Are you leaving Dubai for good this summer?

Are you leaving Dubai for good this summer?

The results are in.

May 17, 2009 10:12 by Dana El Baltaji

There’s no doubt that expatriates are leaving Dubai, although we don’t dispute that foreigners are also moving to the emirate; however, we don’t have figures from the local government to prove anything. But that hasn’t stopped experts from hypothesizing.

According to Cairo-based EFG-Hermes, Dubai’s population is likely to decline to 1.49 million from 1.79 million in 2008, a 17 percent drop, it said in a report published in March.

Many believe that when the academic year ends in June, Dubai will experience a mass exodus of foreigners. Over 24 percent of respondents to Kipp’s poll say they will be uprooting their families and moving once the school year ends this summer.

Another 7 percent said they will be leaving because they have been made redundant and are unable to find work in Dubai.

Other respondents, however, have commitments in the emirate and are unable to relocate: 16 percent of Kipp’s readers say they have debts in Dubai, and cannot leave, while 12 percent are ready to move if they find work abroad.

On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of respondents, 41 percent, answered “No. I love Dubai.”