To echo what fictional prime minister Hugh Grant said in Love Actually, “(Britain) may be a small country but we’re a great one, too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter, David Beckham’s right foot. David Beckham’s left foot, come to that.” And yet, due to a recent study from Reassured, the UK ranks as one of the highest for unhappiness in Europe. And after having personally spent six years in England, I’d be pressed to say that I’ve yet to engage in a single conversation where the topic of ‘horrible weather’ hasn’t arisen at least once, usually twice. Plus, the fact that I was coughing up the equivalence of a down payment on a new car every month just to afford living in a shoebox in a council flat didn’t help.
Does this explain why you can’t walk two feet in Dubai without hearing an English accent?
If you’ve been to any English airport during the spring/summer months, you’ll have undoubtedly noticed the slew of sunburnt Brits emerging out of the arrivals section, their vibrant smiles slowly fading as they reenter the gray, clouded reality that is the UK (weather wise, after having spent three years in an apocalyptically icy Sweden, I really don’t think the UK is that bad, but oh well). But then there’s also the cost of living crisis. The nefarious greed of the taxman. A dysfunctional NHS. And, if you’re in London, the never-ending tube strikes.
In the study conducted by Reassured, the most depressed countries in Europe are:
- Hungary
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Iceland
- U.K.
Perhaps most surprisingly is the inclusion of Portugal, as it’s the only country on the list known for a warm climate.
According to an ONS statistic from 2022, up to one in six British adults suffer moderate to severe depression, while nearly 20% of British adults are prescribed antidepressants. Those aged between 16 to 29, depression rates reach nearly 30%, and for those under 24, up to 46%. The biggest indicators of long-term unemployment and suicide among young British men is depression and anxiety. A phrase that many of us have heard over the years: the best antidepressants are sunshine and exercise, so if you’re unavoidably getting one of those revoked for a large portion of the year, then perhaps these results aren’t so surprising (and no wonder so much depressing much comes out of Seattle).
Why the Move to Dubai?
The answer to this probably seems quite obvious now, but as depicted in the film Sexy Beast, a retired British gangster flees the depressing rains of the UK to the sun-soaked beaches of Spain. But Dubai has seemingly become the new Spain, capitalising on the inefficiencies that the country of Paella and bull-fighting lacks.
Although the cost of living is in fact rising in the UAE, its ascent is at a much slower rate than the UK, and with the added bonus of zero income tax, if you’re scraping by in the UK, then the quality of life will undoubtedly be better in Dubai.
Unlike the increasingly prevalent ‘oppressor vs oppressed’ narrative perpetuated by many western countries, specifically the UK and US, which finds individuals and businesses increasingly taxed for their economic achievements, the UAE government is investing heavily in in financial services and technology firms, attracting ambitious entrepreneurs from all over the world. Bottom line: Dubai champions and supports excellence.
The impact of the weather should come as no surprise, as guaranteed sunshine all year round, compared to the unreliable, often cold and gray UK climate, especially in the north, should make it easy to understand why Dubai takes the cake.
Here’s the opening clip from Sexy Beast, where the crimson coloured ex-British gangster muses over his decision to migrate to a warmer climate.
