A Couple of Points

So, we've been living here for over a month, and while we're not Abu Dhabi "experts" I would still like to address some questions/concerns/misconceptions that our friends and family brought up before our trip.
So here we go!

- Is Made going to have to cover her head?

This was by far the biggest question brought up. No, Made doesn't have to cover her head. While there are many women in the UAE that do cover their head or even wear a burka, its not mandatory. So when you see here women covering themselves it is more of a choice, or basically an embrace of their culture.
But if women go to a Mosque (yes, you are allowed to enter a Mosque regardless of being Muslim or not) they do have to cover their head, and of course men are not allowed to enter in shorts or sleeve-less shirts.

- Alcohol !!??
..and you know I lovesss me some drinkage.
Yes, you can drink here, BUT you can't drink everywhere. Alcohol is mostly sold in hotel bars. So, to get your drink ON you have to go to a hotel. The nightlife here revolves around hotels.
You're not allowed to keep alcohol in your house unless you have a liquor license. To get a license, you have to do some paperwork. Basically your boss has to approve your license and based on how much you earn you're allowed a certain amount of alcohol a month (from what I hear its a substantial amount) to keep in your house.
We don't have a license, but its ok since we have a bar practically on our backyard....hehehe.

- PORK
Yep, you can get that too ! Some Delis/markets have a "Pork Section." Muslims are obviously strictly forbidden from entering there, (trust me there's a big sign reminding them) but you could basically get your bacon on ! I love Pork, but I honestly have not had the crazy urge to go and get pork, so its ok. Plus, it doesn't really look fresh, probably been sitting on that freezer for months. But if you want pork you could get it !

- is it dangerous?
Nope, its not Iraq. Basically, there's almost 0% crime here, and I LOVE IT !! Of course if you commit a crime here you pay dearly, so I guess people think twice before committing a crime. And again, its not 0%, there is crime, but very little. Most common crime is a mugging of some drunk expat walking down a lonely dark area by himself at 3 am. At that point you almost deserve it.
That's one thing that makes you almost stay here. Think about this, going to an ATM and not having to watch your back, leaving your car outside unlocked, kids leave their toys in front of their houses and no one touches it, unlocked bikes, etc, etc.
Yeah, I can get used to that.

- Other religions
Since I'm not really religious don't have much to say about this, but there are churches in the UAE. In fact, just a couple of days ago I read this article on The National

- Women can't wear revealing clothing
You can, but its best not to, mainly out of respect, but trust me I've seen mini skirts in this city that would make New Yorkers blush, and yes, Arabic women wearing them. This of course is mostly at nights going to the clubs and things like that. Again, you could wear it, but it's still best to respect the local custom.
Plus some people might assume that you are a "lady of the night" and yes, they got those too.

- Holding hands and Public Displays of Affection
Yep, you can hold hands. You shouldn't go around making out in public, but its ok for me to hold my wife's hand or hug her. In fact, its not completely out of the ordinary to see Arabic couples holding hands.

- Family life
No one really brought this up since we don't have kids, but I do want to say something about it. If you don't like kids, DO NOT come to Abu Dhabi. This is one of the most children-friendly places I've ever been to. It seems like children can pretty much go to any restaurant; so everywhere you go there's always large families with their kids; and waiters, it seems, are almost required to play with the kids and take care of them. A common sight here is to be at a restaurant and see a family eating dinner while two of the kids are running around the restaurant playing, and this is completely normal here. So its great for families.


hugs and kisses to you all !!!!