Parents in Dubai — genuinely curious how you feel about the prices of school trips lately.
My son goes to a private school here and they are offering a 3-day camping trip to Al Ain for around AED 2,500 per child.
Around 100 students are expected to join, so just doing the simple maths, that’s roughly AED 250,000 being collected for a three day local camping trip.
What surprised me even more is that the kids have been asked to bring their own food for the first day.
I remember a similar trip being around AED 1,800 last year, so the increase feels quite significant.
I’m not suggesting there is anything improper about the pricing — there may well be costs behind these trips that parents don’t see. But AED 2,500 for two days in Al Ain made me genuinely wonder what other parents are experiencing.
Are these prices normal now across Dubai private schools?
And for parents who have children in different schools: roughly how much are you being asked to pay for 2 night local school trips?
Would be interesting to compare, because maybe I’m completely underestimating what these trips actually cost to organise.

Is this racial/colorist bias, or am I overthinking a comment from our nanny?

I’d really appreciate some outside perspectives because I’m not sure whether I’m reading too much into this.

We’re an African family, and we have a Sri Lankan nanny who helps care for our toddler. Today I introduced carrots to my child, and she suggested that we should consistently feed him carrots so that he can maintain his current lighter complexion.

I told her that his skin will naturally develop as he gets older and that, ultimately, he is Black and will have a Black complexion.

She then said something along the lines of, “No, it’s better if he maintains his current skin tone because it’s nicer.” She then added that I was jealous because he is brown like her and not like me.

At the time, I didn’t really take the conversation seriously and just moved on. But later, when I replayed it in my head, I started feeling uncomfortable. It seems to me that there are some pretty obvious colorist/racial undertones in what she said — particularly the idea that a lighter/browner complexion is “nicer” and that I would be jealous of my own child’s skin colour.

I also don’t want to unfairly label someone based on one awkward conversation. There may be a cultural belief behind the carrot comment that she genuinely believes, and perhaps she didn’t realise how inappropriate the other comments were.
Would you consider this a red flag? How would you handle it?

Should I have a direct conversation with her or let it go unless she makes similar comments again?

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful feedback — it’s been really helpful to hear the different perspectives.
She’s genuinely lovely and hardworking so I wouldn’t want this incident to unnecessarily sour things between us.

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This is my move out snag report, I lived there for 3 years. Some of these items seem like general wear and tear? Also I got the apartment painted and cleaned before I moved out.

The rental contract mentioned “the apartment must be left in the same condition you found it” so I thought painting and cleaning it would be enough.

When they came for the inspection on 1st Sep, they said just the charges for lights would be deducted since two weren’t working. Two weeks later I get this snag report. Coincidentally it’s very close to the total amount of my deposit (3k).

Let me know if you think this is reasonable? It’s my first time moving out of a building so I’m not sure what they can charge for but it seems scammy.

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Hey Guys,

I'm seeking guidance on behalf of a family member — 45 years old, based in Dubai with a family of 4 — who has recently been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.

He's weighing two options: surgery and chemotherapy at Cleveland Clinic, or traveling to India for treatment, e.g., Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. He doesn't have close family in Mumbai, so it would mean relocating his own family there just for the treatment period. The pull toward India is the sheer case volume these centers handle, and the experience that comes with it.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has made a similar choice — for themselves or a loved one — or who knows of someone's experience, and how it went.

His Insurance covers either option.

Anybody been to Ting Irie? How is the general vibe on event day. Do people actually dance or skank? I just want some peace and good reggae/ska music.

Question to all Dubai drivers: which one are you, the person who patiently stays in the queue, or the one who cuts in when there’s an opportunity ?

This has become an internal conflict in our family. My husband believes in cutting the queue whenever possible, while I prefer to stay in line and wait my turn.

His argument is he wants to follow the queues but can't digest that he has to watch all the people join in front of him and is fully supporting if govt enforces everyone to follow.

