The pull of home: Why expats who left keep returning to the UAE

Dubai: How do you leave a place that you call home?

Some try. They move abroad, watching the familiar skyline of Dubai grow smaller through their aeroplane window, trying to deny the sorrowful tug on their heart. But it doesn’t take long for people to realise that the UAE leaves a permanent imprint on whoever has lived here – and if you want to return, it always welcomes you back.

Rifah Salman, a Canadian based in Abu Dhabi, was born and raised in the UAE. She moved to Toronto, Canada, when she was 28, and spent five years there before returning “home”.

The risk and controls consultant said: “Deep down, I think I always knew I’d come back. Even while living in Canada, my heart was still in the UAE. Being abroad gave me perspective, but it also made me appreciate the lifestyle here even more – the comfort, the convenience, and the sense of familiarity that you don’t fully realise until you’re away from it.”