After 6 months in Dubai and countless questions from our community, I finally sat down to answer them all.
I collected every comment from every video, put them into a massive document, and went through them one by one. Here's what you've been asking – and what I've learned.
UK Property & Banking
"How do you manage UK property when you move?"
This is the most common question, and I have to be honest: I'm not going to pretend to be an accountant on the internet.
For tax advice around renting out UK property, I'm bringing experts onto the channel. If you want specific topics covered, drop them in the comments.
Our situation is different: my mum was thinking about moving house anyway, so she jumped into our family home. For me, that's a soft landing if Dubai doesn't work out. Sara's burned the bridges – she's never going back. I'm treating this as a 2-year experiment.
"Did you inform your bank of the move?"
Honestly? No. Probably should have. I don't know if I was meant to. We'll get expert advice on this.
Phone Numbers & SIM Cards
"How do you keep your UK number for banking verification codes?"
I now have two phone numbers:
- UK number – For banking apps, verification codes, anything linked to UK services
- Local Dubai number – For setting up banks, Emirates ID, everything local
How I Manage It
I moved both to eSIMs on my iPhone. In Dubai, I keep the UK number switched off (don't want the data charges). When I need a verification code, I turn it on via WiFi, get the code, turn it off again.
For the UK number, I'm with EE on the lowest data plan possible – just enough to keep the number active.
eSIM Warning
One downside of eSIMs: if your phone gets water damaged (and I've gone through 3-4 phones in 12 months taking videos at pools and water parks), getting a replacement eSIM is tricky.
- Dubai eSIM: Walk into the store, show ID, get a new one. Easy.
- UK eSIM: Had to wait until I was back in the UK to get a replacement.
With a physical SIM, you'd just swap it into the new phone. Something to consider.
Shipping Belongings
"Did you use a cargo company to move your stuff?"
No, we didn't. But we explored it.
Our Process
- Listed everything we wanted to take
- Got ruthless – we were going from a family home with loads of space to an apartment with none
- Ended up with 7 x 25kg suitcases
- Fully kitted out the apartment from Home Center, IKEA, and OC Home
When I go back to the UK, I can grab a few bits if we missed anything. But honestly, we managed to take everything important.
Shipping Options
If you do want to ship:
- Dedicated cargo: They box it up and ship it (more expensive)
- Shared container: Cheaper, but they wait until the container is full before shipping (longer timeline, but good if you're not time-sensitive)
Renting in Dubai
"Can you rent an apartment easily?"
Yes, renting is really simple. The main thing to navigate is the cheque situation:
| Cheques | What It Means |
|---|---|
| 1 cheque | Full year's rent upfront |
| 4 cheques | Quarterly payments |
| 12 cheques | Monthly payments (rare) |
Most places want 1-2 cheques. Finding 4 or 12 cheques is harder but not impossible.
The Reality
Renting is easy. It's just not cheap.
Coming from the Midlands (45 minutes north of Birmingham), the difference in what I paid for my mortgage vs what we pay here for way less space... it's a gut punch. The wallet hurts.
Location & Schools
"How do you choose where to live?"
Our approach: Find the school first, then work out where to live.
The traffic here is no joke. I would be really mindful of finding the school you want, then making sure your location makes sense for the commute.
Our Strategy
For Year 1, we specifically wanted to be within walking distance of the school. That was super important to us.
The trade-off? When you're close to schools and amenities, you pay a premium per square foot. We could get more space further out, but is the commute worth it?
We're actually exploring this now – our rent comes up in May, and I'm looking at different communities, maybe a townhouse. More space, but the school run becomes a consideration.
Business Setup & Visas
"Which company did you use?"
I'm deliberately not recommending anyone specific here yet. Not trying to dodge the question, but I don't want you to take my word as gospel and then find out in 6 months there was something I didn't know.
What I've Learned
- Mainland companies and Free Zone companies have different benefits
- Even within Free Zones, each zone has nuances
- Example: where I set up my company, I can't move it to another Free Zone in the future. Might not matter, might be a problem. I didn't know.
