I moved from Washington, DC to Dubai with 2 young kids. I'm a better version of myself here.

21.08.2024 - 02:47 / insider.com

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kiran Ali , an American who relocated to Dubai with her family. She works as a director of partnerships in a Fintech company. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

When a 150-year-old pine tree toppled and fell through my roof last April, my family of four had to relocate temporarily while it got fixed.

My husband and I had to finda place wherewe could both work and have childcare for our two kids, who were 6 months old and 4 at the time. We also saw it as an opportunity to explore somewhere new. We considered New York and San Francisco, but then thought this could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pick up and go somewhere farther, and decided onDubai.

I hadworked in Dubai in 2013 and enjoyed my time there. My husband is an entrepreneur and had opportunities to work there. So, we thought: "Why don't we just go to Dubai?"

Our trip was supposed to be three weeks — but that turned into eight, and then 10. My husband started work in his startup in Dubai while I shuttled between the US and Dubai, applied for jobs, and prepared our house in Washington, DC, to be rented.

In March this year, I found a job in Dubai, and we were able to relocate there permanently.

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As a mother in the US, I didn't have much support. I worked, did the laundry, and ran around for my children's activities. I didn't have that much quality time left over for my kids because I ran the household and worked full-time.

In Dubai, however, the culture is built around quality time with your family. When I come home from work, our part-time nanny, who we pay 4,000 AED, or $1,089 a month, has already done the laundry, cooked the food, and bathed the children.

At 6 p.m.I'm done with work. There's no expectation that I'll be checking my emails. So when I come to my children, they're not getting yelled at because they are not getting a distracted parent. They're getting the best version of me.

In the US, we were often overscheduled. I knewthree or four weeks in advance what we would be doing every single weekend — spontaneity died at the door.

But in Dubai, we don't stress over booking restaurant reservations or worry about a place being too crowded. We figure it out as we go.

Because of this, I spend more quality time with my spouse, new friends, and children. My weekends are truly relaxing. When I return to work on Mondays, I am the best version of myself in the corporate setting.

At work, face-to-face relationships are valued. As a result, the lines between professional and personal can be slightly blurred. A lot of networking is done via WhatsApp. And so, you can set up a meeting, and at the same time, send memes or talk about traveling. There's no