Ask Ali: On men and women sharing housing



Dear Ali: I am male. I am about to rent a big room with an attached bathroom. Is it OK to share that room with a female friend I work with? We would partition it in half using our wardrobe cabinet for privacy. HS, Abu Dhabi

Dear HS: Because of the challenges in Abu Dhabi's real estate market, a blind eye is often turned to the practice of sharing and partitioning apartments and rooms. But such sharing by a man and a woman is not allowed and I recommend you don't do it. It might get both of you into serious trouble if your situation were to become known.

Of course, there are a lot of people who would say: "Oh, just do it. As long as no one knows, you're fine." But such an act is not appreciated and is illegal, and we expect our expat friends to respect the law and our Emirati culture.

Dear Ali: I would like to have my fiancée visit and stay with me in my villa. But I am nervous and confused about whether this would be legal. What should I do? MK, Abu Dhabi

Dear MK: As I note above, staying in the same house with your partner without being married is against the law. If you intended to have your fiancée stay permanently with you here, I would recommend you tie the knot and make your relationship official. And since you talk about her as a fiancée and not a girlfriend, I guess this is the long-term plan.

If she is visiting and staying with you for a short time, don't rub it into everybody's face that she is "only" your fiancée. Instead, tell a little fib and address and introduce her as your wife and keep it low profile and you will not have any problems.

Even though in most social situations it would be fine to say you are with your fiancée, revealing that you are staying in the same place might not be accepted.

Our laws are a bit more conservative than those in other parts of the world, but we don't want to make people's lives difficult. When you consider the millions of tourists coming here on a regular basis, we don't check to see if all those travelling together are married - we just turn that blind eye as long as there is no public offence.

Dear Ali: What qualities help make an American teacher more successful in Abu Dhabi? SG, Abu Dhabi

Dear SG: An acceptance and appreciation of the new culture you are stepping into and respect for local traditions are the keys for a successful integration into our society. And this applies to anyone who decides to live and work in a different country than his or her own.

Remember the famous proverb "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". We don't expect expat women to wear the hijab, but we do expect everyone in our country to respect our conservative approach and for women to dress modestly.

You have all the freedom to practise your own religion or social life, but please respect that Emiratis are Muslims and that Islam is the major source of guidance in all matters of our lives. So remember that in our society teachers are considered persons of great authority, and we are brought up to trust and follow our teachers' advice just as we trust and follow our parents'. Therefore, your teaching and dealing with children should be in accordance with our morals and ethics in order for you to gain the trust and respect of their parents and your colleagues.

Language lesson

Arabic: Rags
English: Dance

If you're in a wedding and want to dance with your friend, you'd pull her hands and say "Yalla nerges", which means "C'mon, let's dance". ("Nerges" is a conjugated form of "rags".)

6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m

Winner Bella Fever, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Mike de Kock (trainer).

7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Woven, Harry Bentley, David Simcock.

7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m

Winner Fore Left, William Buick, Doug O’Neill.

8.15pm Dubai Sprint Listed Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,200m

Winner Rusumaat, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.

8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.

9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m

Winner Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Beyond Reason, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

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Company Profile

Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi

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Company info

Company name: Entrupy 

Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist

Based: New York, New York

Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.  

Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius. 

Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place. 

How much of your income do you need to save?

The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.

In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)

Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.