Innovative property investments
Investment property in Dubai
Buying Guide
Introduction
A future global hub
Dubai: city of extremes, city of wonders. Rising up from the Arabian desert in less than a lifetime, this newest of world cities is a true phenomenon, in almost every sense.
Built on the incalculable wealth - and ambition - of its royal house, the Maktoums, and in particular its current ruler Sheikh Mohammed, Dubai aims to be the key commercial, financial and tourism hub of Western Asia, and its headline-grabbing, awe-inspiring mega-projects are only the most visible sign of its success thus far.
To outsiders the entire project seems all but impossible; to Dubai's movers and shakers, possibility is merely a state of mind.
A miraculous transformation
Dubai's natural topography of scrubland and sandy desert is being utterly transformed. Intense irrigation has created great swathes of green - including numerous golf courses - and in a country where each tree, essentially, requires its own irrigation system such verdure is a true modern miracle.
A restyled waterfront
More miraculous still, perhaps, are the changes to Dubai's coastline.
Previously punctuated only by the Dubai Creek (the inlet around which the original settlement of Dubbayy was built), the coast is now pierced by the incredible Palm Islands (vast reclaimed palm-shaped resorts literally dredged and dragged up from the Gulf and speckled with countless luxury villas); the forthcoming Dubai Waterfront (an artificial archipelago twice the size of Washington DC); and the offshore World complex, a collection of reclaimed islets which from above represent the map of the world.
This is New Geography, visible from space and sellable to the rest of the world.
Winning on size
The scale of thinking is grand.
Everything is intended to be either bigger, bolder or more remarkable than anywhere else - hence the Burj Dubai, scheduled to be the tallest building in the world; the Dubai Mall, intended as the largest shopping mall on earth; Dubailand - the world's largest theme park - and everything in it; the Ski Dubai centre in the Mall of the Emirates; and the forthcoming Dubai Snowdome (real snow in the heat of the Arabian day); and so much more.
Worldwide transport connectionse
As would seem a prerequisite for any location seeking to establish itself as a global hub, transport between Dubai and pretty much every other corner of the globe is very well established.
Thanks to its position between Europe, Africa and East and South-East Asia, the emirate is a popular stopover location as well, of course, as a thriving destination in its own right.
Key facts
- Population: 1,450,000
- Area (km2): 3,900
- Capital: Dubai (nb. Dubai is one of seven United Arab Emirates; technically the country's capital is the city of Abu Dhabi)
- Languages: Arabic
- Religion: Islam; sizeable Christian and Hindu minorities
- Currency: UAE dirham (AED): Dh1=0.1375 GBP
- Dialling Code: +971
- High Season: All year round
- Happy Planet Index: 154th / 178
- Big Mac Index: 2.45 USD
Downloadable Reports and Documents
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