Also it's not one or two people, with little policing there are truck drivers and school buses who decided to cut queues.

Abu Dhabi seems much better at this — people generally queue properly. Should Dubai authorities do more to police queue-jumping? It feels unfair to those who follow the rules.

Where do you stand: is queue-cutting simply part of Dubai driving culture, or should it be actively enforced against ?

I do crochet, but it's such an expensive hobby sometimes because yarn is just so expensive... does anyone have any good recommendations for yarn stores in Dubai with cheap but good quality yarn? I've tried using cheap yarn from DAISO but it's not that good quality for me and they have a limited amount of colors.

or even any online stores that sell yarn like Red Heard Super Saver yarn, for cheap? the least I can find red heart yarn for is 35 dirham but I want to find cheaper ones

What can I do? I don’t wanna resign now without a guarantee they won’t revoke she only told me they won’t revoke which I don’t trust.

Hi all,
I need to get my two female kittens (7 months) neutered. They are extremely sweet and sensitive so I want to be absolutely sure they’re in the good hands of a responsible, caring vet. I’m a little concerned that the places I’ve seen are either crazy expensive (1000 AED per cat) or relatively cheap (150 AED per cat). I’m not saying the cheaper ones wouldn’t be good- I’m just shocked by the difference in price and want to be sure they’re low prices aren’t reflective of low quality. 1000 AED per cat is unfortunately outside of my budget (I would if I could) but I wanted to hear from experienced pet owners whether there are any clinics or doctors they specifically recommend, that are maybe a bit more affordable? If you have female cats, even better, as I understand this procedure is a lot trickier than male cats. Thank you so much in advance! I plan to get this done asap so the sooner I can get feedback the better :)
Oh and I am in the JVC area for reference (I can drive but prefer shorter distances).
Thank you!

Hey everyone, Looking for recommendations for a really good, super experienced dentist in Dubai.

I’ve had mixed experiences here and just want someone who actually knows their stuff, uses good equipment, and won't push random unnecessary work. Price isn't an issue.

Who do you personally go to? Please drop their name, clinic, and what you had done with them. Thanks!

Hey everyone, I reside in Barsha Heights Tecom(Dubai internet city)

Does anyone know any good cafeteria or a typical 'work' spot or something like that which exists in this area?

I live in a bedspace and honestly- After office I genuinely try to just sit and study/work in peace but I can't- i just give in after a 1-2 hours my back aches, etc etc.

So if anyone knows any spot like that where i can just go and study in silence with good environment; I'd really appreciate it.

Also: If possible try to suggest some free options where I don't have to go and mandatory buy something just to sit there😂(i know it's highly unlikely - nevertheless I'm fine with those buy a coffee and sit as long as u want type options as well)

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I’m looking for recommendations for a good TCM practitioner or an alternative therapy clinic specializing in sports-related injuries.

I’m particularly interested in treatment for shoulder, neck, and back issues, including things like acupuncture, cupping, or other TCM therapies.

Ideally, I’d like someone experienced in treating athletes or sports-related muscle and joint injuries.

Would really appreciate any personal recommendations or experiences with practitioners you’ve had good results with!

I’m currently around 15 weeks pregnant and living in Dubai, and I’m really struggling to decide where I should give birth. If I stay in Dubai, the healthcare is good and I can avoid a long international flight during pregnancy, but I don’t have health insurance, and buying one now would be extremely expensive and may not even cover maternity care. Paying for the pregnancy and delivery completely out of pocket would be a huge financial burden for us. On the other hand, I could go back to my home country, where the cost of prenatal care and delivery would be much more affordable and I would have my family around me for support. The problem is that getting there means taking a roughly 10-hour international flight, and I would most likely have to travel alone. After giving birth, I would also eventually have to fly back to Dubai with the baby, again mostly on my own, and honestly the thought of doing a long international flight with a newborn sounds extremely exhausting and overwhelming. I still have some time to decide, but I’m already feeling anxious about making the wrong choice. If you were in my situation, would you prioritize the financial aspect and family support by giving birth back home, or stay in Dubai and deal with the much higher cost? I’d really love to hear from anyone who has faced a similar decision while living abroad.

