A Belarusian woman told how much it cost her to return to Belarus after almost four years of living in Dubai
In 2022, Iryna Shmat went on vacation to Dubai with her beloved, and ended up staying there for several years.
Iryna Shmat. The Belarusian woman shares her adventures on Instagram. Here and further photos from her Instagram.
In Belarus, Iryna worked as a pharmacist, but often thought about other areas in which she could develop. She jokes that if someone had told her earlier that she would quit her job, move to Dubai, and become a "keeper of the hearth" (and also start speaking English fluently), she wouldn't have believed it.
In 2022, the Belarusian woman and her beloved flew to Dubai for a vacation – they thought they would return home in a few weeks. But in the end, they stayed.
Iryna admits that the situation came as a shock to her. She had only 500 dollars in her wallet, and in English, she could barely say anything more than a simple "Hello, how are you?". But Dzmitry, Iryna's chosen one, managed to calm her down and assure her that he would take all responsibility.
At first, the most difficult thing for the Belarusian woman was to come to terms with the fact that her usual job was a thing of the past, and also to start communicating with relatives and friends mainly via video calls.
Iryna became withdrawn, afraid to go anywhere or meet new people. The role of a housewife was not easy for her. In one video, the Belarusian woman says she has a "wife's salary" – she saved most of this money.
However, she notes that the unplanned emigration only made their relationship stronger – the couple became a real team. And this is considering that before their trip to Dubai, Iryna and Dzmitry had only been dating for about six months and weren't even living together.
It was also difficult without a car. The couple bought a car after eight months and began to travel actively. Iryna says that, thanks to this, they visited various atmospheric cities and villages. It was then that the Belarusian woman actively started her Instagram blog to showcase non-trivial places.
She adapted to Dubai after a year and a half.
During one of her trips back home, Iryna conducted an interesting experiment and calculated how much her day in Belarus cost (because she was sure that living in Dubai was much more expensive).
That day in Minsk included coffee at McDonald's, buying small feminine treats at "Zalataye Yablyka" (Golden Apple) and "Belita", lunch with friends, purchasing a shirt from a local brand, cocoa at a cafe, and a taxi. It amounted to about 120 dollars equivalent – a similar day in Dubai would have cost about 150 dollars. So, the difference is not astronomical.
After four years, the couple decided to return home. One of the main reasons Iryna cites is her concern for her medical diploma: if she doesn't work in her specialty for a long time, it expires. And the woman is not ready for that.
The second reason was insufficient funds in Dubai to maintain their accustomed lifestyle, and they didn't want to lower their standards. And the third was the climate. They wanted more fresh air and greenery, and not to worry about having to evacuate somewhere from the heat every summer.
So, how much did the return cost? The girl shares the expenses. Plane tickets for two - $2500.
The couple rented their apartment in Dubai completely empty – meaning they had to buy everything themselves – from furniture and appliances to cutlery and decor. Transporting the items would have cost a fortune, so they sold everything. Iryna is surprised, but they even managed to sell textiles. However, they lost at least $5000 on all these manipulations.
Selling the car in Dubai was completely unprofitable, so they had to pay for its delivery to Minsk – and that's another $4000 gone.
Against this backdrop, the $100 they spent on the last night in a Dubai hotel seems like a trifle.
In total, Iryna estimates their moving costs to Belarus at $11-12 thousand. But the stress involved in organizing all of this took much more.
Returning to Belarus was not easy – they had to go through adaptation again. Iryna writes that, on the one hand, it was as if she hadn't returned home, but to a new country. On the other hand, it was sad to realize that everything in Minsk had stagnated during that time.
Belarusian service after Dubai raises many questions. But it allows them to save money: while in Dubai you could buy everything right away, in Belarus many things have to be ordered through buyers, and Iryna lacks the enthusiasm to deal with that.