Friends for a season; friends for one reason - expat friendships can get a bad rap. Seen as here one minute, gone the next, traditionally we’re taught to value old friends over new. But sometimes there’s a benefit to not being around the people who saw you through bad haircuts, bad jobs or bad relationships. And, for me at least, that’s where expat friends come in.
An opportunity to reinvent
From the moment I landed in Dubai four years ago, I was bowled over by how friendly people are. We arrived in mid-December and went almost straight from the airport to the desert for an impromptu festive singalong. By the end of the evening, I’d exchanged numbers with several women, got my first job offer and we had plans for New Year’s Eve. All in the space of three hours.
My daughter doesn t understand how her grandfather was fine one minute and gone the next But that s the cruelty of COVID-19 gulfnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gulfnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.