Vladislav, hello! Tell us a little about yourself: where are you from, what do you do for work and why did you decide to buy a property and move to Dubai?
Vladislav, investor: Hello! I am very glad to be invited to such an interesting conversation, I have long wanted to share my experience somewhere, start a blog or like this, through an interview. I came to Dubai from St. Petersburg, where I was born and lived until 2022. After some political and economic conflicts, I decided that I want something new, I want changes, I just want a different life – a calmer, more balanced one. To be honest, I didn’t have many options for moving. I had a couple of vacations in Dubai, many friends moved here and started doing real estate or business. I was familiar with this place in absentia. In Russia, I worked as a realtor for some time, I already had some experience in real estate transactions, and of course investments have always attracted me: cryptocurrency, exchanges, securities. I tried to do everything. Well, my main income is the IT sphere. That’s probably why it was easier for me to leave everything and break into Dubai, because I transferred almost all my earnings online, and now I continue to do the same.
A lot of people are afraid to sell an apartment or house, leave work, friends and move to another country. How to overcome this fear and how to start the process of moving to another country in general?
Vladislav, investor: well, this process is really very difficult, both morally and financially. Nothing is solved in one day. I have been planning to move for a long time, but before I finally solved this issue, I talked with people from different countries, watched a lot of videos, blogs, reviews, after that I began to understand roughly what is closer to me, where I would like to go and, in fact, I came here for the first time, to Dubai. Well, as for fears and everything else, it seems to me that we need to ask ourselves a very specific question: what will I lose if I leave and what will I get if I stay? For me, the answer was obvious, well, since I’m here (laughs).
Where did you live when you first arrived? Did you learn something about real estate in advance or did you do everything on the spot?
Vladislav, investor: In advance, I only knew which real estate agency to contact, on the advice of friends. And so, at the very beginning I got my bearings on the price, looked at the market, different areas, understood what I wanted. Back in Russia, I corresponded with my agent, he threw off various options, even sent me video tours, but, of course, he bought an apartment while already here in Dubai. When I realized what amount I needed, I started the process of selling an apartment in Russia, a car, withdrew money from my accounts and, in fact, booked an inexpensive apartment in the suburbs of Dubai, well, and bought one-way tickets. And already upon arrival, I finally met with the agent, we looked live at the options that I liked on the video tour and almost a couple of days later I decided, and we started all these buying and selling processes.
Do you think everyone needs a real estate agent or can you do without him?
Vladislav, investor: well, maybe in your own country a person can do without an agent, although it’s hard to imagine, but in a foreign country where you just arrived, you don’t really know the laws, you don’t know people, but you don’t really know anything (laughs). Of course, an agent is needed, of course. Without an agency, I would not have been able to catch that very moment of lowering prices, I would not have been able to properly issue documents, and it would have just been scary, I would have felt extremely insecure.
How long did the apartment purchase process take? From the beginning to the end?
Vladislav, investor: one and a half to two months, with all meetings, collection of documents and inspections.
How are you living now? Have you managed to adapt, the envy of friends?
Vladislav, investor: well, a couple of friends I already had here for about two years, at that time, and now we have a whole community – Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Europeans. There are a lot of acquaintances, both in business and just great friends, with whom we do sports together, and we can skip a glass. Adaptation is probably still going on; I’m slowly getting used to the local rules and procedures. At first, absolutely everything confused me (smiles). And then I realized that it was because of these strange rules that it was so nice and quiet here, and sooner or later everyone understands it and begins to take care of it. In terms of earnings, I left only investments: I rent one apartment, I’m waiting for prices to rise in order to sell and buy something cooler. I also spin and spin on the stock exchanges. I conduct online consultations.
How do you earn money, we understand, but how do you rest? Have you already managed to get any places?
Vladislav, investor: I would even say that first I got my favorite places, and then everything else. I go to a fitness club near my house, there are a couple of restaurants and bars where we hang out with friends, I even found a beach in the suburbs. In Russia, I loved going to exhibitions: contemporary art, impressionism, avant-garde, something engineering. And when I first arrived in Dubai, for some reason it seemed to me that there would be so little of it here, it upset me. But when I met Eva from Ukraine, she laughed for a very long time, and I didn’t understand why. And then she took me to a couple of exhibitions, and I was amazed. Amazed by the beauty, scale, brightness. Now I have subscribed to the newsletter, so I receive notifications every day: visit this, visit that (laughs). So almost all my habits and interests were preserved and even brought to a new level
What advice can you give to those who have just moved to Dubai?
Vladislav, investor: Oh, this is a great opportunity! Write it down (laughs):
Firstly: study all the papers that fall into your hands thoroughly, send them to your agents and ask a lot of questions until you understand what it is about and what you owe to whom there.
Secondly: keep track of the visa period, pay all fines on time, control bills, at first try to spend less and save more, try to learn something new about the local economy and finances every day. You have to be aware of everything. Then you are in no danger.
Third: Look for as many acquaintances from different fields as possible. This will give you the opportunity to choose a direction for earning money or a hobby.
And most importantly: pay attention to the inscription “spicy” on the products! Otherwise, your tongue will just burn out, as it was with me (laughs). They really like spicy food here; they just love it.
Awesome tips! Thank you, Vladislav! Let’s hope that everything will be even better and cooler from now on!
Vladislav, investor: And I hope that I managed to motivate or at least calm down a little, relax your readers before an important choice!