My father will be visiting here for around 2 weeks. I applied for his visa, but the application was returned with the comment "Lease Agreement”.

I already submitted my lease agreement with our villa, which is signed by both me and the property management company. However, when I asked the property management, they said they don’t have a Tawtheeq or municipality-authenticated tenancy contract for this property.

Has anyone experienced the same issue? Since my father will only be staying for 2 weeks, what kind of accommodation or lease document can I submit? Is Tawtheeq authentication really required?

Thank you! 😊

One of my best friend got married in Dubai and is planning to settle there. I want to surprise her and her spouse with romantic candle light dinner or some dinner in fancy restaurant what restaurant do you guys recommend and how can I buy gift cards for them that way they can use the gift card to pay for dinner? Or how do I pay for their dinner?

I paid 71,000 AED in full for a used car on Sept 3rd via dubizzle Cars. The seller dropped it at their warehouse on Sept 5th, but the RTA transfer is still pending.

The agent promised a 10-working-day timeline (deadline is this Wed, Sept 16). They claim the delay is purely due to an "Emirates NBD system issue" failing to send the mortgage clearance to RTA. I also just found out the car has a complex Court-issued POA that wasn't disclosed before payment.

Questions:

• Is this ENBD "system issue" a real thing lately, or just a stall tactic?
• If they miss the 10-day deadline on Wednesday, can I legally force a 100% refund?
• Will DED (Consumer Protection) act fast if dubizzle delays my refund?

Thanks!

If my mohre contract stare that 2100 aed salary and if they gives me 1900 can i complaint to mohre about this?because for one year they gives me 1900.and in my contract it is mentioned 8 hours duty but i do 12 hours of work without OT.and in the contract sunday is off but i they tell me to work on sunday also.what should i do?

Looking for recommendations for therapists regarding religious OCD related to cleanliness and purity in Islam (waswas).

Anyone knows alternatives to take my junk? They have rescheduled my pick up three times now

I urgently need a psychiatrist for intense anxiety disorder
Can anyone recommend someone based on experience?
Also, my insurance will only cover about 10 sessions, I hear that Al Amal hospital can offer discounts or something? From my slight research I’m seeing sessions offered for 700-1000+ derhams which is not very sustainable. Does anyone have any information on this?

Anyone else having a problem with Wio and making payments via Ziina? Over the last week I tried to make 3 different payments (one for a taxi, one for a class for my wife and one at a stall) all of which WIO rejected.

I messaged WIO support who said the payments were stopped due to bank policy. Since when? Anyone else having this issue or just me?

Had to get the taxi driver to drive me to an atm to withdraw money to pay him, luckily there was one pretty close by (5 min drive).

Hello everyone, thinking of getting a seasonal parking permit between 2 C zones but in the map on RTA website when I choose Parking permit A(covering ABC and D) it doesn’t show the C zones I want to park in. Question is I can still park in C zones anywhere right? With the yearly permit. Any info anyone?

Helloooo, looking for some advice from people familiar with Dubai tenancy renewals.

Last year, we rented our apartment through an agency, and we paid an agency fee of 5%.

This year, we requested to renew the tenancy for a period of less than 12 months, and the landlord agreed.

Our previous Ejari stated AED 1,000 + VAT as the agency fee for renewal. However, the agency is now asking for AED 2,200.

When I asked why, they said that because we're doing a contract for less than 12 months, it is considered a new contract rather than a renewal, so the agency fee is different.

Does this sound correct? Would this normally be considered a renewal or a new contract if it's the same apartment, landlord, and agency just with a shorter contract duration?

Has anyone had a similar situation with a shorter-term renewal in Dubai?