And yet, in the next breath,
she tells me about a couple,
who she’s just heard have been
arrested and put in jail: ‘She
went to the doctors because she
felt unwell, and it turns out that
she was pregnant. They were
reported to the police because
they weren’t married. Now they
are both in jail.’
Surrounded by wealth and,
usually, only socialising within
the expat community, people
forget they’re not still at home.
Sucked into a vortex of luxury
goods and the kind of livein
themoment mentality that
comes from thinking, as most
of the expats I speak to do, that
they can always go home one
day, it’s easy to lose your way.
To forget where you are. Forget
the rules.
‘People change massively,’
says Lauren of the conversion
that happens once expats touch
down in Dubai. ‘They start out
downtoearth. Particularly
those who haven’t come from
wealthy backgrounds. Suddenly,
you’re in this decadent place,LISBON
Entrepreneurs are
flocking here, where
Europe’s major
Web Summit is set
again this year. The
government has also
launched a start-up
program, which offers
founders €5000 if they
located their business
in one of the 120
incubators around the
country.BERLIN
Named one of the
top creative centres
globally in reports
from UNESCO and EY,
Berlin is rapidly
becoming the
destination for
early-stage creative
start-ups. A brand-
new business is
formed here every 20
minutes, so you’ll be
in good company.VANCOUVER
Want to work in film
and TV? Between
2014 and 2015 the
rate of productions
made in the city grew
by 40% as companies
took advantage of the
incredible scenery
and tax credits.
Having a
hot president:
just a bonus.time. There’s a sense of urgency
and desperation to a lot of the
relationships. Anything that
will provide a bit of security
when you’re so far from home.’A DOUBLE LIFE
Every woman I speak to says
the same thing: that, for some,
living in another country is a
free pass. A pass to the types
of behaviour it’s easier to get
away with when it’s not your
culture – and when your family,
the roots that set our moral
compasses, are thousands of
kilometres away. They talk of
the gutwrenching moment
when a friend you’ve got close
to announces they are leaving.
Of the days when, even though
you’re surrounded by beauty,
all you want is a bit of drizzle
and a fryup from the pub.
For Lauren, it was work
that pulled her out to Dubai- and eventually pushed her
back home. ‘I just never felt
100 per cent comfortable. As
a journalist, I couldn’t write
what I wanted. I wrote pieces
that got pulled just before they
were due to run, because they
were deemed inappropriate. I
couldn’t talk about what I did
at weekends at work. I never
really felt... free.’ She’d done
what she set out to do – saved
a deposit for a house, and got
her foot (now clad in designer
shoes) in the door. Now it was
time to leave. The rest of them?
They’re still out there. Living
life like it’s one long MTV
video that people are only half
watching. And do you know
what? Really, who can blame
them for it? #
FANCY A SLICE OF EXPAT
LIFE? THESE ARE THE
DESTINATIONS TO TRYwith cash in your pockets. It
can suck you in if you don’t
make a conscious effort to stay
grounded. You become spoilt.
It’s like being in Disneyland,
but for a really long time.’
Jasmine, too, has seen first
hand what happens when the
expat bubble bursts. ‘You have
to have a tough skin and be
selective about who you are
close to here,’ she says, wearily.
‘People can be superficial. Men
cheat, but it’s magnified because
you see the same people all the‘IN DUBAI IT’S
HARD TO HAVE
A NIGHT IN... IT
TRULY IS THE
LAND OF
DECADENCE’
†CONVERTED FROM GBP AND CORRECT AT TIME OF SENDING TO PRINT. *
NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED. WORDS BY HANNAH LOUISE SUMMERS; CATRIONA
INNES. ADDITIONAL
REPORTING BY SHARI NEMENTZIK. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARCUS OHLSSON; TRUNK ARCHIVE. POSED BY MODELS. GETTY IMAGES; FACEBOOK; JOHN FROSTNEWSPAPERSA ‘WORK HARD,
PLAY HARDER’
MENTALITY CAN
GET EXPATS INTO
TROUBLE.