Roundabout Dubai

Curse of the City?

When we decided to move to this beautiful villa some 5 years ago, we felt justifiably happy but apprehensive. We had a depressing experience living in an apartment in a tower on Sheikh Zayed Road and had to really fight to get this place from an exceedingly corrupt Egyptian manager (I’ll blog about this one day hopefully). And since we didn't have the best neighbors at the tower, you can imagine why we were nervous about the new neighbors. You see, we had no idea who they were since all the villas were new and tenanats were moving in around the same time. Anyway, we relocated and were soon relieved to find that we have such nice neighbors. A European couple on the left with two kids (let's call them the Andersons), another European couple on the right with two kids (let's call them the Grants) and an American couple right across, again with 2 kids (let's call them the Simpsons). We have 2 kids ourselves, and we though it was a plus to have neighbors with children despite the age differences (they’re somewhat younger). And as we got to know them and we really liked them; they were all such friendly and funny people. Though we never really became close friends we certainly had a good neighborly existence and once in a while even socialized a bit.

Then it happened. Less than 2 years after we moved there the Andersons divorced and left. It was a bit of a shocker; we've overheard the fighting once or twice, but never expected it to come to this. Then it happened again. One year later it became clear that the Grants have either divorced or permanently separated. The husband moved somewhere else and the wife stayed with the kids. Suddenly the peaceful lovely corner of the neighborhood became more like a potential divorce-land (or divorce city, to use the favorite Dubai parlance). My wife freaked out and once in awhile she would ask me if we're going to be next! On few occasions we got together with the Simpsons and we'd wonder if such calamities come in threes and jokingly try to who’s going to be the third leg of the triangle. Well, less than a year ago it was no joking matter as it happened yet again; no, it wasn't us; it was the Simpsons. I'm not going to get into the details of this one, but let's just say their divorce was the hardest to witness. They moved out and a mixed couple (Older European with a much younger Asian) with 2 kids lives in their place. My wife and I are now keeping a vigil, praying that it was only a triangle and not a square. We hope the curse is broken.

I often heard that divorce rates among expatriates are generally high; but it’s more hearsay than solid information. I searched in vain to find facts and numbers and couldn’t find any. However if my neighborhood experience is a reliable indication, then it’s got to be really high, perhaps as high as the local divorce rate if not more. As to the national divorce rate, I’ve heard and seen different numbers, but it’s probably somewhere between 45-60%. One estimate is given in this article in the KT. And as some of you already know, this country is known in the divorce annals as the first place where a digital divorce has taken place; refresh your memory by checking this link.

posted by bandicoot @ 11:14 AM