Dubai · UAE · Lived From the Inside

Know before
you go

Practical guides for people making the move to Dubai — written from 25 years of experience working in and around the UAE.

Not an influencer perspective. Not a relocation company with a package to sell. Just the kind of honest, detailed guidance you'd get from someone who's been there, made the mistakes, and worked it out.

The Dubai Guide Flight Journal
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25
Years of UAE experience
10
Chapters, nothing omitted
35k+
Words of practical guidance
1
Honest perspective
DUBAI AN HONEST INSIDER'S GUIDE RELOCATION · EMPLOYMENT · BUSINESS FAMILY · FINANCE · DAILY LIFE BY TIM RICKETTS dxbai.life
Gone are the days the streets were paved with gold. Dubai rewards research, planning and discipline — not just ambition.

Dubai

An Honest Insider's Guide

The definitive practical guide to living and working in Dubai. From the moment you consider the move to the day you leave — every process, every pitfall, and everything the glossy relocation packages don't tell you.

Visas & Residency
Finding Work
Where to Live
Money & Banking
Getting Around
Family Life
Starting a Business
Daily Life
EOSB in Full
Moving On
Kindle Paperback 10 Chapters 35,000+ words
Get the book on Amazon

Keep the kids entertained

Long flight? Airport lounge? The World Traveller series keeps children engaged, curious and entertained on the move — activity books, journals and travel companions made for families who actually go places.

Each book is built around a different destination or journey, with activities, games and prompts that turn travel time into something kids actually look forward to.

My Flight Journal
Available
🗺
World Explorer
Coming Soon
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Holiday Fun
Coming Soon
Browse the series →
For young explorers
Activity books and journals that make every journey part of the adventure.

Free tools,
no registration

Practical calculators and apps built around the real questions people ask when planning a Dubai move — or keeping track of where they've been.

FlightDeck — Flight Journal
Log every flight. Track total KM, countries visited, airlines flown and aircraft types. See your routes on a world map. Export to CSV.
Live — use it now
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Dubai Cost Modeller
Build a realistic Dubai budget before you accept a job offer. Rent, school fees, SALIK tolls, car costs and utilities modelled against your actual package.
Coming soon
EOSB Calculator
Enter your basic salary, start date and contract structure. Get your End of Service Benefit figure and see how decisions affect the final number.
Coming soon
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RERA Rent Increase Checker
Enter your current rent and area. Instantly check whether your landlord's proposed increase is legal under the current RERA rental index rules.
Coming soon

"
Dubai doesn't owe you anything. But if you go in prepared, it will have been worth every dirham.
— Dubai: An Honest Insider's Guide
25
Years in & around UAE
0
Packages to sell you

Tim
Ricketts

I spent 25 years working in and around Dubai, navigating every aspect of expat life in the UAE — employment law, the rental market, Free Zone company setups, school applications, banking, domestic workers and eventually leaving properly with the EOSB and finances sorted.

The guides and tools on this site exist because the same questions kept coming up from people planning the move. Not surface-level questions — genuinely complex situations where getting it wrong has real consequences.

If you're evaluating a job offer, planning a relocation, setting up a business in the UAE, or have a specific situation you want a second opinion on — reach out directly.

For business continuity and resilience services, visit tim1rick.ae.