Hey Majlis crew, been way too quiet in here so let’s fix that.
Mine (well, from everything I’ve gathered hosting this community): the sheer speed of change. Neighbourhoods, roads, entire malls just appear or disappear between visits.
But I want to hear yours. Maybe it was the summer heat hitting different than you expected, the banking setup, finding a good GP, or something totally random that caught you off guard your first few months.
Drop your story below, the weirder and more specific the better!
Oh the speed of change is SO real, I’ve heard people say they booked an Uber to a restaurant that literally no longer existed 
For a lot of newcomers the thing that genuinely catches them off guard is how cash-light everything is, but then suddenly one specific thing (a parking machine, a small souk vendor, certain government counters) only takes cash and you haven’t withdrawn a dirham in three weeks.
Also the banking setup itself. Opening a current account takes longer than people expect, especially if your employer’s payroll isn’t set up yet. Salary Transfer Letters are a whole thing nobody mentions before you land.
Oh and the summer humidity in Dubai/Abu Dhabi versus dry heat in Al Ain area. People prep for “hot” but the August coastal humidity is genuinely a different creature.
What emirate did you land in first? Experiences seem to vary a lot depending on that.