Al Ain vs Manchester (maybe UAE vs England)

I get asked a lot of questions regarding comparisons between the UAE and England, I thought it’s best to put this up as a post for whoever would like to have a read. As always these are my personal opinions and as most of you should have gathered by now that I ‘m a rather strange bloke;-)

 As for the anonymous lot out here with me feel free to add anything you wish in the comments to give people a fuller picture of life in the Emirates.

So here it is, a no holds barred, blood-bath of a comparison between Manchester and Al Ain:

1. Quality of life:

This is perhaps all about definition; I would say quality of life is the ability to earn a reasonable financial living, to be able to spend time with your family, to be able to afford the necessities of life and to be able to live in a safe, comfortable environment.

For me, the UAE wins without even raising its fists. England is money sucking, drab, unsafe and dirty country; nuff said.

Al Ain 1- 0 Manchester

2. Quality of society:

Now this is a tougher one, and one I struggle with in general. I think society in general has many positives in England, but in terms of specifics the people aren’t so great i.e. a hundred scallies per street corner. Whereas in the UAE society as a whole isn’t so great whereas people as individuals are very nice. For example, in England there are general manners on how to be around others, be it holding a door open, driving etc. This for me is one of the general societal positives in England, however on a specific level the people are generally not so great- arrogant, rude and always miserable. In comparison to the UAE, general societal rules are non-existent, whereas people as individuals are some of the best people you’ll ever meet. The same person that will nearly kill you on the road will buy you lunch and treat you so nicely you’ll forgive him!

As for scores, what the heck- one each.

Al Ain 2-1 Manchester

3. Quality of Islam

This is another strange one; here it is nice to pray openly in mosques, to be able to walk to congregations, to be able to hear the adhaan no matter where you are etc are all wonderful. However, that’s pretty much where it stops. Teaching and learning is pretty much nonexistent and what is available is fairly bland (there seems to be a lot less going on in Al Ain compared to the other Emirates). In England having the ability to study and attend as many ciricles as physically possible is something else, and something that all of us miss out here.  I think if we ever go back it will be time for binge-studying and circle-crawls

Manchester all the way!  2-2

4. Quality of medical care

Once again, this is based upon my personal experiences. I’ve been to the hospitals here 7 or 8 times since I arrived (I‘m a little injury prone!) and the care I’ve received has been nothing short of fantastic. In Al Ain, there are quite a few private hospitals and the one I tend to go to is Al Noor.  I have heard of people receiving poor care here, but similarly I’ve heard the same in the UK. I once had an examination, x-ray, physio, and a follow up with a doctor within 2 hours- you’re looking more at 6-12 months in England for something similar. Based on my experiences, it has to be the UAE.

Al Ain 3- 2 Manchester

5.  Crime

This is almost a pointless paragraph, put it this way, I’ve not even seen an argument, let alone a fight here in Al Ain. It really is the most serene place, I’ve been for walks past midnight and the atmosphere here is just amazing. In comparison to England, I’ve regularly seen mass brawls, seen people bottled in streets etc. We all know the score, absolute vile society.

Al Ain 4- 2 Manchester

6. Education

Being an educationalist, this should be something I know about, however I spend all of my time in the government schools. In terms of expat schools, then there’s two main ones to choose from; choeifat or Al Ain English Speaking School (AAESS). AAESS educationally seems brilliant, but they’re a little disorganized, but you can see the difference in quality compared to schooling in Enland, Having said that, it’s not really a fair comparison because AAESS is very expensive and it’s the equivalent of a grammar school.

So let’s just call it even eh?

Al Ain 5-2 Manchester

7. Driving

I think this is what they mean by a “no brainer” the driving here sucks, it’s awful. I’ve become literally passive aggressive and I’m seriously worried someday someone will do something stupid to me and I’ll slap them around like a wet fish. Imagine the worst driving you’ve ever seen, double it and then times it by five and you’re half way there.

Al Ain 5-3 Manchester

8.  Weather

Hmm rainy, wet, cold, dreary Manchester or “hot hot hot” Al Ain?

The weather in England for me is just depressing, here you can enjoy the sun everyday, I’d rather get cooked than drowned anyday

Al Ain 6-3 Manchester

9. Affordability of goods

This is possibly covered in the first point, but I think it deserves a mention on its own.  Goods out here are a lot cheaper; there are some exceptions such as mobile phones. But things like general shopping, plasmas and pretty much anything else you can think of is a lot cheaper.

The problem is, it’s easy to spend out here;-)

Al Ain 7-3 Manchester

 

That’s all I can think of for the moment, for me it’s a TKO for Al Ain probably in the third round.

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Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Al’s achievements!
• Islam and Al Ain
• Welcome to the UAE
• Hot Hot Hot