Black swan events such as the Iran war or sudden regional instability, makes me think a lot about one thing: the importance of having a real base back home.
I know someone whose parents never invested properly back in India. Now that they are older, they regret it because they feel stuck. They want to go home, but they do not really have a proper home base to return to.
A lot of people live and work here for years and assume life will stay the same forever. Only later do people realize how valuable it is to have a home, land, savings, or some kind of asset in their own country that gives them options.
For people working in the UAE or anywhere outside their home country, I think it is wise to slowly build something back home. A place to go to. A house. Land. An apartment. Something that gives you security and dignity if circumstances change.
Personally, I think your first property should usually be in your home country, where you have deeper roots and more permanent belonging. Only after that should you think about buying elsewhere.
And honestly, I would be very careful about buying major assets in a place where you do not have permanent citizenship.
For people from war torn country, saving up for a second passport (Saint Kits, Nauru, etc) some of which have low tax, or moving to a country with a path to citizenship should be the priority, before going all in investing in a country.
Your residency here is conditional. Even with a Golden Visa, your right to stay is tied to requirements, renewals, a system you don't fully control. A job loss, a health issue, a regional crisis, and the clock starts ticking.
The UAE has no state pension for expats. When you leave, you leave with whatever you saved.
Invest in the place where you will be buried.
Think from the end state backwards. Where will your kids realistically belong long term?
A lot of expat families never think about what happens if their children eventually have to go back due to economics, deportation, religious conflicts, layoffs, visa issues, nationalization policies, or retirement.
If you never built a base back home, your kids can end up in a strange middle state: not fully belonging abroad, while also lacking assets, networks, and stability back home compared to cousins and peers there.
That becomes a lose-lose situation.
I am bullish on developing countries in East Asia and South Asia over the next 20 to 30 years. Meanwhile, I think Middle East could become more unstable over time geopolitically.
Build your home base first. Then build elsewhere.
A comment I saw -> You can die in your apartment and no one will find out for 1 week maybe your work will find out in 3hrs when you late, I miss the old UAE 15 years ago…there was a bit community until many many money chasers moved here. Now it’s just business, if you not paying you are not welcome.
edit: saudi intercepted drones from iraq. the middle east will only get more chaotic, time to seriously think of back up plans in the back of your mind. this conflict will be like ukraine war 2.0 but with more countries getting involved.
For people from war torn country, saving up for a second passport (Saint Kits, Nauru, etc) some of which have good tax rates, or moving to a country with a path to citizenship should be the priority, before going all in investing in a country.
why not just buy usa stocks
You’re reducing everything to spreadsheet liquidity and ignoring the real-world constraints around citizenship, family stability, timing, and belonging.
Yes, global index funds are great. I invest too. But an apartment is not the same as clicking “buy” on an ETF. Real estate is deeply tied to geography, legal rights, timing, and social infrastructure.
You cannot always just “sell and move elsewhere” so easily when your kids are in school, your residency depends on employment, or good neighborhoods in stable countries have already become unaffordable or oversubscribed by the time you decide to settle down. There is finite land near good schools, safe environments, strong infrastructure, and existing family networks. Missing that window can permanently affect your family’s quality of life.
And citizenship absolutely matters for illiquid assets. UAE real estate, or property in any country where you do not have permanent rights, is not interchangeable with property in a country where you hold citizenship and can stay indefinitely, just because both are technically “real estate.” The legal security, long-term stability, inheritance certainty, and ability to remain during crises are completely different.
You’re looking at this from a highly liquid, globally mobile, probably younger and single-person perspective. That works when life is abstract and flexible. Families optimize for resilience, legal permanence, optionality, community, and stability, not just maximum theoretical returns.
An average wealth manager optimizing a portfolio is not necessarily optimizing for emotional security, aging parents, children’s identity, long-term belonging, or geopolitical risk. But a good one is.
I actually used to think exactly like you until my friend shared what happened to his parents. That made me realize investing is not just about maximizing net worth. It is also about reducing fragility.