July 2025 | Cities Weekly

I remember the exact moment I hit my wall. It was a Tuesday. I'd been running around the city for what felt like a decade, my phone was blowing up with deadlines, and the Dubai heat was doing that thing where it feels like a physical weight on your shoulders. I found myself standing near the textile souk in Bur Dubai, the shouts of the vendors and the smell of cardamom and exhaust fumes swirling around me, and I just thought, "I'm done. I need to check out." You know that feeling, right? When the constant buzz of the city—a city you love, by the way—just becomes noise. My first instinct was to book something sleek and shiny in a skyscraper. But then I looked around at the old wind towers, at the abras gliding across the Creek, and realized the antidote to the frantic pace of modern Dubai was right here, in its historic, beating heart. The solution wasn't to go higher, but to go deeper. Bur Dubai has this... soul. And its spas? They have it too. They're not abo...

Cities Weekly Team

How to Get Beauty Therapist Jobs in Dubai

Three years ago, my friend Sarah packed her bags in Manchester with nothing but a beauty therapy diploma and a dream of working in Dubai's luxury spa scene. Today, she's pulling in 8,000 AED a month at a five-star hotel spa and couldn't be happier with the move. But getting there? That's a story worth telling. Dubai's beauty industry is booming, and I mean seriously booming. The city's obsession with luxury, wellness, and looking good has created thousands of opportunities for skilled beauty therapists. But here's the thing nobody warns you about – landing a beauty therapist job in Dubai isn't just about being good at facials and massages. There's paperwork, licensing, visa complications, and a whole system you need to navigate. After helping several friends make this transition and covering the UAE's job market for years, I've figured out what actually works and what's just wishful thinking. So if you're serious about making this...

Cities Weekly Team

Dubai

Top Locations in Dubai for Chocolate Strawberries and Strawberry Cups

Okay, let's talk about the elephant in the room – or should I say, the chocolate-covered strawberry in the room. If you've been on social media at all in the past year, you've probably seen those ridiculously photogenic cups filled with fresh strawberries drowning in pistachio cream and melted chocolate. Yeah, those Dubai chocolate strawberry cups that have everyone losing their minds. I'll be honest, when I first saw these things trending on TikTok, I rolled my eyes. Another viral food trend that would probably taste like disappointment wrapped in Instagram hype. But then I tried one at a little spot in City Walk, and I get it now. I really, really get it. The thing is, finding good chocolate strawberries and strawberry cups in Dubai isn't as simple as it looks online. Some places are riding the trend with mediocre knockoffs, while others are creating genuinely incredible versions that justify the hype. After spending way too much money and probably gaining fiv...

Cities Weekly Team

Travel

Domestic vs. International Flights: How Early to Arrive and Key Differences

Last month I watched a guy in an expensive suit literally sprint past me at LAX, briefcase bouncing, phone pressed to his ear explaining to someone why he was about to miss his flight to London. Made me cringe because I've been that guy. More than once. The whole "arrive 2 hours early for domestic, 3 for international" thing? It's not wrong, but it's also not the whole story. After covering travel and city life for nearly a decade, plus my own share of close calls and missed connections, I've figured out when those rules work and when they'll leave you screwed. Here's what actually matters when you're trying to figure out airport timing. What Nobody Tells You About the "Standard" Domestic and International Flights Times Those 2-hour and 3-hour recommendations everyone throws around come from airlines who'd rather have you sitting at the gate forever than deal with rebooking you. They're covering their asses, which I get, ...

Cities Weekly Team

Insights

Heathrow Airport First-Timer’s Survival Guide to Terminals, Facilities & Transport

I can still feel the dull hum of the engines powering down. After seven hours cramped in a metal tube, the gentle bump of the wheels hitting the tarmac was pure relief. Looking out the window, a quintessential grey London sky greeted me, along with a dizzying, endless sea of British Airways tails parked with military precision. That was my first real look at Heathrow. And let me tell you, the sheer scale of it, the raw, buzzing energy that seemed to seep through the very windows of the plane, was both exhilarating and utterly terrifying. My mind was racing. Did I remember to fill out the landing card right? Is my gate for the connecting flight a million miles away? How on earth do I get to a hotel in Kensington without getting completely ripped off? If that little cocktail of excitement and panic sounds even remotely familiar, then you’re in exactly the right place. Consider me your friend who’s made all the blunders—the one who once went to Terminal 4 for a Terminal 2 flight (don'...

Cities Weekly Team

Insights

What to Major In to Become an Airport Transit Expert - A Real-World Guide

It’s just past noon on a Wednesday here in Lagos. The air is thick with the city's relentless energy, a symphony of car horns, street vendors, and the low hum of a thousand generators. My thoughts often drift to another hub of chaotic, yet somehow functional, energy: Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMA). It’s more than just a building; it’s a living organism, the primary artery pumping people, goods, and dreams between Nigeria and the rest of the world. I was having a conversation with a friend's younger brother the other day, a sharp, ambitious university student trying to map out his future. He gestured vaguely towards the sky and asked a question so simple yet so profound it stuck with me: "How do you become an expert in a place like that? Not just a worker, but someone who really understands it? What do you even study?" It’s a brilliant question because the world of airport transit careers is infinitely more vast and fascinating than most people realize....

Cities Weekly Team

Travel

Ethiopian Airlines Check-In: Your Stress-Free, Step-by-Step Guide

It’s just after 11 AM here in Lagos, and the generator is humming that familiar tune outside my window. I’m staring at a flight confirmation on my screen for a trip I have coming up, and that little flicker of anxiety starts in my stomach. It’s not about the flight itself—I love flying. It’s the pre-flight chaos. The traffic getting to Murtala Muhammed, the worry about the queues, the whole song and dance of just getting on the plane . And a huge part of that dance is the check-in. Flying Ethiopian is a regular thing for a lot of us here. They connect us to literally everywhere. But I’ve seen so many people, friends included, get tripped up and stressed out by the check-in process. They show up to the airport expecting a smooth run and get hit with a wall of people, confusion over baggage, and the frantic search for a pen. It doesn’t have to be that way. Seriously. I've learned the hard way, so you don't have to. So, let’s talk, for real, about how to handle your Ethiopian Airl...

Cities Weekly Team

Insights

TSA PreCheck® Application - Step-by-Step Guide to Skipping Airport Lines

I can still feel the cold sweat. It was a Tuesday morning at LAX, and the security line was a monster, snaking back and forth in a seemingly endless human chain. I’d done everything right—arrived two hours early, packed my liquids in that tiny, sad bag—but none of it mattered. As I stood there, watching the minutes tick away, the familiar dread washed over me. The frantic unpacking of my laptop, the awkward fumbling to get my shoes off, the silent prayer that I wouldn't be the one randomly selected for an extra pat-down. Sound familiar? For years, that was just my reality of travel. A necessary evil. But then I discovered what feels like a secret travel hack, a VIP pass that’s accessible to almost everyone: TSA PreCheck®. It completely changed the game for me, and I’m willing to bet it will for you, too. Let’s be real, the process of getting it can seem a little intimidating from the outside. Forms, appointments, background checks… it sounds like a lot. But trust me, it’s one of th...

Cities Weekly Team

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