'Dubai isn’t handing out Porsches': Entrepreneur warns expats to bring real skills or stay home
Dubai, he argues, is no longer a shortcut or a golden ticket. While the city still boasts no income tax, safety, and global connectivity, it’s now among the world’s most expensive cities — rising from 55th in 2008 to 7th today.
- Aug 25, 2025,
- Updated Aug 25, 2025 3:28 PM IST
Dubai’s days as a tax-free haven for expats coasting on average talent are over, says entrepreneur Justin McGuire in a LinkedIn post challenging outdated perceptions of life and work in the UAE.
Responding to a viral article about a British communications professional who rejected a £37,000 Dubai offer and relocated to Berlin, McGuire dismantles the notion that the Dubai dream is dead — but agrees it’s fundamentally changed.
“If you think you’re arriving in Dubai in 2025 and getting handed £60k, a house, and a Porsche… you’ve been drinking the wrong sauce,” McGuire writes.
Dubai, he argues, is no longer a shortcut or a golden ticket. While the city still boasts no income tax, safety, and global connectivity, it’s now among the world’s most expensive cities — rising from 55th in 2008 to 7th today. School fees match UK private schools, groceries are imported, and housing is steep: a two-bedroom villa in a decent area runs AED 200k–300k annually.
Salaries, meanwhile, have either stagnated or fallen. “Businesses know the talent pool is full, and they price accordingly,” McGuire notes. Companies now prioritize local knowledge, speed, and specialization. Relocation packages and speculative hiring? Rare, if not extinct.
McGuire highlights that early movers had a clear advantage: “Those of us who came 15+ years ago had first-mover advantage... We earned our stripes before the market exploded.”
Today, he says, Dubai resembles other global power cities — high pressure, high cost, and high reward. Success here isn’t handed out. It’s earned.
“This is not a playground. This is where grown-ups build,” McGuire concludes. “Now you need to bring something to get in.”
Dubai’s days as a tax-free haven for expats coasting on average talent are over, says entrepreneur Justin McGuire in a LinkedIn post challenging outdated perceptions of life and work in the UAE.
Responding to a viral article about a British communications professional who rejected a £37,000 Dubai offer and relocated to Berlin, McGuire dismantles the notion that the Dubai dream is dead — but agrees it’s fundamentally changed.
“If you think you’re arriving in Dubai in 2025 and getting handed £60k, a house, and a Porsche… you’ve been drinking the wrong sauce,” McGuire writes.
Dubai, he argues, is no longer a shortcut or a golden ticket. While the city still boasts no income tax, safety, and global connectivity, it’s now among the world’s most expensive cities — rising from 55th in 2008 to 7th today. School fees match UK private schools, groceries are imported, and housing is steep: a two-bedroom villa in a decent area runs AED 200k–300k annually.
Salaries, meanwhile, have either stagnated or fallen. “Businesses know the talent pool is full, and they price accordingly,” McGuire notes. Companies now prioritize local knowledge, speed, and specialization. Relocation packages and speculative hiring? Rare, if not extinct.
McGuire highlights that early movers had a clear advantage: “Those of us who came 15+ years ago had first-mover advantage... We earned our stripes before the market exploded.”
Today, he says, Dubai resembles other global power cities — high pressure, high cost, and high reward. Success here isn’t handed out. It’s earned.
“This is not a playground. This is where grown-ups build,” McGuire concludes. “Now you need to bring something to get in.”