{"id":514202,"date":"2026-03-02T16:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T16:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/514202\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T16:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T16:38:08","slug":"i-am-a-trader-stuck-in-abu-dhabi-anyone-who-wants-to-stay-here-is-delusional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/514202\/","title":{"rendered":"I am a trader stuck in Abu Dhabi. Anyone who wants to stay here is delusional"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am a trader for a major US bank in London. Last week I flew to Abu Dhabi, partly for business reasons, partly to assess the Emirate as a potential place to live. There are hedge funds here<\/a> that I know are hiring; I was considering a move.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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For the past few days though, I have been stuck. The airport was closed and there were hundreds of financial services professionals like me who cannot leave. I have been sleeping on the ground floor of the Ritz-Carlton hotel and am desperate to get out. There are others here with me, including people with children.<\/p>\n

The situation has been incredibly stressful. We are on the ground floor in case the building is hit, but people have been asking to go into the garages overnight in case of bombing. Yes, missiles are being neutralised but it’s incredibly traumatic – the neutralisation process causes a huge boom that makes it difficult to sleep and that upsets the children here. If you have your kids with you, it’s a nightmare. We’re all packed and ready to leave, but there has been no way of going.<\/p>\n

There is no chance in hell that I would move here permanently now. People who say everything is fine<\/a> are in denial. It is not fine. Iran has got thousands of cheap drones that it can launch in waves. Yes, the UAE has interceptors but they are expensive in comparison. These drones cost $35k to produce; intercepting them costs $4m.\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is not going to be over soon. I find it hard to believe that people want to stay of their own volition. The airport has just reopened but there is a huge backlog. I just want to get back to the UK.<\/p>\n

Louise Boutin is a pseudonym<\/p>\n

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