breaks lines, breaks traffic rules and is a very frequent law breaker as compared to their home countries where they teach all politeness to their children, where breaking lines is unimaginable.

 

[shelly]

It's very hard to hate Dubai. There's no evidence Dawood frequents Dubai (there are rumors of another Emirate and I don't like to get into such rumors right now). IMO the problem of racism starts with the lower grade Indian crowd. They are too much of what you call "Go with the flow" kinds. They give preferrential treatment to the rich and powerful over following procedure.

The westerner over here, breaks lines, breaks traffic rules and is a very frequent law breaker as compared to their home countries where they teach all politeness to their children, where breaking lines is unimaginable.

maybe it was the heat that made me hate it.. anyways, keep aside my personal judgement, it is indeed laudable the prince there is trying to do something different compared to other emirates and gulf sheikdoms.
But yes, i was genuinely irritated by the fact that the white man could get away with anything.the hierarchy order is..
emirati, white (from UK , US), white (s african), white (other european), southasian muslim businessmen, southasian professional, muslim workers, other workers (includes filipino, indian hindus etc)
but since i stayed for only about 3 - 4 months some of my impressions may be situational and incomplete.
when you say it starts with lower grade , can you cite eg. from what i saw the lower grade indian crowd do not get much of a chance to interact with others.. eg, lets keep out construction workers and the like.. the only place where they may have contact with white/arab aybe upmarket restaurants/hotel;s/resorts. there they just service the money IMO. would like to know your more.

 

[darkinsky]

Grown up in Dubai... 80s to the Present. Not in some posh place like Jumeira though.

Nice pictures - if only the roads you showed were as empty as they were then.

I avoid going there at all costs.

The city has not lost its soul, but back then we Pakistanis got the best jobs and today the Americas/British get them. So they are still enjoying the free villas, with all the amneties and everything. For most of us its a struggle making ends meet.

The job market is very racial and hence Pakistanis don't normally stand a chance.

as soon as the sheikhs run out of oil, they will become camels for the white europeans, they will ask us pakistanis to save their dignity

even today the arabs are known for white racial slangs like camel jokey etc

 

[Jango]

The city has not lost its soul, but back then we Pakistanis got the best jobs and today the Americas/British get them. So they are still enjoying the free villas, with all the amneties and everything. For most of us its a struggle making ends meet.

The job market is very racial and hence Pakistanis don't normally stand a chance.

Completely agree with this. This holds true for a majority of the GCC, not only UAE.

In Muscat, my father was in X job, and the gora in exactly the same post was earning twice!!!

Now talking about Dubai, it really has got congested in that area towards the Dubai Mall and Jumeirah etc. It is much better to take the metro than go on car on weekends (If you only want to visit Dubai mall area).

BTW, in which general area do you live? Deira,Mamzar side or Bur Dubai and beyond?

 

[Surenas]

i went to dubai, i hated the place. all desert and very racist. islamic and a few spoilt rich brats run the show but bow to the white man.
plus they keep hosting dawood who shuttles between there and karachi.
however the indians seem to prosper there. especially in banking and other service sectors. i also saw even more indians as labourers. so as long ast hey can make a living great. and its tax free. so unless i have an offer i cant refuse i am not going there agian.

What did you expect from a city that is designed by European architects, build by South Asian workers, cleaned by Philippine maids and fund by lazy Arab sheiks?

 

[VCheng]

Asim: I wonder how the following experiences that you describe while growing up have formed your present opinions?

Grown up in Dubai... 80s to the Present. Not in some posh place like Jumeira though.

............

The city has not lost its soul, but back then we Pakistanis got the best jobs and today the Americas/British get them. So they are still enjoying the free villas, with all the amneties and everything. For most of us its a struggle making ends meet.

The job market is very racial and hence Pakistanis don't normally stand a chance.

Twice as much. But thats not something new, my father worked here since the 70s and he had subordinates who made more than him . But way back there were very few westerners, now they are everywhere. In fact they so adorably refer to their salaries packages as "Expat package" - I'm like okay I'm an expat too! "But Asim, you're not that kind of an expat".

.......... IMO the problem of racism starts with the lower grade Indian crowd. They are too much of what you call "Go with the flow" kinds. They give preferrential treatment to the rich and powerful over following procedure.

The westerner over here, breaks lines, breaks traffic rules and is a very frequent law breaker as compared to their home countries where they teach all politeness to their children, where breaking lines is unimaginable.

 

[truthseer]

Well, I only attended school there but never felt any racism. We were all treated equal, even the Arabs, even the Britishers and Americans