One of the most striking aspects of Dubai is the audacious materialism that underlies every architectural project and the vehicle choices of every Emirati. Ferraris and Maseratis are the norm, with Mercedes, BMW and Porsche coming in as a close second. Real estate prices in Dubai doubled every year for the past 10 years leading up to the global economic crisis of 2009-2010. Today, a two-bedroom apartment in Dubai easily runs $2500/mo and that is half of what the price was two years ago.
However, the entire world was impacted by the economic crisis and Dubai was no exception. The Palm Jumerai, the famous man-made island off the coast of Dubai that is shaped like a palm tree, is line
d with multi-million dollar houses, many of which were acquired by foreign investors. When the first phase of The Palm went up for sale, houses began at $900K. A few years later, they were selling for $10 million apiece. Then the real estate crash hit in 2009, and houses are now back "down" to $4-5 million.
d with multi-million dollar houses, many of which were acquired by foreign investors. When the first phase of The Palm went up for sale, houses began at $900K. A few years later, they were selling for $10 million apiece. Then the real estate crash hit in 2009, and houses are now back "down" to $4-5 million. Because of the crash, thousands of people in Dubai lost their shirts, along with everything else they had invested in local real estate. Many of them gave up and left the country when they hit rock bottom, driving themselves to the airport for a one-way ticket back home. As a result, more than 4000 abandoned cars were discovered parked at the Dubai airport on a SINGLE DAY in 2009, with the doors unlocked and the keys still in them, as people pulled up to unload their suitcase and simply walked away.
It's no wo
nder that now the Wal-Marts of the world are just as popular here in Dubai as they are everywhere else. Wal-Mart doesn't have any stores in the Middle East, but the French chain Carrefour's is a similar concept and is wildly successful.
nder that now the Wal-Marts of the world are just as popular here in Dubai as they are everywhere else. Wal-Mart doesn't have any stores in the Middle East, but the French chain Carrefour's is a similar concept and is wildly successful. We wandered through a Carrefour yesterday that is connected to the famous Mall of the Emirates where SKI Dubai is also located. It was like a huge KMart special had broken out all over the store. People were going nuts, diving into bins of shoes and running rampant up and down the aisles. But that's just a normal day...
Carrefour's also h
as a grocery section that is much more like a fresh market in Europe. So fresh in fact that whole fish were laid out on beds of ice just like you would buy from a fishmonger. It sounds exciting but really all that means is the entire store smelled like raw, dead fish. Yes, you heard me right, most of the store smelled like DEAD FISH.
as a grocery section that is much more like a fresh market in Europe. So fresh in fact that whole fish were laid out on beds of ice just like you would buy from a fishmonger. It sounds exciting but really all that means is the entire store smelled like raw, dead fish. Yes, you heard me right, most of the store smelled like DEAD FISH. I skipped the fish but loaded up on all kinds of strange and bizarre food to take home to friends. If you happen to be pet sitting for me this week [Hi Charissa!], you're going to have one hell of an interesting care package. :)
Hope you're hungry!!
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