What is It Like to Live in Abu Dhabi?

As many people know, UAE is one of the most popular places to be settled in by the expats in the Arab world. It is usually outshined by its sister Emirate Dubai because of all the shining lights, night-outs, busy streets and and the fast-paced life. Abu Dhabi is the more peaceful sibling, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t know how to have fun here!

Being the capital of the UAE, it is more inclined to tradition, however, Abu Dhabi has many great gems that its residents are yet to discover.

It is also a common misconception that Abu Dhabi is a semi-opened city. Abu Dhabi residents are free to wear what they want, but many people just choose not to wear revealing clothing.

About the food choices, Abu Dhabi supermarkets have a very wide variety of goods, like fruits exported from near countries like Egypt, or carrots as far as Australia (it’s a favorite!) Foods and refreshments (pork and liquor) that are not Halal are still available in authorized stores which are also around the place.

If you are not fond of cooking, food and refreshments are all around the city, especially Arabic, Indian, as well as Filipino restaurants.

The streets of Abu Dhabi are usually light in terms of traffic. I’ve been to places where the traffic is worse, and I think Abu Dhabi’s traffic is the lightest I’ve seen. The main modes of transportation are private cars, bus and cabs. The fare cost are reasonable, as you can go around the city for as low as 2 AED. Recently, cab fares in Abu Dhabi has been updated with the same rate as Dubai.

This is just a sneak peak on how it is to live an everyday Abu Dhabi life. They say that experience is the best teacher, so go for it! I love Abu Dhabi because of its peaceful environment, and I’m pretty sure you’ll like it too!