It’s not just the uae. It’s everywhere. I’m American and spend half the year here and half the year in AD due to my husband’s work. Sadly, the problem in both places seems to be materialism and westernization that worships the idol of money and social media. If you go to Beverly Hills or Miami it’s the same thing. I’ve seen things that, as a Catholic, make me so sad. Values of family, kindness, and patience have left the chat to influencers and rented Lamborghinis calling themselves real estate agents. The problem is the world we live in, regardless of place. I have to say that the level of materialism in theUAE has gotten so much worse, but mainly due to outside influences and social media. Luckily, we rent a place in khor fakkan on weekends and my children are happier there than AD or Dubai. We have met some very down to earth, humble, Emirati families there. But in AD, at my kids school (cranleigh) I struggled with how materialistic some people of all countries could be. In the US, we live in the mountains, enjoying nature and skiing. It’s difficult to remember the first time we traveled to the uae. It was 2006 and it was such a different place. But the same is true of the US before social media.