15 Things Only People Who Grew Up In Abu Dhabi Understand

Growing up in Abu Dhabi is certainly something different to say the least. Anyone you ever run into outside Abu Dhabi thinks that you live the glamorous life in Dubai with all the rich people, fancy cars, and high-end stores. Well…that’s not exactly it. Abu Dhabi is more like the quieter, shy sister of Dubai. It’s where many have grown up, made a lifetime of memories only to eventually move out to tell the tale. For that, I’ve compiled a list of 15 things that only people who grew up in Abu Dhabi would understand!

1. Not being able to swim in the summer and spending your time at the beach during the winter.

When you think of summer weather you think of the sun, swimsuits,  crystal blue pools, and glowing tans. Summer in Abu Dhabi however is more hot, humid, and overall disgusting weather. In fact, our ‘good weather’ is only in the winter and maybe the beginning of spring. When you can actually go outdoors and not burn up into ash. This is why if you’re from Abu Dhabi you probably find yourself enjoying going to the beach more in the winter than during the summer.

2. Everyone meeting up in Wahda Mall on Thursdays.

Wanda Mall was the **** when it came to hang out spots on weekends. And yes, Thursday was considered the beginning of the weekend (See #3).  If you went to Wahda Mall on Thursdays it won’t only going to be a hangout with your personal group of friends. You’re also likely to meet up with the rest of your school…and all the other schools all over the country. Nothing beats eating a large McDonalds meal or a big cup of frozen yogurt from Pinkberry to finish off a hard week at school.

3. Fridays and Saturdays being your weekend times instead of Saturdays and Sundays.

It may sound weird to anyone who’s never lived in Abu Dhabi, or the UAE in general, but Fridays and Saturdays are considered official weekend times instead of typically being Saturday and Sunday. Yes if you travel abroad, everyone will give you confused looks when you tell them and you’ll likely be very confused as well. It’s a thing, what can you do.

4. Spending your entire summer in malls/cafes/restaurants because you can’t stay outside for more than five minutes.

Instead of spending your time planning picnics in the park, tanning at the beach, or taking a stroll outside, if you live in Abu Dhabi, you’re more likely to stay indoors during the summer. Mostly in the same malls, restaurants, and cafes where you will spend most of your money. Gotta love the 45 degrees summer weather!

5. Never buying a coat. Ever.

If you’ve lived in Abu Dhabi your entire life, there is one sentence you’re likely to never say out loud: “Hold on, let me just grab my coat.” If you’re never going to step outside of Abu Dhabi and travel somewhere with cold weather, you will never find yourself buying a coat. Ever. 25 degrees is probably as cold as it gets around here so long sleeved shirts are just gonna have to do it.

6. Breathing moist air from the humidity.

Imagine steeping inside of the hottest, steamiest sauna you can ever think of. This is how Abu Dhabi’s summer weather is like for about 10 months out of the entire year. It’s disgusting, your skin is never dry when you’re outside, and it basically feels like you’re underwater. Yup, it’s that bad.

7. Thinking that school should be cancelled because it rained.

Growing up, the funniest thing that would happen while I was in school was parents and students believing that school would get cancelled just because it rained. Around here, rain is considered some sort of miracle and it only happens thrice a year. Everyone loves it and everyone just wants to play outside and twirl around in the rain. After living in the UK for two years where it rains every other weak, I can assure you that it is so far from being considered “fun”.

8. Being sent home because of sand storms instead of snow storms.

You know how people in colder countries can get sent home from school or get off work because of snow storms? Well in Abu Dhabi it’s kind of like that but with sand storms. As Abu Dhabi is still technically a desert, we occasionally get really bad sand storms that fill the air with dust and makes it really hard to breathe. When I was at school, I used to be so happy that there was one because I would be able to skip classes. Except, I wouldn’t be able to go outside so these few days would be spent watching movies inside.

9. Seeing people wear scarves and coats when it’s only 25 degrees outside.

The coldest weather that Abu Dhabi can reach is like spring weather in the UK. The maximum that you need to wear is a long sleeved shirt or maybe a jean jacket and you’ll be more than fine. Yet, you will still find people wearing scarves, hats, gloves, and sometimes a coat in that weather as if they are preparing for snow that will never come to Abu Dhabi!

10. Not being able to imagine a world without AC.

I’m Lebanese and going on vacation to Lebanon in the summer meant being stuck in really hot and humid weather with no AC most of the time. It’s sweaty, humid, and disgusting yet the weather is still better than Abu Dhabi weather. Now imagine Abu Dhabi summer weather with no AC. We would all die and I’m not even joking. We would literally melt in our own homes.

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11. An idea of a fun weekend activity is having breakfast at Denny’s.

Because there is not much to do when it’s like a burning oven outside, a fun weekend plan would usually be to just go out for breakfast with some friends. Since Denny’s is an American chain that everyone was ecstatic that it opened up here in Abu Dhabi, it’s usually considered an exciting place to eat it. Even though yours probably eaten there the week before that. Maybe this time you’ll finally get the cinnamon roll pancakes you keep staring at on the menu.

12. Celebrating most birthdays with Chili’s overly happy staff.

Another “famous” restaurant location in Abu Dhabi is Chili’s which if you’ve grown up there, you probably would have spent a number of your birthday celebrating in that restaurant. What’s better (or worse) than a group of overly cheery staff members singing a cringy happy birthday song and a big molten lava cake to say happy birthday!

13. Getting a tan from sitting outside more than being at the beach.

I keep bringing up how bad the weather is and that’s because it’s true but I also wouldn’t want to give off the idea that you still can’t get a tan in the summer. Just go outside, sit on a bench, maybe fry an egg on the rooftop of the burning hot car and call it a dy. I’m sure you’ll come back as a red as a tomato and never wanting to step outside ever again.

14. Your Eid activities as a child probably meant safaris or going to Dubai but now you just eat lunch at home.

Eid is a big joyous celebration that comes twice a year for Muslim families and if you’re like me, you probably loved celebrating it as a child. Going to Dubai, watching the fountains, eating dinner with family and all that. Now however, if you’re a 19-year old university student, you’re most likely to spend Eid eating lunch at Fuddruckers. At least there’s always a eidiye (Eid money) to look forward to!

15. It doesn’t matter which school you graduated and what area you lived in, everyone knows everyone.

Last but not least, Abu Dhabi culture is realising that everyone that you’ve ever met while growing up there probably knows, have heard of, or related to someone else that you’ve met. It doesn’t matter wether they’re from two different schools, different areas, different groups, you’re bound to come across them at one point in your life.

What was it like for you growing up in Abu Dhabi? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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