When you go back home to visit friends and family, people will often tell you how much you've changed since moving to the sandpit that is the UAE...
Well, if you think about it, everything changes once you've moved to Dubai. From the way you think and your social behaviour to the kind of activities you participate in, the options this city gives you are endless.
Some of the stuff we experience whilst living in this amazing city might seem surreal to newcomers, but we have gotten used to them so much that we hardly even notice them anymore...
Here are 14 ways living in Dubai will change you forever:
1. It takes a hell of a lot to impress you... After all, we have the biggest and best of everything, right?!
2. You forget that you have to fill your own petrol at the gas station when you visit your home country...
3. Your family and friends think you live like this...
...when in fact, reality looks more like this...
4. Any type of normal domestic pet seems really boring... Where the tigers and lions at?
5. People be like this when it rains in Dubai!!!
Note: Don't forget the mandatory social media post about the rain, so everyone else who is witnessing the exact same thing knows about it...
6. Your house and car are always clean... Thank you, dear maid.
Note: Many people might not understand that it is perfectly normal to have a maid in the UAE. Most couples with children are working full-time and it's therefore completely acceptable to hire a nanny to look after your kids in the absence of family.
7. You get used to paying a hugeeeee amount of rent twice a year or annually, instead of monthly!
8. You will avoid driving from Dubai to Sharjah between the hours of 6-8 pm, because by now, you know that this 20 minutes drive will end up taking 3 hours! #DubaiTraffic
9. Shawarma becomes an essential part of your daily diet and life...
10. You don't want to be seen as the only monoglot within your group of friends, so you drop the occasional "Yalla", "Habibi", "Insha Allah", and "Khallas" into sentences...
11. You expect absolutely everything to be delivered... even at midnight... Deliveroo anyone?
12. You start leaving your personal belongings unattended...
Note: No matter how safe the UAE might be, we wouldn't advise anyone to leave their bags and personal belongings unattended... Get real, crimes do happen here as well...