Cosmopolitan_Australia_October_2017

As soon as she saw them,

almost winking at her from the

shop window, she knew they’d

be hers. She’d just received her

first proper paycheque – $2470†

• tax­free. That was to cover

the rent on her villa (complete

with pool), and leave change

for the $660† pair of Louboutin

shoes she’d just purchased on a

whim. Designer bag swinging

from her arm, she practically

skipped, beaming, back into

the bustle of The Dubai Mall.

Just another cash­rich expat,

in a sea of shoppers.

The thing is, Lauren

Carver* wasn’t cash­rich at

all. She was a 22­year­old

creative writing graduate a

month into a new job, writing

for a magazine in Dubai. Like

most of her peers, she couldn’t

get a paid job where she lived

in London. Instead of slogging

it out at unpaid internships,

working at a bar job in the

evenings and on weekends to

pay the rent, she found some­

where she could get a ‘foot in

the door’. The fact that she was

being paid a whole lot more

than her mates back home to

work somewhere the sun always

shined? That was just a bonus.

Of course, the very minute she

arrived in what locals call ‘The

Sandpit’, her previous UK life

became a distant memory. Gone

were the rainy commutes and

the thankless job interviews.

Weekends spent bingeing on

box­sets and boozing at old­

man pubs were replaced by all­

day brunches at five­star hotels,

shopping in designer malls and

partying until sunrise. ‘I kind

of lost my head the first month

I lived there,’ the now­33­year

old admits. ‘I spent my entire

salary as soon as I got it. I’d

[only] just graduated and it felt

ridiculous, but it sucks you in,

the glamour of it.’

A world of opportunity

To be completely honest, it’s

not too difficult to see why. As

the cost of living continues to

rise and work opportunities

dwindle, swathes of young

JUST ANOTHER

BORING DAY AT

THE OFFICE.

AN UNMARRIED

COUPLE WERE

ARRESTED

IN THE UAE FOR

BECOMING

PREGNANT.

BEJING’S UM,

‘ROCKING’

PARTY SCENE.