The Strange Moment When Dubai Starts Feeling Small
Most arrive in Dubai expecting a gargantuan city. One with skyscrapers so high that they seem to touch the sky, packed roads, and cranes that stick up like trees all over. It felt huge to me during those first few weeks almost too much. What was surprising was that after living here for a while, Dubai started feeling a bit… small! Well not really in a physical sense since the city gradually expanded with new districts, old neighborhoods getting a facelift and major waterfront areas undergoing complete transformation. Socially and culturally however you began to feel how the city was a small world after all. For example, if you bump into someone in a caf in Jumeirah there is a great chance you will meet them again after some weeks in a networking event in Downtown or in a restaurant in Dubai Marina.
At different industry meetups, the same entrepreneurs show up. At least one or two art exhibitions and small cultural gatherings, creatives can be found circulating. Even tourists occasionally meet familiar faces after a few days of touring the city. It’s a sign that besides the huge skyline, Dubai functions like an amazingly close-knit community. To some extent, this is due to the city’s international population. People come from many different countries and most of the time they don’t have big social networks, so they have to make new ones rapidly. Communities get formed based on professions hobbies cultural backgrounds, and shared experiences.
Another factor is location.
In contrast to vast megacities where one can feel very disconnected in different parts of the city, most of Dubai’s important neighborhoods are still pretty close to each other. With a little driving you can go for example, from the JBR beach to the Business Bay area, or from the old Al Fahidi district to the architecturally modern Dubai Hills.
Such connectivity however does not only make the city physically smaller, but also mentally.
You get to know the city well. Those cafes you visit now and then are where you meet your friends. Certain beaches become your weekend haunts. One way or another the huge metropolis seems manageable – almost like your own city.
Sometimes it is this experience that travelers get on their extended visits. First a city of tourist attractions, it turns out to be one where residents have a full life and their paths cross in many different ways.
This very aspect could be among Dubai’s pros that it hardly talks about.
Even if it has a skyscraper filled skyline and is famous around the world, it still is a place where communities are built so fast, and acquaintances appear faster than one can expect, like in a smaller town.
