How Expats Rate Dubai, Abu Dhabi, & Ras Al Khaimah

While these Emirati cities offer great job opportunities and personal safety, expats are weary of long working hours and some can’t bear the harsh sun.

No Need to Learn Arabic?
Invest in a Good Pair of Sunglasses
Work Hard, Play Hard
Not Many Local Friends
6 | Ras Al Khaimah
9 | Abu Dhabi
10 | Dubai
Further Reading
External References

In the 2024 Expat City Ranking of 53 destinations, three Emirati cities make the list: Ras Al Khaimah (6th), Abu Dhabi (9th), and Dubai (10th). Besides an average Quality of Life (28th), Ras Al Khaimah’s ranking across indices is in the top 10. Abu Dhabi and Dubai also show a strong, yet slightly mixed, performance. Overall, expats in Ras Al Khaimah are happy with their life abroad (8th); meanwhile, in Dubai happiness ranks 20th and in Abu Dhabi 27th.

No Need to Learn Arabic?

For Expat Essentials, the three cities occupy the top 3 positions: in 1st place is Ras Al Khaimah, followed by Abu Dhabi (2nd) and Dubai (3rd). Abu Dhabi’s excellent performance places it in the top 10 for all four subcategories of this index, with both Admin Topics and Language in 1st place.

In Ras Al Khaimah, Digital Life takes a bit of a hit in 21st place. And in Dubai, Digital Life (12th) and Housing (15th) are excluded from the top 10. It appears accommodation isn’t as affordable in Dubai, with expats there (28%) less likely to rate this factor positively than the global average (34%).

What stands out, however, is that for all three cities, unrestricted access to online services like social media is ranked in the bottom 10: Ras Al Khaima is in 46th place, again followed by Abu Dhabi (47th) and Dubai (48th).

Invest in a Good Pair of Sunglasses

Abu Dhabi and Dubai provide a great Quality of Life (7th and 8th, respectively), while Ras Al Khaimah falters in this index (28th). The Travel & Transit, Healthcare, and Leisure Options Subcategories show the most variance in ranking.

Expats in Abu Dhabi can boast of excellent Healthcare (4th) and Travel & Transit (7th) that isn’t reflected in Dubai (17th and 15th, respectively) or Ras Al Khaimah (28th and 37th). While Dubai offers expats more Leisure Options (8th) compared to Abu Dhabi (23rd) and Ras Al Khaimah (36th).

Interestingly, despite all three cities landing in the top 10 for Safety & Security (Abu Dhabi 7th; Dubai 6th; Ras Al Khaimah 8th), their performance for one factor of this subcategory is of concern. The ability to openly express oneself and their opinions in Abu Dhabi falls in the bottom 10 (44th), with Ras Al Khaimah (42nd) and Dubai (39th) not much better.

Expats are also dissatisfied with the natural environment: fewer shares than the global average of 82% give this factor a positive rating. In Ras Al Khaimah, only 57% are pleased, in Dubai it’s 61% and in Abu Dhabi 62%.

“Everything is artificial, and there is very little lush greenery. The weather is great for 5 months, then terrible for the rest of the year. The sunshine is mostly sun glow because of the dust in the air.” – South African expat in Abu Dhabi

Work Hard, Play Hard

Working Abroad is a draw in Ras Al Khaimah (2nd) and Dubai (9th), with Abu Dhabi in a respectable 12th place. Expats in Ras Al Khaimah are pleased across the board, from overall job satisfaction (1st) and personal career opportunities (1st) to working hours (4th) and fair wages (10th).

Dubai is the number one city where expats find that relocating improved their career prospects, followed by Abu Dhabi (2nd). However, when it comes to Work & Leisure, the conditions aren’t as favorable (Abu Dhabi 45th; Dubai 42nd). Full time, expats in Abu Dhabi and Dubai work much longer hours than the global average per week (47.0 h and 46.4 h, respectively vs. 42.5 h). The opposite is true in Ras Al Khaimah, where working hours average 41.2 hours per week.

“This country is literally the standard for ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’.” – Indian expat in Abu Dhabi

Not Many Local Friends

Ras Al Khaimah is the only city of the three in the top 10 of the Ease of Settling In (5th) and Personal Finance (8th) Indices. Abu Dhabi and Dubai aren’t far behind in the former (14th; 11th) but disappoint in the latter (24th; 36th).

“You have to pay a hefty amount of money to own a residence, a business, or get a strong university degree. Everything is going towards the expensive side.” – Iranian expat in Dubai

There are seemingly few hiccups to settling in Ras Al Khaimah, as it features in the top 10 of the index’s three subcategories and all their underlying factors. It’s more difficult to get used to the local culture in Abu Dhabi (24th) compared to Dubai (10th) and Ras Al Khaimah (6th). And in Dubai, establishing a personal support network (30th) is more of a challenge (Abu Dhabi 15th; Ras Al Khaimah 7th).

