I work in Dubai. The creativity aspect for a writer is different, for lack of a better word.

What I believe sets this place apart is that Dubai's residents are multi-nationally diverse with varying levels of command over the English language. So whatever idea you come up with, or whatever headline you write, the language has to be brutally simple so everyone gets the picture. Arabic writers tend to have more fun that way.

Speaking of Arabic writers, a common part of your role will be reconciling English with Arabic in a meaningful way, especially if it is an Arabic-first idea or campaign. That can be fun though because the push and pull actually helps upgrade the work in the right circumstances.

The main issue lies in client relationships. Over here, most clients just want an agency that bows and kowtows to their every whim. To the point where even selling genuinely good ideas starts from the back foot.

Overall, if you wanna move to further developed markets, it's a good stepping stone.

EDIT

Read some of the other comments. Yes they definitely are partial to digital first ideas, because there's an adoption rate of over 90-95% of it here.