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Stability, low taxes, relative openness, and easy work permits right in the center of one of the very wealthy regions of the world. And the rest of that gaudily

Stability, low taxes, relative openness, and easy work permits right in the center of one of the very wealthy regions of the world. And the rest of that gaudily rich region of the world is known for its nastiness toward foreigners, intensely planned socialist economies, and violent volatility.

lucaspiller 11y ago
I lived there for a year, and yes this is pretty much it. Compared to the rest of the Middle East it's a very stable and open place, it's mostly on par with Western cities. You can get a residence visa and open a company for around $20,000 which makes it an attractive option for the rich to flee from whatever oppressive regime they have at home. For Westerners the main attraction is no taxes and the glitzy lifestyle.
- zodiakzz 11y ago
  Wow, it is actually just 20,000 AED ($5500~) according to [1]. That's pretty neat! 1: http://www.investorvisa.ae/investor-visa/uae/ http://www.investorvisa.ae/investor-visa/uae/
- gotchange 11y ago
  "which makes it an attractive option for the rich to flee from whatever oppressive regime they have at home." Funny you're saying this about Dubai and the UAE in general when they're known to be one of the most oppressive regimes in the region when it comes to political freedoms.
  - WildUtah 11y ago
    "one of the most oppressive regimes in the region " Oh, I forgot about all the liberal democratic regimes in the region. You must be talking about Saudi, Guitar, Jemen, ISIS, Quwait, Syria, Iran, Bahrayn.
    - gotchange 11y ago
      At least get the name right first before you make your counterargument,it's Qatar not Guitar. Second, for me the UAE as a whole fits very well in the list you made and you can refer to Press Freedom Index [1] for more insight on its ranking and the overall picture there. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index
mercurial 11y ago
Do Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or Bahrain really have "intensely planned socialist economies"? I see them more as a bunch of plutocracies, where the oligarchy makes all the money due to ties with the ruling family.
- WildUtah 11y ago
  " oligarchy makes all the money due to ties with the ruling family." Same as the Soviet Union, Red China, North Korea, Cuba, and so forth. Some people[0] mistakenly say 'socialism' for Western Europe-style social insurance, so I specified "intensely planned." [0] http://www.vox.com/2015/10/31/9650030/denmark-prime-minister-bernie-sanders http://www.vox.com/2015/10/31/9650030/denmark-prime-minister...
  - mercurial 11y ago
    I live in Denmark, I have a fairly good idea of what social-democracy looks like. "Intensely planned" means something like the USSR's five-years plans, and generally comes with state ownership of all companies. As far as I know, that's not what's happening in the Middle-East.
    - WildUtah 11y ago
      I'm glad you understand the difference. As you can see from my link, some people are confused about what socialism is. You need a special personal connection to the insider elites to run major companies in most of the Middle East. The decisions about economic initiatives and major industry are made by a small politbureau, though it isn't called that. A privileged class controls vast wealth and power over the lives of subjects for personal pleasure, though it may or may not be in their own personal names, just like under Communism.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
gotchange 11y ago
Low taxes: You basically forgo your political rights as an immigrant in exchange of this (No taxation without representation ) Stability: The price you pay for authoritarianism you get in temporary and shallow stability. I know that Dubai/UAE may seem like a RW libertarian utopia from the outside but they still are very mean to foreigners esp poor ones and there are still very generous benefits and preferential perks for natives that immigrants can't even cross their mind to ask out of fear of retribution.

lucaspiller 11y ago

I lived there for a year, and yes this is pretty much it. Compared to the rest of the Middle East it's a very stable and open place, it's mostly on par with Western cities. You can get a residence visa and open a company for around $20,000 which makes it an attractive option for the rich to flee from whatever oppressive regime they have at home. For Westerners the main attraction is no taxes and the glitzy lifestyle.

zodiakzz 11y ago
Wow, it is actually just 20,000 AED ($5500~) according to [1]. That's pretty neat! 1: http://www.investorvisa.ae/investor-visa/uae/ http://www.investorvisa.ae/investor-visa/uae/
gotchange 11y ago
"which makes it an attractive option for the rich to flee from whatever oppressive regime they have at home." Funny you're saying this about Dubai and the UAE in general when they're known to be one of the most oppressive regimes in the region when it comes to political freedoms.
- WildUtah 11y ago
  "one of the most oppressive regimes in the region " Oh, I forgot about all the liberal democratic regimes in the region. You must be talking about Saudi, Guitar, Jemen, ISIS, Quwait, Syria, Iran, Bahrayn.
  - gotchange 11y ago
    At least get the name right first before you make your counterargument,it's Qatar not Guitar. Second, for me the UAE as a whole fits very well in the list you made and you can refer to Press Freedom Index [1] for more insight on its ranking and the overall picture there. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index

mercurial 11y ago

Do Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or Bahrain really have "intensely planned socialist economies"? I see them more as a bunch of plutocracies, where the oligarchy makes all the money due to ties with the ruling family.

WildUtah 11y ago
" oligarchy makes all the money due to ties with the ruling family." Same as the Soviet Union, Red China, North Korea, Cuba, and so forth. Some people[0] mistakenly say 'socialism' for Western Europe-style social insurance, so I specified "intensely planned." [0] http://www.vox.com/2015/10/31/9650030/denmark-prime-minister-bernie-sanders http://www.vox.com/2015/10/31/9650030/denmark-prime-minister...
- mercurial 11y ago
  I live in Denmark, I have a fairly good idea of what social-democracy looks like. "Intensely planned" means something like the USSR's five-years plans, and generally comes with state ownership of all companies. As far as I know, that's not what's happening in the Middle-East.
  - WildUtah 11y ago
    I'm glad you understand the difference. As you can see from my link, some people are confused about what socialism is. You need a special personal connection to the insider elites to run major companies in most of the Middle East. The decisions about economic initiatives and major industry are made by a small politbureau, though it isn't called that. A privileged class controls vast wealth and power over the lives of subjects for personal pleasure, though it may or may not be in their own personal names, just like under Communism.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

gotchange 11y ago

Low taxes: You basically forgo your political rights as an immigrant in exchange of this (No taxation without representation ) Stability: The price you pay for authoritarianism you get in temporary and shallow stability. I know that Dubai/UAE may seem like a RW libertarian utopia from the outside but they still are very mean to foreigners esp poor ones and there are still very generous benefits and preferential perks for natives that immigrants can't even cross their mind to ask out of fear of retribution.