Moving - A Time to Reflect but also to look ahead
Moving home is officially the third most traumatic time of life. And yet it is something we all do by choice!
I have recently made that choice once more and it is now time for me to move once more – I am soon to leave Dubai for a new adventure in Singapore heading our business there. This will be my fourth international move, previously having moved from the UK to Thailand, Thailand to Singapore and Singapore to Dubai. It seems that I have an affinity with Singapore!
Of course we are now going through the process of planning for the move, trying to see all of our friends before we go, deciding what to pack and what not to, think about pack dates, hotels, house-hunting, cat relocation etc. We like to call it ‘work experience’!
Thankfully, the most important decision that needs to be made (who shall we move with?) is one that I do not need to make! The Allied Pickfords boys have been booked already – it is true testament to the standards we maintain that I absolutely have no hesitation in having these guys pack up 17 years of our collections from around the world.
Naturally, moving is a time to reflect and we have certainly mixed feelings about leaving Dubai. The last 4 years have sailed past in the blink of an eye and it will, as always, be sad to leave behind our friends, colleagues and the things we like best about Dubai. At the same time, we are excited about living in Singapore with the new set of challenges and adventures that this move will bring to us.
During the process of reflection, we have been realizing how much Dubai has changed in such a short time, but also how much of the landscape has not changed in hundreds of years. The two very different sides of Dubai: the ever changing sky-line along Sheik Zayed Road and Jumeirah Beach versus the timeless beauty of the desert and mountain areas just a short drive from the city.
The fun times in Dubai have been varied. The fabulous tradition of the Friday Brunch; skiing lessons at Ski Dubai; desert driving in temperatures of around 55 degrees; desert camping in temperatures of around 7 degrees; the golf and the new friends made on the fairways (or in the rough!) of Dubai’s golf courses; the world-class sports events such as The Dubai Tennis Open, The Dubai Desert Classic and The Dubai World Cup and the satisfaction of bringing
The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines to Dubai to celebrate St George’s Day. There is no doubt about it Dubai is a great place to be.
But, this is also a time to look ahead. Singapore presents an opportunity for us to be back in our second-home: we have spent 9 years in Asia before now and are excited about being back and having a whole new set of adventures to fill our lives with.
I hope that anyone considering a move to Dubai will grab the opportunity with both hands and embrace it for what it truly is: an experience of a life-time. Opportunities like the chance to live in Dubai do not come along in bundles; in fact, they come along pretty much as frequently as an on-time bus in the UK. Not that often!
Like everywhere, it is what you make it but it truly is one of the best kept secrets of the world, despite all of the “Dubai Inc.” marketing the world has seen in recent times. We will miss it – but like all things that are important to each of us, we shall be making the effort to come back and stay in touch.
Goodbye Dubai – thank you for the ways in which you have enriched our lives and gave us the opportunity to make so many friends. For anyone considering a move to Dubai, don’t let this slip through your hands….you will live to regret it if you do.
Derek Garlick
ALLIED PICKFORDS
General Manager, Middle East