An influencer has revealed why he’s ditching the UK to move to Dubai – and the rainy weather is just the start.
Oli White, a YouTuber known for his light-hearted content, has lived in London for around 10 years – but says the UK has ‘never been the same’ since the Covid pandemic in 2020.
The 30-year-old says the capital was ‘amazing’ when he first moved there, but recently he began feeling ‘uninspired’ and unable to grow as a person.
He was left feeling ‘unsafe’ in London with the constant feeling his phone could be stolen, unlike Dubai – which he described as ‘one of the safest cities in the world’.
The UK weather didn’t help either – and Oli gushed that in Dubai it’s ‘sunny all year round’.
He was also excited by the prospect of ‘zero tax’ and the ‘endless opportunities’ that his new life abroad would bring.
‘I’m leaving the UK and I’m moving to a different country,’ he announced in a video on social media, that has racked up two million views on X/Twitter alone.
Oli explained: ‘When I first moved here, it was so exciting, there were so many opportunities and it was just an amazing place to be.’
YouTuber Oli White has packed up his life in the UK to move to Dubai for a fresh start
However, things started to change after the pandemic hit in 2020 – and Oli said it’s ‘never been the same’ since.
‘After the thing that happened when we couldn’t leave our houses, things just changed. London has never been the same, the UK has never been the same,’ he said.
‘It’s unsafe, you can’t even walk down the road holding your phone without fear for having someone stealing it.
‘I’ve just felt so uninspired from a work perspective, but also just living my life. I’ve just felt like I’ve been living in four walls. I haven’t pushed myself and I haven’t grown as a person.’
Documenting his move abroad, Oli filmed himself packing and defrosting his fridge and wine cooler.
After bidding a final goodbye to his apartment, he headed to Heathrow Airport at 5am.
The vlogger couldn’t resist filming the rainy scenes outside his plane window prior to take-off as he joked, ‘I definitely won’t miss the UK weather!’
After the six hour flight, Oli gave an update from his hotel – and was clearly buzzing to start his new life abroad.
The 30-year-old was enthralled by the promise of sunny weather all year round and ‘safer streets’
Oli has documented his entire process moving abroad after saying he felt ‘uninspired’ by London life
In a video posted on social media, Oli claimed that the UK is unsafe and is constantly worried about his phone being stolen
He said: ‘I have now officially moved to Dubai. That’s right, we are living permanently in Dubai now.
‘It’s sunny all year round here which is something I’ve been desperately missing in the UK.
‘It’s one of the safest cities in the world. You can leave a watch or a handbag on the side in a restaurant and no one will even look at it.
‘There is zero tax – that’s right, you pay zero tax here. The opportunities are absolutely endless. I’m so excited to be here, I can’t wait to get going!’
Oli had first visited Dubai eight years ago with his family and had been ‘blown away’, immediately able to see himself living there permanently.
He recalled his aunt, who has lived in the city for more than 20 years, telling him: ‘This is the place you want to move, this is where it’s happening. This is where the world is moving.’
Concluding his video, Oli instructed his followers to follow along on his journey as he finds an apartment to live in.
Since his video went viral online, Oli has been met with criticism for packing up his life in the UK.
Since his video went viral online, Oli has been met with criticism for packing up his life in the UK
People said: ‘I’ll never understand British people moving to Dubai. A soulless, socially conservative dictatorship with no culture made up of some skyscrapers in a desert. Literally can’t think of a worse place to move’;
‘lmao moving to the most soulless artificial place in the world’;
‘Yeah safety is the reason and not 0% income tax’;
‘Dubai is an insane choice’;
‘*So uninspired*… moves to the most artificial and soulless place on earth’;
‘Content creators’ who leave the UK claiming London is ‘unsafe’ while calling Dubai a crime-free utopia only see their privilege and wealth, never the stark reality…’
However, others were simply pleased to see Oli following his dreams, writing: ‘The uk is depressing!! You will thrive!! Good luck.’
Moving from the UK to the United Arab Emirates has become a well-trodden path for Britons in recent years looking for a glitzy relocation and a better quality of life.
Aside from feeling safer, Britons are also attracted by a range of factors such as the warm climate, tax-free income and high-end restaurants, property and shops.
More than 240,000 British expats are now estimated to live in Dubai, with many attracted to the city by the 5,000 British companies now operating in the UAE.
There has been a 420 per cent rise in the five years to 2024 in enquiries from UK nationals wanting to relocate to the country, according to John Mason International Movers – with a 45 per cent surge in the 12 months to March last year alone.
However, prices in Dubai have risen 124 per cent since 2020 according to Knight Frank – with some British expats said to have been priced out as property is bought up by wealthy Russians after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Dubai is among the top destination cities for millionaires leaving the UK, along with Paris, Amsterdam, Monaco, Geneva, Sydney, and Singapore. Florida, the Algarve, Malta, and the Italian Riviera are also attractive as retirement hotspots.
Last May, MailOnline featured the story of a Catherine Earl who left university in Sheffield before landing a low-paid job in recruitment at Boots in Nottingham.
Eleven years later, the 33-year-old now earns more than £200,000 a year, jetting around Dubai harbour in a speedboat and sipping cocktails in exclusive bars.
Dubai is seen attractive thanks to factors such as tax-free income and high-end restaurants (stock image)
Luxury restaurants are a major draw in Dubai, including this one near Burj Khalifa Lake
She said: ‘I moved to Dubai for the sun. I was literally getting out of bed in the dark and walking 20 minutes to work in the cold. Now it’s sunny every day and I feel motivated because Dubai is such a nice place to live.’
Ms Earl featured in a Channel 4 series called ‘Dubai: Buying The Dream’ which took viewers behind the scenes at British agency Betterhomes as they compete to close deals with super-rich clients on a portfolio of stunning properties.
But the UAE is also known for its ultra-strict laws, with an 18-year-old British man sentenced to one year in a Dubai jail last month for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
Marcus Fakana, of Tottenham, north London, was with his parents in the UAE from the end of August when a ‘holiday romance blossomed’ with another Londoner, who has since turned 18, the campaign group Detained in Dubai previously said.
After returning to the UK and seeing pictures and chats, the girl’s mother reported the relationship to Dubai police, who then arrested Mr Fakana at his hotel, it is alleged.
UK consular officials are said to be in regular contact with Mr Fakana, his family and his legal team, but the Government is not able to interfere in the judicial system.