Top salary and fine lifestyle? Dubai has best of both worlds

Quality of Life Index ranks Dubai 17th in the world.

By Vicky Kapur (From the Executive Editor's desk)

Published: Tue 21 May 2019, 7:00 PM

Last updated: Wed 22 May 2019, 5:31 PM

Where in the world should you move if you'd like to be paid top dollars and then some? Stick around in Dubai. But what if you'd want to enjoy a great lifestyle and disposable income after paying the rent? Again, stick around in Dubai. Cheaper fuel? Car rentals? Haircuts? Dubai, Dubai, and Dubai. Nope, this isn't just us talking, it's Deutsche Bank's Mapping the World's Prices 2019 report, which pegs Dubai among the world's top 15 cities for the highest monthly salary and the highest disposable income. The UAE's commercial capital isn't all about money, though.
The same report's Quality of Life Index ranks Dubai 17th in the world. With Dubai being ranked #1 on the 'safety' sub-index - ahead of Tokyo, Zurich, Hong Kong and Helsinki - the city lays claim to something taller than the soaring skyscrapers: the crown of being the safest city in the world. Obviously, Dubai would have scored even better on the Quality of Life parameter had the city not been penalised for its harsh climate. The lowest ranking on that one sub-index pulled down the emirate's overall score. You know what that means, right? That we are in a city that offers us the best of both the worlds.
It can't be stressed enough, though, that all this is by design, not default. It's instinctive to look at all the glitz and glamour, the modern architecture and the cadenced Metro, the swanky hotels and the extravagant shopping malls and imagine that it is all the result of the unabashed oil wealth. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For, the credit for creating a modern metropolis in the middle of the desert goes to the leaders' vision, passion and determination. An oasis of peace and tranquillity in a region that is often described as 'volatile', Dubai has added every feather there is to its cap and gravitated towards the top of every index that is there to be conquered. Now if only someone would bring down that exorbitant cost of Internet - the most expensive in the world - and we'd be on our way.