My Advice
Getting someone else to set up your business is a must. You can try to navigate it yourself, but I wouldn't.
I just got a 10,000 AED fine because I didn't know I needed to file for taxes. Sounds obvious, but we hadn't pushed anything through the business yet – still needed to file. Lesson learned.
Tax Questions
"Am I tax-free as soon as I move?"
"How do I take dividends from my UK company?"
"What's the cheapest way to move money?"
I'm not answering these directly because I don't want to give wrong advice. I'm bringing tax experts onto the channel to cover:
- UK tax residency rules
- Taking money from UK companies as a Dubai resident
- Legal, tax-efficient structures
What We Do (Not Advice)
We have a Dubai entity. There are UK trading companies we own or partially own. We invoice consulting work from the Dubai entity to the UK entities. They pay the Dubai entity, we withdraw from that into our Dubai bank accounts.
That's a mechanism – but don't hold me to it. We'll get a proper expert to explain it correctly.
Document Requirements
"Which documents need to be notarized?"
Get these attested before you move:
- Kids' birth certificates
- Your birth certificates
- Marriage certificate
Important: It's much cheaper to do this in your home country. We didn't do it in the UK and regretted it.
Our Complication
We got married in Cyprus, so we had to send documents there for attestation. Bit of a "what do we do here" moment. The service was good (we knew where documents were the whole time), but it was more expensive than it needed to be.
Pro tip: Get documents attested before you leave. Save yourself money and hassle.
Schools & Kids
"How are the boys finding school?"
They're absolutely loving it. Settled in really well.
We just had sports day:
- Riley won both his races (he works hard at running)
- Reggie won javelin, came second in a bunch of stuff
But the most important thing? Seeing how they interact with their friends. They've already built fantastic friendships – and such a diverse friendship group.
Why This Matters to Me
When I was younger, a teacher called my parents and said: "Your son is brilliant but he's either going to end up in prison or very successful. The next five years will decide."
She recommended I apply for a scholarship to Repton. I got in, and the key thing I learned was having a wide, diverse range of friends. It made me realize the world is big, there are loads of opportunities, and meeting different people with different backgrounds... it changed my perspective.
I want that for my boys too.
Quick Tips
Kite Beach
If you have a layover and want to visit:
- 6am is definitely not too early
- Look for the Starbucks at Kite Beach – that's the area
- Walk down the promenade (3.5-4km)
- At 6am you'll catch the sunrise – epic
Creek Vista Grande (Sobha Hartland)
If you're looking at this building:
- Stunning building
- Directly opposite the school (you could practically watch kids cross the road from the window)
- Great amenities
- Price per square foot similar to everything else in Hartland
- New mall being built right next to it
What's Coming
Based on your questions, I'm working on:
- 90-day cost of living breakdown – Exactly how much it costs to live here
- Tax expert interviews – Proper advice on UK tax residency, company structures
- Business setup expert – Mainland vs Free Zone, which is right for you
- Community tours – GoPro on my chest, walking around different estates
- Real estate broker recommendations – Finding people I actually trust
Key Takeaways
| Topic | My Advice |
|---|---|
| Documents | Get attested BEFORE you move |
| Schools | Choose school first, then location |
| Phone | Keep UK number (eSIM), get local number |
| Shipping | Consider fresh start – we did 7 suitcases |
| Renting | Easy, but not cheap |
| Business | Get professional help – don't DIY |
| Tax | Get expert advice – I'm not qualified |
Got Questions?
I'm doing these Q&A videos every 4 weeks now. Drop your questions in the comments and I'll answer them in the next one.
And if you're in Dubai and see me around – say hi! We've had people move to our building because of the videos, which is epic. That's exactly why we do this.
Planning Your Move?
- Take the neighbourhood quiz – Find the right area for your family
- Read: Tax-Free Living Myths – What UK families need to know
- Relocation Package – If you want hands-on help
Stay well, speak soon! 🇦🇪