The Really Useful Links
With a month to go before I move I've been researching the city which will be my home for the
coming months. A lot of information about the city has been useless advertorials.
True Dubai
Jessica Franz and Stefan Zwanzger run True Dubai, an online photo guide of "true" Dubai. It's easy to see why this is necessary. Many people have a fixed, if a little fuzzy, picture of the city in their heads.
Grape Shisha
http://www.grapeshisha.com/
"Information and Insight on the UAE" across most spheres of life in the emirates, with a natural focus on Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Particularly useful are the spreadsheets for cost of living and rental prices that let you have a glimpse into how much things cost. Only problem is the files were last updated in 2006 and prices have supposedly grown far higher since then. Other than that, an excellent resource.
Dubai FAQs
Good independent guide and FAQ. Expat-focused, as Dubai-sites usually are. But if you needed to find out more about driving licenses or the different parts of the city, this is it. Also, a good section on Salik (Dubai's ERP, the one Singapore inspired). Long list of Things To Do. http://www.dubaifaqs.com/things-to-do-in-dubai.php
Blue Banana
What do you give in a city where there's a greater concentration of people who can buy anything they want, than elsewhere in the world? Alternative gift experiences. You can give racing experiences in "F1-style" cars, regular spa experiences, language courses, coffee making courses, and more.
Dubizzle,GNAds4U, Souq
Some of the better classifieds/auction sites.
Dubizzle: http://www.dubizzle.com/
GNAds4U: http://gnads4u.com/
Souq (eBay-like): http://souq.com/
