The British Are Coming!

In American history these words represented a battle cry! That was sometime around 1775. In those days, the British it seems had come to just about every place on the globe. I don't know when they originally came to what is now the UAE, but it was a protectorate of some sort for the British until the formation of a united Arab federation in 1971.

Fast-forward 35 years and the British seem to be coming again, reports 7 Days:

The number of Britons who bought a property in Dubai in 2005 has increased by 60 per cent over the last year, according to currency specialist HIFX's new Global Property Hot Spots report.

How many are in fact coming, why and where are they settling? No doubt, Dubai Marina is one of the main attractions. A tally of hits on these Dubai Marina webpages indicate that hits from the UK are tied with or surpass the number of hits from the UAE, and the two exceed the total of all other countries by far.

So many factors would contribute to the popularity of Dubai as a destination for both travel and residence that these findings should not be too surprising:

• The historical connection,
• the fact that the UAE is in large part an English speaking country,
• the "wow" factor that Dubai generates through its new projects,
• the high cost of property in the UK, and so on.

It will be interesting to see 5 or 10 years hence how English, in fact, the Dubai Marina becomes. Could it turn out to be a Little Briton? Or will the Marina look more cosmopolitan with a fair mix of Brits and other Westerners, alongside a good number of Arab and Indian nationals? It is too early to tell, but a picture should begin to emerge once more projects are completed.

Go to DM Blog latest posts, Dubai Marina Communities or MAG 218 Community homepage.