True Expat: From A Lifetime In Dubai To New Beginnings In The UK

The UAE is a place that, the longer you live here, the more you seem to fall in love with the country, the people and the lifestyle. It is no wonder that you often find expats who have been living and working in the country for 10 or more years and aren’t planning to leave anytime soon.

People come here to build a career, start a family and create a different life for themselves. Unfortunately, as many residents know, that can very easily be taken away. Robin, a former expat in Dubai, tells us about his journey of having to start over in the UK after being made redundant and how it affected his life and that of his family.

1. When did you move to the UAE?

I moved to the UAE with my wife in 1994 and we lived there for 22 consecutive years. Back then we didn’t have any kids and my wife worked in the hotel industry and after we had our second child she ran her own very successful business for 7 years.

2. What caused you to move back to the UK in 2016?

I was made redundant by a British plc company.

3. How have you found repatriating back to the UK – was it a struggle, was leaving Dubai relatively smooth?

Repatriation has been a struggle, especially finding work; leaving Dubai was smooth but also stressful after 22 years, we had accumulated so much stuff!

4. Are there certain ‘Dubai comforts’ that you have missed?

We have missed all that Dubai has to offer, we loved every minute being there and above all, we miss the weather.

5. Do you think you would move abroad again in the future, if so, what country?

If the right opportunity came up we would move back to Dubai but only after our daughter finishes school.

6. Do you agree that being an expatriate makes one more ‘worldly’, and open-minded? Are these traits somewhat lacking in your community back in the UK?

Living in the UAE, in an international environment has been so good for all of us, culturally we are so aware and find it easy socialising in any company, my kid’s eyes are “internationally” wide open. 

7. Was it easy to slot back into UK life, your social groups and with your families?

It is not easy and takes time, my daughter especially struggled the most, she missed her life and her friends, all my kids were borne in the UAE and consider it their home.

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8. Do you have children? If so, what age? And how were they moving home?

I have three kids, Chris 21, he's just graduated Uni with a 2.1 in English and History, he was already in the UK for two years, us moving back was a blessing for him because he had his family close to him again. Alex is 18 and misses all his friends and Dubai immensely, he has just passed his PADI Divemaster, he learnt to dive whilst as school (Gems World Academy) and wants to be a scuba instructor.

Laura has just turned 15, it was a real struggle for her and for six months I was the worse Dad in the world for ruining her life. That has changed, it’s been over a year now and she is excelling at school academically and is in the rowing team. What helped a lot was her two best friends from school (Elise and Emma) came over from Dubai in the summer and stayed with us.

This is typical of all my kids, Alex went to Canada in the summer to spend time with his best friend who he met at school in Dubai and my eldest has also travelled internationally to meet his best friends, Dubai has made my kids confident international citizens.

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9. What are you most grateful for after moving back to the UK?

When I moved back both my parents were still alive, my Dad wasn’t well living in a home and my Mum was frail, both died this year within two months of each other, if I hadn’t moved back then I wouldn’t have got to spend quality time with them before they passed. Being away from family is the hardest thing living abroad but my parents had wonderful holidays visiting us in the Emirates.

10. Is there something you regret about moving back home?

I would have liked my daughter to have finished school in Dubai at GWA like her brothers, but you can’t have everything in life as we have found out.

12. We understand that you’re parting with your holiday home in Kenya – could you please give us the story behind why that is?

I fully anticipated being in Dubai until I retired and after working with the same company for 25 years and excelling, I expected to retire with them. I made the wrong assumptions, our circumstances have completely changed and we need to sell our house to use the funds to pay for future living expenses. 

13. Is Kenya a place you would recommend expatriates move to?

Yes, I would. It’s a fantastic country with so many positive things and wonderful people, they have their challenges but the press seems to exaggerate anything that goes on there. Dubai schools arrange school trips every year to Kenya, there has never been a problem and we have never had a problem, we have visited since 1992. 

14. What tourist attractions would you say are a must-do in Kenya?

For us safari is the most special thing, we have been to Hemingways many times both on safari and at their beach resort. The Indian Ocean is magical; it’s warm, crystal blue with beautiful sandy beaches and the deep sea fishing is world class. That is why we chose Kenya, the coast is truly spectacular and there is a wonderful Robinson Crusoe restaurant called Monsoons a stone’s throw from our house.

You can experience the beauty of Kenya for yourself, and even own your own house there! Robin and his wife, Angela, are running a competition where you stand a chance to win Mtwapa Beach Villa in Mombasa, Kenya with a number of extras worth £900,000 in total.

All you need to do to enter the raffle is to answer a simple question about Kenya and pay a mere £2.50 (about AED 12.20 depending on the exchange rate) for your entry. The best news is that a portion of the proceeds will be donated to three charities: The God Our Father Orphanage, Kenya, The Doddy Weir'5 Discretionary Trust and Restart Rugby.

The lucky winners of the raffle will receive:

• The house with furniture, fixtures and fittings
• The boat plus mooring and crew member for 1 year
• Return economy flights for up to 4 people
• Meet and greet at the airport, transport to the house and the owner available locally for 1 week to help familiarise yourself with the area and answer any questions
• £1000 cash for your holiday
• Cleaning services for 1 year
• Gardening services for 1 year
• Security services for 1 year
• Luxury safari courtesy of Hemingways during your visit.

The house is a spacious 4-bedroom house, 2 of which are ensuite bedrooms. It features a kitchen, pantry, living room, rooftop terrace swimming pool, generator house as well as annexe with large double offices, double bedroom, bathroom, games room and much more.

The closing date for entries is December 21, 2018, at 12 pm with the winner announced on January 14, 2019