Holy Dubai!

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I find that city to be absolutely amazing. A friend of the family is moving to Dubai to work on the new Island thingy that looks like a palm tree, and by God would I like to go there with her. Given that it is nearly considered to be "the safest city in the Middle East," it almost seems acceptable for Americans to vacation there (if you have the money of course). I know that Porsche did their Cayenne Turbo S debut there, and many more European automakers are starting to do hot-weather testing there.

...Fastest growing, most appealing, and may become one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Sure, it isn't New York, London, Sydney, or Tokyo... But certainly may hop into the top-five world cities very quickly.
 
That's quite ambitious. At least America will lose a little press in the Race to Ruin Earth.
 
YSSMAN
I find that city to be absolutely amazing. A friend of the family is moving to Dubai to work on the new Island thingy that looks like a palm tree, and by God would I like to go there with her. Given that it is nearly considered to be "the safest city in the Middle East," it almost seems acceptable for Americans to vacation there (if you have the money of course). I know that Porsche did their Cayenne Turbo S debut there, and many more European automakers are starting to do hot-weather testing there.

...Fastest growing, most appealing, and may become one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Sure, it isn't New York, London, Sydney, or Tokyo... But certainly may hop into the top-five world cities very quickly.
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True, but it seems in the end, all Dubai is looking for is to have the biggest city-penis. They want the world's biggest everything.

My question is how do they expect to upkeep everything? An island that could sustain 500,000? We just hit 3 Million! Not everyone can even afford to spend a month there, let alone pay for a good bag of clothing.

Look at this picture. Know that this is the THEME PARK, not the whole development. They want to build everything to scale apparently, even the Empire State Building.
http://i2.tinypic.com/x3bo5f.jpg
 
Somebody has big balls up there and needs that biggest-city penis to match.





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Amazing, although I fear that they are biting off a bit more than they can chew.
 
I just hope they have a god set of plans. Not just good, but god. I can imagine how hard it must be to build a modern high-rise city in less than a decade.
 
Your oil money hard at work. That is how this is all paid for.

Napoleon did something to a smaller scale to Paris in the 1790s to early 1800s. Now Paris is one of the world's greatest tourism destinations. I'm sure Dubai is hoping to become a leading tourist attraction. They will get lots of moey from that.

Development goes even further than the city. Emirates Air is the leading buyer of the new Airbus monster. They are quickly becoming the largest long-haul carrier. Dubai is also growing a coral reef under water to attract fish and stuff. This project is really intense.
 
In the latest issue of National Geographic, they mentioned how the city grew from just a small city to a something short of futuristic city. In 15 years, the center of Dubai has turned into the jewel of the United Arab Emriates. Hell, even Abu Dhabi is doing the same thing.

The Palm Jumeriah (One of the man made islands) All the houses on that island sold out in 3 weeks. That's 4,000 units in 3 weeks. Amazing.

The Mall of Arabia, when it's done will be home to the largest Starbucks in the world. It will be place right in the center of the mall. Also, one of the biggest malls in the world.

Some contractors even have plans to build a spaceport. I kid you not.

I don't know if it's immoral for me to say this, but I'd love to move to Dubai simply because it's a city of excess and economic boom. Anyone can become a millionaire if you play your cards right. Not only that, it's a beautiful city with a bustling nightlife. I tend to get a thrill when a city so small 15 years or so ago has grown right before you eyes and yet, still continues to grow rapidly.
 
Holy....

I had no idea Dubai is literally planning to take over not the world but the Guinness Book of World Records... wow that is just too much to think about. They are nuts.
 
Smart move. They know their money in oil ain't gonna last with hydrogen powered cars coming on the horizon, so now it's time to invest their city in the top money maker of all. Tourism.

Looks like an awesome place to visit. Those man-made islands are in Australia, too.

Take a look at this pic... (below) ...notice the big circle thing attach to the top? That's a heliport. The big square thing to the right of it is a tennis court.

burj_al_arab-full.jpg
 
Wow!

I watched some of the building of the Palm Island on a show on Discovery - very interesting.

To see how the city has "exploded" is awesome though. I don't think it'll last. When things grow too big too quickly they rarely do. Sure, all this is built with oil money - so what happens when that runs out in 20 years or so?
 
ferrari_chris
To see how the city has "exploded" is awesome though. I don't think it'll last. When things grow too big too quickly they rarely do. Sure, all this is built with oil money - so what happens when that runs out in 20 years or so?
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Read Solid Lifters's post.

Solid Lifters, thank you for putting that picture into perspective.
 
Correction: Dubai does not get very much revenue from oil. Rather, the majority of their money comes from commerce. They are building in an effort to diversify, so when they do run out of oil (expected in 2010), that income would have been replaced.

The ability of foreign nationals to settle there is also fueling the boom. They are making tons of money from real estate. The demand for property is outpacing supply; they have to keep building more. They may be turning into the next Monaco.

Abu Dhabi is already a modern city, although they are not focused on tourism. Oil has provided enough wealth to make city to compete with the West. Their oil reserves will not run out as fast.
 
I love it. It’s a really ambitious project, and everyone who wants to get rich there seems to have the unified goal of making it the single most extravagant city on earth. 👍

I’m going to be stuck in the Dubai airport for 9 hours at the end of the month, it’s a pity I won’t be able to have a look around.
 
My aunt's friend lives in Dubai. That place looks way cool.

I just hope it keeps some kind of modesty and balance to itself, though. I wouldn't want to bear witness to another biblical-esque (okay, region-wise; not fire and brimstone :lol: ) social/metropolitan meltdown.

I couldn't really imagine, though... the BIGGEST MALL IN THE WORLD populated by 99% tourists. Good God...
 
Omnis
I couldn't really imagine, though... the BIGGEST MALL IN THE WORLD populated by 99% tourists. Good God...
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...a mall populated by mostly western tourists? - sounds like a handy terrorist destination to me.
 
TheCracker
...a mall populated by mostly western tourists? - sounds like a handy terrorist destination to me.
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Yeah, I wonder how big Dubai's national guard/military is to secure all this crap.
 
Is Dubai a dry country? If it is, I have no idea how to burn 9 hours at the airport… ;)

I can’t see a place that’s trying to attract so many tourists being dry, though.
 
Blake
Is Dubai a dry country? If it is, I have no idea how to burn 9 hours at the airport… ;)

I can’t see a place that’s trying to attract so many tourists being dry, though.
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Buy stock in Welches. It's gonna be grape-juice time.
 
Omnis
Yeah, I wonder how big Dubai's national guard/military is to secure all this crap.
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I hear it's actually very good. Then again, there's also something that they don't allow either Jews or people with another middle eastern country in. I think it's Iran that can't be on your passport.

I really don't know 100% obviously, but I know they don't allow a certain type of people in.

Blake
Is Dubai a dry country? If it is, I have no idea how to burn 9 hours at the airport… ;)

I can’t see a place that’s trying to attract so many tourists being dry, though.
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Dubai is actually a province in a way. United Arab Emirates is the country.
 
*McLaren*
I hear it's actually very good. Then again, there's also something that they don't allow either Jews or people with another middle eastern country in. I think it's Iran that can't be on your passport.

I really don't know 100% obviously, but I know they don't allow a certain type of people in.



Dubai is actually a province in a way. United Arab Emirates is the country.
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No Jews?! How the hell are they expecting to fill up all that island real estate?

( :lol: )
 
That... is ... insane.

I'm curious why they decided to make a huge-arse tourism hotspot in the middle of nowhere though. Although, I guess it worked for Las Vegas...
 

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