Dubai: Dubai residents with whom Gulf News spoke said the survey results on Dubai being a suitable place to raise a family do not come as a surprise as the city does offer many of the things a family needs.
Long-time resident Rajkumar Pancholia said Dubai is no longer just a second home for him — it is his home. The Indian businessman, who has been in Dubai since 1973, said the city’s offerings are over and above what he would enjoy back home.
“I chose Dubai because my roots have been here for a long time. Four generations of my family have been in Dubai and my son is the fifth generation. I will always consider Dubai as a suitable place for raising families because it’s convenient, it’s comfortable, and it’s safe,” Pancholia, 62, told Gulf News.
“It’s mainly due to its infrastructure and the relative safety of the city,” he added.
Pancholia said he agrees with the 86 per cent of residents who said they would recommend Dubai as a place to live to their colleagues and friends. He has done so to his relatives and many of them have decided to stay here for good.
“We’d tell our visiting relatives, ‘Once you come to Dubai, you will not like to go back home anymore.’ And true enough, they’d decide to relocate here. In all, we have around 200 to 250 relatives here, and these are not distant relatives. These are my first cousins and uncles,” Pancholia said.
For British expatriate Simon Bangs, who has been in Dubai for the past six years, Dubai offers a right balance when it comes to personal security and income.
“Dubai is a suitable place to raise a family but it depends on where you’re comparing it to. I chose to live in Dubai because it offers a better proposition for me than back home. I can choose to live in Nigeria and get paid more but I will have less security. I can be secure in Norway but I will not get the same income. But you can get that balance in Dubai,” Bangs, who works in the recruitment industry, said.
Personal safety and security is also a top consideration for Milo Torres, a freelance artist who has called Dubai home for the past 23 years. He agreed with the respondents who said that they felt safe walking alone at night in Dubai.
“I’ve lived here for more than two decades but I have not experienced or heard any of my friends being accosted or harassed on the streets at night. We enjoy a level of safety here that is lacking in our home country,” Torres said.
Torres, however, said that some issues continue to affect residents negatively such as the increasing rentals and cost of living in the emirate.
