Work hard, play harder

People who come work here who are single have it MADE, especially if they don't have any financial obligations at home. Our housing is free, so other than utilities (which are dirt cheap), phone, possibly a car, and cable if you want it...they are pocketing a lot of money. I think most single people travel a lot. I would love to do that, but we have debt at home we are trying to pay off and we have 4 mouths to feed. However, we are better off than we would be in the US! Even though work is extremely difficult, I try to focus on the positives.

Luckily, gas is super cheap and Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Al Ain are all easily day trips from one another. I am constantly looking at UAE travel books and reading my favorite magazine, Time Out, to find things to do...and the cheaper the better!

Here are some of the inexpensive things we've found to do so far:

Beaches

• Saadiyat Island beach- outside Abu Dhabi, hands down my favorite so far because it's clean, the water is clear, and the sand is soft and white; you do have to pay to get in, but it's so cheap, who cares? (25 dirhams per adult, kids free, and free parking)
• Jumeirah Beach Residence- clean, has shops near by, free, but had to find/pay for parking; supposedly there are sometimes camels on the beach, but we didn't see any; kind of far from everywhere else in Dubai, but the new tram goes there; construction around it wasn't attractive
• Kite Beach- also in Dubai, found free parking, clean, but not a big fan of the sand
• The Corniche- Abu Dhabi, found free parking, it was night time, so I can't really judge it accurately
• Al Khan Beach- in Sharjah, free parking, dirty (numerous items floating in the water as well as trash on the beach), no bathrooms nearby, nice sand

Parks

• Creekside Park (Dubai)- we walked around half of it and weren't impressed. The playgrounds aren't anything spectacular, you can't swim in the "beach" area, and the cable cars weren't working. There is a Dolphinarium and a Children's City, but we didn't go in either one. There is a cheap entry fee to get in.
• Jahli Park (Al Ain)- FREE, very big with three playgrounds (one sand and the others with rubber bottoms), bike rentals, fountains, and a two story Starbucks right beside it (major bonus points!); side note: the park could use some cleaning...lots of trash around :(
• Hili Oasis (Al Ain)- FREE, walking trails winding through date farms, easy to get lost inside!
• Green Mubazzarah (Al Ain)- FREE, lots of green areas to have picnics, camel rides, hot springs (have not been in yet, so can't really comment), playgrounds are not well maintained, there are some chalets you can pay to stay overnight in, there is a KFC, Pizza Hut, Krispy Kreme, and a local restaurant if you are hungry
• Jebel Hafeet (Al Ain)- FREE, very windy road...make sure you have plenty of gas in your tank before you go; there are several pull over areas to take pictures; the view at the top is nice; there's a hotel near the top also; please be careful because we saw a truck that had flipped over the guardrail and crashed into the side of the mountain

Tourist Attractions

• Al Ain Palace Museum (Al Ain)- FREE, very well maintained and interesting to walk around and take pictures
• Discovery Centre (Sharjah)- CHEAP, had quite a few interesting hands on activities for the kids, but some of them weren't working or needed updating
• Grand Mosque (Abu Dhabi)- FREE, very beautiful building to look at and take pictures of; make sure you are fully covered when you go (including your head if you are a woman) or you will have to borrow an abaya
• Emirates Palace (Abu Dhabi)- FREE, gorgeous hotel to walk around and photograph
• Souk Madinat (Dubai)- FREE (unless you choose to buy something) indoor souk with nice shops; I don't think we saw the whole thing, so next time I want to explore more
• Jahili Fort (Al Ain)- FREE, really fun to walk around and there is a really nice photo exhibit 

I will definitely be adding to this list as we do more things :)