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Has Dubai changed since 2018?
Some friends have said Dubai has changed dramatically from 2018. Mostly that i… I used to live in Dubai since 1990s and stayed for nearly 30 years until I left in Dec 2018. I've been gone for 6 years.
Some friends have said Dubai has changed dramatically from 2018. Mostly that it's extremely busy in all the shopping malls and on the roads and that the city has now become an artificial playground just to make rich people happy (my friends words)
Is this true? Would be sad because I was really looking forward to coming back. Can anyone who has been here long enough share what changes I can expect compared to 2018?
Thanks
I left in 2017 and came back in 2022, so not exactly your timeline but close enough. The biggest thing that got me was how the food scene shifted. Back in 2018 you could still find decent Pakistani or Filipino joints in Satwa or Al Nahda that cost 20 dirhams for a proper meal. Now most of those are gone, replaced by cloud kitchens or instagrammable brunch spots charging 80 dirhams for avocado toast.
The city got better in some ways though. Public transport actually goes places now, the tram connects to more areas and the bus routes expanded into neighborhoods that were dead zones before. If you're into culture, Alserkal Avenue and Fikra are more active than they were in 2018, and there are real art galleries that aren't just tourist traps. But your friend is right about the crowds. I went to Ibn Battuta on a Tuesday afternoon last month and the food court was shoulder to shoulder.
What I'd say is don't expect the 2018 version of Dubai. That city is gone. But if you come back with fresh eyes and skip the obvious spots, you can still find pockets that feel like home. JLT and Barsha Heights still have that mixed expat energy, just more expensive and with fewer hidden gems.
yeah your friend isn't wrong but it's not all bad. traffic is genuinely worse, like driving from barsha to DIFC used to be 20 mins, now it's 40 on a good day. malls are packed even on weekdays, especially dubai mall and MOE. but the thing that changed most is how spread out everything feels now, like there's new neighborhoods that didn't even exist in 2018, city walk and dubai hills and all that. if u loved the old dubai vibe, u might find it buried under a lot more glitz, but the core expat community is still there, just harder to find
honestly, the "artificial playground" thing is a bit harsh but not completely off. the biggest shift since 2018 is how much the city leans into being a destination rather than a home, if that makes sense. rents in places like the marina or jlt have gone up like 30-40% since then, and a lot of the old affordable cafes and random hole-in-the-wall spots got replaced by chains or overpriced concepts.
traffic is the real shocker though. al khail road used to be my shortcut, now it's a parking lot even at 11am. and they keep building new communities like dubai south or dubai creek harbour that pull people further out, so the sprawl is real. but the old dubai is still there if you know where to look. satwa and karama haven't changed much, and deira still has that chaotic charm. the city just got a lot more expensive and a lot busier, which is great if you're in finance or tech, less so if you just want your old life back
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Dubai/Sharjah Road Scam?
damn u basically did a free taxi run to rak. thing is they usually target cars with a single guy driving & look for dubai plates so u look like u got somewhere to be. best move is roll ur window down like two inches, say u already called the cops for them & keep moving, dont even unlock the door
yeah that's a known one on e311 & the sharjah ring road, usually they wave you down near the adnoc or before the rta cameras claiming wallet got lifted. classic play is they ask for a lift to the next emirate then bail once you slow down, sometimes a second guy on a bike is tracking you. next time just call 999 or drop them at the nearest police point, don't let anyone in your car off the highway ngl
The RAK route is the tell. No one genuinely stranded on the ring road needs to get all the way to Ras Al Khaimah, that's a 90 minute drive. These guys work in pairs and the second car picks them up after they hop out, usually somewhere past the Al Sajaa junction or near the ADNOC on E311. If it happens again, tell them you'll drive them to the nearest police station and watch how fast the story changes.