Listen up all you over-educated and underpaid 20 and 30-somethings out there in la la land. This is not about the United Arab Emirates, and Dubai in particular, with its outlandish wealth and lavish expat lifestyle.
Neither is this about applying for a personal loan in the UAE – UAE, by the way, is short for United Arab Emirates. Pay attention! You need a UAE bank account in order to obtain a personal loan. And you can’t get a UAE bank account unless you live in the country.
Simple. Logical. Got it now? Packing the bags yet? Chomping at the bit contemplating the ultimate getaway, with the mouthwatering prospect of a gazillion-dollar bank loan further down the line? Didn’t think so. You’re better off staying in the USA.
Let’s face it, you’d rather complain about the world-wide slump, and how it’s holding you and the rest of the USA back. That’s why you’re under-stretched and underpaid, with maybe too much time on your hands. So now there’s no get-up-and-go left in your life.
But maybe it’s not all your fault. Cue ‘Strapped’, a book by Tamara Draut.
The book’s Amazon description says, “Drowning in student loans? Can’t afford to get married, buy a home, have children? Up to your ears in credit card debt? At last, a book for the under-35 generation that explains why it’s not their fault…”
Blah, blah, blah and so on. Plenty of other books like it, too. Enough to stifle the yawns and keep you reading for months and years so you don’t have to do anything too radical. Or there’s Dubai, a forward-looking cosmopolitan city, a jewel in the Middle Eastern crown, where thousands of Americans are carving out a future for themselves right now.
Anyone lacking a bit of oomph in their life should certainly find it in Dubai. A few years back there was nothing but desert sands and Bedouin tribesmen for company. Then came the oil, mixed in with a whole lot of oomph, which transformed the empty desert into the global city we see today.
The oil may not be around in quite the same quantities as it once was at the start of the boom years, but the oomph has hardly diminished. Not one iota. It’s there in abundance and has the habit of rubbing off on anyone within 60 miles of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure on the planet, let alone in Dubai. That’s how far away you can see it.
Look, no more talk about fabulous weather and deep blue Persian Gulf waters, or ‘seven’ star hotels and incredible man-made islands, or architecturally-exciting buildings of steel, glass and concrete and brilliant star-studded entertainment venues. No talk either of the marvelous shopping malls like The Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world with over 1,200 retail outlets.
You don’t want to hear about all of that and the super multinational banks like HSBC or Barclays offering personal banking like you’d find in the States, banks which have helped drive the development of this spectacular city.
No, it’s far easier moaning about being over-educated and underpaid. Yeah, right. Read about the official opening of the Burj Khalifa here.