Very few expats in these Emirati cities have made predominantly local friends. When asked to describe their friends and acquaintances, not more than 5% of respondents say they’re mostly local residents (Abu Dhabi 5%; Dubai 3%; Ras Al Khaimah 1% vs. 17% globally). However, it’s worth noting that international residents vastly outnumber locals in the UAE.¹

“Most nationalities kind of stick together. Younger people or working people mix though quite freely.” – Dutch expat in Dubai

6 | Ras Al Khaimah

Since 2023, expats’ happiness with their life abroad in Ras Al Khaimah improved from 13th place to rank 8th. This happiness can be seen in the overall ranking and in four of the five indices.

The index lagging behind is Quality of Life, in 28th place. A few things still need ironing out when it comes to Travel & Transit (37th) and Leisure Options (36th). Despite having excellent infrastructure for cars (7th), less than half of expats there (43%) are happy with the availability of public transportation (vs. 72% globally). And when it comes to Healthcare (28th), expats are dissatisfied with its affordability (41st) and quality (31st).

The star index is Expat Essentials, with Ras Al Khaimah claiming 1st place for two years running. The city makes it easy to live there without speaking the local language (77% positive responses vs. 48% globally) and deal with the local bureaucracy (62% vs. 36%). It also offers government services online (73% vs. 58%), and housing is easy to find (72% vs. 45%).

And there’s more good news for the 52% of respondents that moved to Ras Al Khaimah for job-related reasons: Working Abroad ranks 2nd, the Ease of Settling In is 5th, and Personal Finances is 8th. At 20 percentage points less than the global average of 39%, only 19% of expats rate the general cost of living there negatively .

9 | Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi drops from its 5th place in 2023 to 9th in 2024. This fall is more prominent when it comes to expats’ happiness abroad: the city went from 13th to 27th. Nevertheless, the Expat Essentials (2nd) and Quality of Life (7th) Indices remain high performers, with the Working Abroad Index narrowly missing out on the top 10 in 12th place.

The city is crowned first for infrastructure for cars; the government supporting policies to protect the environment; availability of healthcare; state of the economy; the ease of getting high-speed internet access at home; and the availability of government services online. Around nine in ten expats in Abu Dhabi rate all these factors positively — for car infrastructure it’s even 98%!

Unfortunately, working hours (46th) and work–life balance (46th) aren’t as satisfactory: only about half of expats (51% and 52%, respectively) have something positive to say (vs. a respective 62% and 60% globally).

Personal Finance (24th) is another sore topic in Abu Dhabi: expats are less satisfied with the general cost of living (31% vs. 40% globally) and their financial situation (48% vs. 54%).

The Ease of Settling In (14th) isn’t too much of a hassle, at least. More than two-thirds of respondents (71%) feel welcome in the city (vs. 63% globally).

10 | Dubai

In 10th place overall and 20th for happiness, Dubai is a highly rated city by expats. However, it hasn’t yet recovered its strength from 2022 where it ranked 2nd overall and 8th for happiness. Out of five indices, three are in the top 10 and a fourth narrowly misses this cutoff in 2024. The odd one out is Personal Finance in 36th place.

Over two in five expats in Dubai (42%) feel that their disposable household income isn’t enough to lead a comfortable life, 12 percentage points higher than the global average of 30%. And about a third (31%) is unhappy with their financial situation (vs. 26% globally). These factors are thus ranked 50th and 47th, respectively. The general cost of living (22nd) isn’t as dire, though.

Despite the financial strain, the Quality of Life (8th) in Dubai is high. Nearly eight in ten expats praise the availability (79%) and quality (76%) of healthcare (vs. a respective 68% and 66% globally). But it could be more affordable, as only 46% rate this factor positively (vs. 58%). At least there’s a lot to do: the culinary & dining options (8th) and the culture & nightlife (10th) are well received.

The majority of expats in Dubai (59%) moved for job-related reasons (vs. 35% globally). Once there, they’re overall satisfied with Working Abroad (9th). Dubai is a city of improved career prospects (1st) and opportunities (10th) despite dissatisfying working hours (41st) and shaky job security (34th).

The Expat Essentials (3rd) and Ease of Settling In (11th) Indices indicate that the city keeps its expats in mind. It’s easy to live there without speaking Arabic (1st), deal with the local bureaucracy (3rd), and pay without cash (4th). And although housing may be easy to find (13th), it’s not necessarily the most affordable (20th). Overall, around three in four expats (74%) feel welcome in Dubai (vs. 63% globally).