HI THERE DUBAI

So... Some of you have already gathered from my Instagram that it's Dubai we're moving to!! We've known about it for a year already but I've had this "I believe it when I see it" attitude towards the move. Well I now have to believe it as it really is happening!

Let me tell you about my feelings towards Dubai and the move. Initial reaction: NO WAY! I had been to Dubai once and it really wasn't my cup of tea.

Despite this I wasn't going to say no to it so I started to try and get more positive about the thought of living there. It's not a permanent move so I told myself that nothing will really change in London in the few years we'll be gone plus the kids will have a great time so maybe it will all be okay. As the months passed I went hot and cold and even through stages of complete denial pretending that it wasn't going to happen. There were tears too, at the thought of leaving London and our amazing friends that are such a big part of our life. Not to mention being much further away from both of our families.

We then visited Dubai again at the end of our Oman holiday in December. I had hoped and expected to like it more this time but sadly I was disappointed... I just couldn't warm to it, at all. All I could think about was: I love London and I hope the move won't happen after all.

My wishes didn't come true and the time came to start making plans for schools and housing. In January I flew to Dubai for a couple of days with a tight schedule of school and house viewings. During both of our previous Dubai visits we had stayed in hotels that we weren't so keen on. This time I chose a hotel pretty much blindly and ended up in a totally different area, close to Dubai Marina. What a change!! A very positive one! The first evening after running around from viewing to another I relaxed on a hotel sunbed with a lovely view of the impressive Dubai skyline over a beautiful beach and thought to myself that actually... maybe it won't be too bad after all. Seeing all the potential areas to live in and being able to narrow down where I'd like to be also helped. I went back to London feeling much, much better about Dubai.

Then a few weeks ago it was time to fly back there to take care of a couple of things. And guess what... it nearly hurts me to say it.... here we go; I actually loved it! I had a great time! I enjoyed every minute of it! It's no London or New York but it certainly has its plus sides. It's an exciting place full of opportunities. Not to mention the sunshine! So I'm amazed and pleased to find myself looking forward to the move. I'm excited about it and I think it will be a great experience for all of us. Best of all we won't be alone. We have a good group of friends moving there too.

So here we go. You are finally up to date with my news. Sorry for not telling you any earlier. It's been hard to keep it in but I don't believe in announcing anything that's not 100% sure. So... is there anybody out there who lives in Dubai? Would love to hear from you in the comment box and get even more excited about the move! I'm not moving just yet though, not until after the summer. The kids and I will be heading there after the hottest summer months are over. But I am packing my bags and leaving London for the South of France in May. I will miss London dearly so I'm going to make sure to enjoy it until then.


Minna x