In February, throughout a go to to Nairobi, Nigerian product designer Lola Salehu began serious about leaving Lagos. Till then, Salehu, who beforehand labored with Paystack as a senior product designer, had lived in Lagos all her life. She was visiting Kenya’s capital with different Nigerian tech ecosystem operators for Nairobi Fintech Happy Hour, an occasion for fintech fans. This go to, the product designer’s second time exterior Nigeria—her first was to Benin Republic—made her realise that Lagos was unlivable. In the present day, she lives in Dubai, within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and can go to Spain and the UK within the coming months to see if she may reside in both place completely. 

“It’s very apparent that my high quality of life has improved since I left Lagos.”

A wake-up name in Nairobi

In Nairobi, Salehu was enticed by town’s welcoming nature for tech employees, regular electrical energy, “intentional” design, nightlife and even recycling habits. These qualities persuaded her to remain two months longer than deliberate. “I had a pleasant time there. Throughout my time there, I realised that Nairobi is much like Lagos however loads higher. It was much like Lagos when it comes to the nightlife and folks not being up to now off.”

After getting back from her Nairobi journey, she solely spent just a few weeks in Lagos earlier than she moved to Dubai, the place she has been for the previous 4 months. 

“I feel that shifting round loads has gotten me excited. The prospect of, you realize, having the ability to like work remotely, from wherever I’m,” she stated.

Dubai calling

For Salehu, who now works as a design and product lead at Flick, selecting Dubai wasn’t tough. Other than having fun with a tax-free revenue and elevated job alternatives, Dubai additionally gives her the prospect to journey to tens of nations world wide. However that’s not all; Dubai has provided probably the most thrilling alternatives for enjoyable.

Based on Salehu, the price of dwelling in Dubai can also be very beneficial to her. Regardless of spending cash having enjoyable at totally different enjoyable spots each different weekend, Salehu’s month-to-month bills vary between $1500 and $2000. 

In a earlier interview, Salehu said that she loves the intentionality in Dubai’s design and applies it to her design course of. She discovered Lagos unworthy of comparable emulation. 

“Let’s paint an image. In Lagos, my condominium was near the roadside, so every time I used to be working or having conferences, I consistently needed to take care of noise from automobiles, the mosque down the road, the church proper behind, or the church two streets away,” she stated. “However I don’t must take care of all of these anymore, which suggests I’m in a position to work with a a lot calmer mindset, be extra organised in my work and crammed with inspiration.”

In Dubai, Salehu raved concerning the ease of searching of her window and seeing “ a physique of water, buildings with distinctive designs or life happening round in a approach that has been so fastidiously put in place.”

Her keep in Dubai, she admitted, has elevated her productiveness. She is ready to take up extra conferences and is far calmer with work as a result of she doesn’t have to fret about energy or community points. In contrast to Lagos, the place she labored for lengthy hours and nonetheless acquired much less performed, Dubai has enabled her to attain extra at work with much less time. 

Rising up, Salehu was reserved and didn’t get to do numerous stuff, however as an grownup, she has fallen in love with journey and has seen a “enormous world on the market” that she needs to expertise. Now, Salehu spends her weekends swimming, Kart racing, taking part in volleyball, tennis, golf, and she or he is seeking to begin flying Yoga quickly. 

Salehu wouldn’t thoughts altering her Nigerian passport as a result of it makes her travelling course of more durable, however she remains to be caught with it. For one, she has to use for a Schengen visa to go to Spain in September. However she has made progress in making a strategy to ease her expertise and that’s by changing into a resident of Dubai, which makes it simpler to entry 140 nations on the earth versus making use of from Nigeria. “To use to the UK from Nigeria, the final time I checked, I must watch for about 24 weeks.” 

Salehu Dubai’s employment visa received’t have to be renewed till 3 years from now. This differs from the freelancer visa which ensures a keep for as much as a 12 months, a household visa which ensures a keep for as much as 3 years too and an entrepreneur visa, which permits foreigners o register startups, that’s legitimate for as much as 5 years. However all of those visas don’t assure everlasting residency as candidates should renew their present visas each few years. 

Salehu’s work-life stability is more healthy as a result of it “locations much less emphasis on struggling and serves as a break from the Lagos hustle tradition,” she stated. “It’s only a good psychological shift. I’m in a position to consider different issues that I’d take pleasure in exterior of labor.”

In Dubai, she spends solely 23% of her month-to-month earnings, in distinction to the 40% she spent again in Lagos. (She earns 8 instances extra in Dubai than she did in Lagos.)

A everlasting dwelling in.…

In September, Salehu will probably be visiting Spain for the primary time. It will likely be a piece journey and a possibility to discover the nation.  A coworker who lives within the nation had beforehand really helpful it to her, particularly for its relative affordability.

However Salehu remains to be contemplating dwelling within the UK as a result of she has a big neighborhood of shut mates from Nigeria there. She additionally needs to go to the Netherlands however that journey might need to attend till subsequent 12 months. 

Salehu will not be lonely however she would like to make extra Nigerian mates overseas within the coming months. She has a bunch of international nationals she hangs out with and quite a lot of her mates from Lagos visited Dubai prior to now month. “ I don’t miss Nigeria however I miss the folks,” she concluded. 

For those who loved this text, please share it along with your community on Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Fb, and Telegram.

We’re open to functions from Digital Nomads. For those who’re an African who’s travelling the world whereas working or dwelling overseas for work, please ship me an electronic mail at timi@bigcabal.com and sultan@bigcabal.com or fill this form.