Has Dubai Jumped the Shark?

Here we go again... I can't let this pass without some more reality check from Dubai.

Mr Greenfield says…

"…and the streets are all but empty…”
This is laughable. When I go home at 6pm, the roads I travel are jammed with traffic. Maybe not as bad as one or two years ago, but still takes me about 10 minutes to move just a half mile down the road to the first stoplight on my way home because five lanes of traffic are backed up. (Praise to Allah the Metro is opening September 9th). Empty streets indeed…. Give me a break. Has the writer of this statement actually been to Dubai, or is this just copied from other stories…?

“Of those (workers) who remain, many are locked in labor disputes. They can't work, but can't leave…”
There was a story on BBC just this week describing exactly the same in Malaysia. Not to defend local labour practices, but they are hardly unique to Dubai.

"The government will not release numbers, but its been estimated that more than 3000 abandoned cars have been found in 2009, many with keys in the ignition, an apology note on the windshield, or maxed-out credit cards in the Glove compartment…”
This is possibly the most shop-worn plagiarized statement about Dubai of all, and was copied from at least four other stories in the press, dating back to last year, using the exact same wording. Come on, Mr. Greenfield, can’t you be more original…? That “3000” number has been batted around quite a bit in the press, but never any verification where it came from. A couple stories even had 3000 abandoned cars at the airport alone, whose parking lots hold less than half that number (most Dubians take cabs to and from the airport). BTW, I’ve seen only one obvious abandoned car in my densely-populated neighbourhood plus one other near my office, a dust-covered Audi which has been sitting there for several months… three thousand is a number hard to swallow based on my casual observation. It seems to be an exaggeration which has taken on a life of its own and is quoted over and over by writers like Mr. Greenfield.

“After exhausting their savings to pay the mortgage on an apartment that had lost 40% of its value…”
Sorry Hendrick and Kayla, but are we to believe this happens only in Dubai…?
Give me a break. There are loads of wannabes in America who bought at the top of the market during the recent RE frenzy and ended up just like you. Middle-class folks who get into debt buying expensive cars and overpriced houses or condos, all the while partying it up, dig their own graves… it’s not unique to Dubai, and it’s not the fault of the “system” in Dubai.

“Real estate agent James Fox explains that in the overheated market, investors looking to flip properties often purchased houses before they were built…”
Yeah right… this happened only in Dubai, eh…?

“… an archipelago of 300 man-made islands designed to resemble a world map…”
Guilty as charged. This, in my professional opinion, was always one of the more ridiculous projects, not even physically sustainable. Glad to see it sink into the sea.

As for the Sonapur labour camps, again, guilty as charged. They are not unique to Dubai however. Nevertheless Sonapur has been the subject of endless media attention, starting with BBC who was there probably long before Mr.Greenfield ever heard of the place. Not that it makes such places any less objectionable, but similar labour arrangements and worker conditions exist in places as disparate as China, Malaysia, California, and Florida.

There are plenty of things to criticize about in Dubai (e.g. for starters, no In-and-Out Burgers plus FatBurger at Dubai Mall is a poor imitation of the original on Santa Monica Blvd., and the Mexican food is universally bad), but in Mr. Greenfield's story there is absolutely nothing new nor original about Dubai which hasn’t appeared dozens of times in the media during the past few months and years. Most are shop-worn items borrowed from other press stories about Dubai, even the wording often sounds suspiciously familiar. Finally, need I say that most of this story could just as likely have happened in Las Vegas or Phoenix or Miami.

chrisinsobe (still hangin' in there in Bye-Bye Dubai)