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Let your next career move come to you.

Why do people do this? Career Dilemma

I see people who

(1) have moved from UK firms to US; obvious no brainer; but also

(2) have moved from US or MC to a Taylor Wessing or Simmons

Why?

And if  you are mid market at Simmons and say Simmons or Clydes or Dentons in Dubai offered you a job, why wouldn't you go? Same money, tax free. I reckon 99% of people would take it, yet there are so many UK associates in London and not Dubai

World is a very weird place.

I agree. If you can be a good associate at a mid tier shop you can go to Dubai and become a partner pretty much immediately.

Lower standards so more progress.

That said, it's pretty obvious (well for us normal humans) why someone would leave 100 hour weeks for something else.

"And if  you are mid market at Simmons and say Simmons or Clydes or Dentons in Dubai offered you a job, why wouldn't you go?"

do they just ring people up and offer them jobs or something?

er...dubai has everything

second largest mall in the world

beaches 

best restaurants

best weather most of the year

everything better quality

london is like queuing for a gangbang of a 6.5/10

dubai is a one on one with a dime

er...dubai has everything

second largest mall in the world

For some reason, the line about Lionel Twitchen being one of Torquay's leading Rotarians came to mind.

Dubai to me seems to be a soulless place that attracts people who are interested in (and only interesting to others because of) money and nothing else. 

first - you're wrong. And that's why I chime up about it. And it's not only Dubai - it's law, it's everything.

Yes, there's money. But it's more than that.

London - mostly darkness in the winter time. AND the life of a lawyer in London just isn't great. I'm sorry. It sucks. On average you show up at 9.30-10 and you finish at 7-11pm. At least at any major city firm, including even Eversheds and CMS. You spend most of your life at work.

On average you are working less in Dubai. It's more of a 9-6 for most lawyers. And they get paid twice as much.

And there is everything - beaches, pools, sea, malls, skiing, sand surfing, mountains, pleasant weather most of the year. 

And you're only 7 hours from London on a night flight. It takes 10 minutes to the airport, pop onto the flight, pass out, boom you're in London. I pop back for long weekends every other month at least, and I often return for much of the summer. You have to remember that Dubai has more bank holidays than the UK. And Ramadan means everything is dead - the government mandates people have to work limited hours.

I can also come back to London whenever I want. You know every year of working in Dubai means I earn twice what i would have done in London.

The power of that point is lost on many. But put it this way. 1 year in Dubai. Then i could go anywhere in the world (including london) and do nothing all day for year, and i would still have earnt the same as i would have done in london leaving the office at 10pm everyday for 2 years.

also the UK has had it. look at brexir. look at covid. look at the politicians. look at your energy crisis. look at your lorry drivers. and most importantly go to a mirror, and look at yourself.

2022 is going to be a crap year for the uk. as is 23. and 24. it will take years for recovery.

they're already taking you a few more k this year. little NI change. cost of living going up. pound is  ballooning up like a fat girl with an ice cream addiction.

 

as an expat, you always have to be cognisant of ability to return as and when necessary

people live and work on the outskirts of london in places like croydon

i spend more time in london than they do

in fact, i spend about 25% of the same free time as you do in london given the time you spend in offices and in bed.

if wales were tax free and had beautiful weather and beaches, maybe i would

the point is when you compare dubai, to bvi which is not well connected at all - or HK which is 21 hour flight away on the other side of the world, along with Singapore, Dubai comes out fantastically

(1) london lawyer life is miserable

99.9% of normal people will call you mad for working your life at any city firm.

recount what you actually do, the hours you work, they will tell you you are crazy.

(2) dubai takes lawyer life to where it should be, and where it might have been in the 70s or early 80s

you know, pop off at 5-6pm, nice big house in chelsea, partner at 3PQE at Slaughters

The reason why most of you won't move is because you can't.

You're tied down with kids and a partner and you probably couldn't get a job there if you tried.

That provides a certain level of negativity in these responses.

But as a self-trained psychotherapist, let me tell you: the negativity is reflective of the turbulence within your own psyche. Your kids are an annoying poopy smelly irritation who will grow up to hate you, you grow increasingly irritated with your day by day less attractive spouse, and you'll hit a mid life meltdown in the next 5 years, if you haven't had it already.

well not far off. 1.5 hours getting to airport. 2 hours going through customs and waiting. 12 hours to get there. sometimes you have to get a 14 hour or it ends up that long. 1.5 getting from airport to hotel.

I suspect it's a young person's gig. Those over 35 are probably going to be married and possibly have children in tow. It's more upheaval than say for those in their 20's. The rub probably is that firms aren't interested with young and inexperienced. 

 

The other thing Dawg is that one can be naughty in London and get away with it without fear of being thrown in the can. Adult sins such as drink and drugs, adultery, etc. Perception is that in Dubai while naughty things may go on, getting caught has bigger ramifications. 

presumably you can’t come back to London whenever you want because if you spend too long in the UK you aren’t non-resident and owe some tax …

but since you live with your mum in Coventry this is all academic isn’t it? 

Pearl - I can see you're interested. I can promise you that some of your assumptions - which are shared by most overseas - are not correct.

It's a lot more rambunctious than the West. Sleeping with others (i.e. of the opposite sex) is permitted. It was always done, but the law changed officially last year. Prostitution is rampant as some people on here know - every bar or hotel bar has prostitutes, tinder is full of them, there are even brothels frequented by tourists. 

People walk around in virtually no clothes. It's a Disneyland for expats. You'll be asked to, for example, have shorts that cover your knees for a large mall though, but it's hardly an imposition.

People drink as much, if nor more, in Dubai than London. Drugs, I can't personally comment on, as I never partake, but for performance enhancing things.

You’ve convinced me, I’m going to tell my wife and kids all about the wall to wall mall shopping,  prostitution  and sex tourism tonight. I’m defo sure she’ll be pushing me to book a flight tomorrow. 

🤣🤣🤣 my fave thing is when someone who doesn’t live in London and is bragging about it does so by telling me that they can get to London super quick.

just 7 hours on a flight ! 

fancy that - I get here in zero minutes. 
 

also telling me about malls - not a selling point. I’ve literally no interest in spending my leisure time in Brent Cross. I want to go to the Heath and the tate.

And you're only 7 hours from London on a night flight. It takes 10 minutes to the airport, pop onto the flight, pass out, boom you're in London
 

But didn’t you admit to flying economy class?

I reckon if you aren’t bothered about having any real mates, or seeing any family back in the UK, Dubai would be ok. Otherwise it would be rubbish. 

Seriously weird for someone to spend this amount of time advocating for it on an Internet forum though

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