Home, sweet home

There is something about living the UAE that lures back many expatriates who grew up here.

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There may be no place like home, but the concept of home means different things to different people. For many of us, it is the place where we were born, or where our family has its roots. But, as The National discovered this week, many expatriates who spent their childhood in the UAE have a closer attachment to this country than to their notional "home" country. So much so, that some of them have returned to the Emirates for work and to bring up their own families.

As we reported, Elaine Mazarello spent her first seven years here before moving to her parents’ homeland of India. As an adult, she returned to Abu Dhabi, where she and her husband are raising their two children. “To me, this city has always felt more like home than Goa,” she says.

It’s not difficult to see why people are attracted to the UAE, with its competitive wages, safe environment and open, tolerant society – plus its beaches and other family-friendly attractions.

But there is also an intangible sense of belonging that makes many expatriates want to keep in touch with the UAE long after they have left, and some of them want to return. Perhaps they have embraced the simple truth that home truly is where the heart is.