Saying goodbye, we're off to Dubai

The word is finally out that we are headed to Dubai so we thought that it was a significant enough event to actually write about. I talked them into delaying my first day until October 5th (much better than Sept. 21) so we should have enough time to make the rounds and see the family before we leave.

So why are we going? Well, my first answer is always that we have finally had enough of the Phoenix summer heat but the 3 degree cooler temperature there hasn't convinced anyone yet. Camille and I have always talked about moving out of the country and things just fell into place at this time to finally make the jump. We initially intended to go there just for the money but as we learned more about Dubai, we really felt drawn to it. Needless to say, things were put in motion and we are still trying to get our heads around what we are getting ourselves into.


I will be working for an engineering firm based in Australia but they have offices all over the world. The company is called GHD http://www.ghd.com.au/ and you can find out more on the office here http://www.ghd.com.au/aptrixpublishing.nsf/Content/UAE_off. They are going to have me work on the Al Barari project located in Dubailand. The Al Barari website http://www.albarari.com/ doesn't have much on it yet because it is under construction but there are a few other sites with some info http://www.unityestates.com/PropertyPages/Dubai/AlBarari/AlBarari-villas-Dubai.htm. The homes are pricey!! They have also insinuated that I will later be working on one of the palm islands that they are building in the gulf. I don't know which palm I'll be working on but this website is pretty cool and the videos are interesting http://www.palmsales.ca/. I will be a part of the transportation team so I will mainly be working on roads and utilities. These are both really high profile projects so I am really excited to get involved in it. Camille plans on looking for work once we get out there but from what we can see, she won't have any problems finding a job.

Dubai is a pretty incredible place. We could go on and on about it but I hate writing so that's not going to happen. The link below has some of the best pictures I have found of the city even though they are a little outdated. It is interesting to see how the city has grown over the years.

http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/dubaiaerials&page=all

We are very excited and anxious to leave but we will definately miss so many things about the United States. There will be so many different things to adjust to when we get there. Possible none greater than not being able to find $4.00/gal gasoline, apparently no one over there will accept more than $1.20/gal. I think for the first few months I will have to just pump 10-15 gallons out onto the ground after a fill up until I adjust to the change. It's actually a toss up between the reasonable gas prices and no taxes, I still don't know which one will be the most difficult to accept. All jokes aside, we are going to miss our family and friends and we really don't know when we will be back in the country. We are going to take this big step in our life and see where it takes us. That's about as mushy as I'll get so anything worse will be from Camille.

A few other interesting tid bits. Dubai has an LDS ward, which, if I'm not mistaken, is the only one in the middle east. Dubai is also really big on racing so obviously I have confirmed that they have a motocross track. Camel racing is actually really big there so maybe I'll switch over....... or just get a paddle tire for the bike. Ginger sent me this picture the other day so I figured this is a good spot for it. I think that will wrap it up for me, I'm sure we'll have plenty to write about once we get there so stay in touch.


- Mike