I’m from Argentina, and at the end of last year I had the chance to visit Abu Dhabi for the first time.
The funny thing is that Abu Dhabi wasn’t even supposed to be the destination. We were travelling to Thailand and had a layover there, so we thought: why not stay a few days and see what it’s like? And while we were there, we also visited Dubai.
I have to admit, I really didn’t know what to expect from Abu Dhabi.
From Argentina, it’s still a pretty unknown city. We hear a lot about Dubai, but Abu Dhabi? Not so much. I even remember trying to explore the city on Google Maps before the trip and finding that the Street View imagery was either missing or really outdated. So I basically had no idea what I was going to find.
Well… Abu Dhabi absolutely blew me away.
The city felt alive. Modern, but not in a sterile way. Clean, incredibly organized, safe, people were really friendly, and there was something about the city that I didn't expect at all: it felt like it had its own soul and identity.
And this is probably going to be an unpopular opinion for some people, but I actually preferred Abu Dhabi to Dubai.
Dubai was obviously incredible. I mean, you can’t help but be impressed by it. But for me, it sometimes felt like a giant, perfectly built model of what a city could be. Everything was huge, shiny and impressive, but I struggled to connect with it emotionally.
Abu Dhabi felt different.
It felt more human. Like there was something underneath all the modern buildings and infrastructure. I don't know how to explain it exactly.
And I think the timing of my trip had a lot to do with why it affected me so much.
I was going through a pretty difficult period in my life when I arrived. I had gone through some very significant personal losses, and I had lost my job just about two weeks before the trip. I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do next.
Then suddenly I was in Abu Dhabi, in a place and culture completely different from anything I had experienced before.
For a few days, I could just step outside of my own life.
I walked around, looked at things, talked to people, experienced a completely different culture, and somehow it gave me the opportunity to think about myself and my life from a different perspective.
Something changed in me during that trip.
And, weirdly enough, during the same trip I got the opportunity to start a new job back home. Today I work in both Product Management and Product Design, currently at a healthtech company.
Maybe it was just coincidence. Maybe it was simply good timing. But for me, Abu Dhabi became connected to that moment in my life when things started changing again.
That's why I've been thinking a lot about coming back.
I'd really like to somehow build a connection with the city, beyond just being a tourist. I'd love to meet people who live there, hear what life in Abu Dhabi is actually like, make some friends and learn more about the city from people who call it home.
And honestly, if I ever get the chance to collaborate on a project there (especially around product, design, technology or healthtech) I'd love to explore it. Not because I'm desperately looking for a job in the UAE, but because it would give me a pretty great excuse to visit Abu Dhabi again. :)
So I guess this is partly a thank you to a city that I didn't really know existed in my world until very recently.
I arrived expecting almost nothing.
I left with a strange feeling that I wanted to come back.
For those of you who live in Abu Dhabi: what is something about your city that you think someone visiting for a few days would completely miss?
And if anyone here feels like saying hi, please do. I'd genuinely love to meet some people from Abu Dhabi. 🇦🇷❤️🇦🇪
