Dubai and Skyscrapers.

[BigMattFromTexas]

I know its not just me, but Dubai is on its way to becoming the skyscraper capitol of the WORLD. I found pictures of the crazy skyline. and it amazing. It's definitely one location I HAVE to visit in my life, but probably never will. I have some pictures to show.
From: Skyscraper city.

From: Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Burj_Khalifa_building.jpg
BigMatt

[huskeroadgeek]

Do you ever watch the Amazing Race? They went to Dubai on last fall's show and went up Burj Khalifa(then called Burj Dubai) before it was finished.

[golden eagle]

With all the oil money they make, you can see why they can do it. I'd like to see it sometime in my life, though.

[BigMattFromTexas]

Yeah, Midland, Tx could have grown like this (probably) on a smaller scale, but they could have had more large buildings if it weren't for the dang oil bust...
BigMatt

[haljackey]

I give Dubai 5 more years before it becomes a modern day ghost town. They just got bailed out by nearby Abu-Dhabi because they couldn't pay off loans fast enough.

If you're planning to visit this place, do it by 2015.

[agentsteel53]

If you're planning to visit this place, do it by 2015.

note to self: visit after 2015 when it becomes awesome.

[BigMattFromTexas]

If you're planning to visit this place, do it by 2015.

note to self: visit after 2015 when it becomes awesome.

That would be awesome, to be the only one in a jungle of skyscrapers.

@haljackey: But look at America, we had to be bailed out by multiple countries, and we aren't a ghost country, well I gues theres a difference between a city and a country, but still.
BigMatt

[haljackey]

lol, it's just a prediction  .

Dubai has an odd case for itself. It's developing aggressively right now because it's oil reserves are going to run out soon. They want to turn their economy from oil-based to service-based rather than from oil-based to nothing. I just happen to find what they're doing is overkill, and it won't be long until the whole emirate starts to crumble.

The recent economic situation in the USA is a tad different. That country wasn't bailed out because they were aggressively overdeveloping, it was to save their financial sector from meltdown due largely in part to the subprime mortgage crisis. In addition, I think the UAE is on the gold standard, so their currency isn't as vulnerable as most other nations in the world.

Just my thoughts.

[yanksfan6129]

Um, the economy of Dubai hasn't relied on oil for decades...today oil is only about 6% of the economy. True that they originally got rich from oil, but they diversified quickly.

Granted, they needed a bailout because they've been spending their money poorly...neighboring Abu Dhabi has a similar story as Dubai, but it has invested more wisely. Abu Dhabi has actually managed the global recession pretty well.

I don't think Dubai will be a ghost town. But given that the town was built on speculation, perhaps now that a global financial crisis occurred, they will have learned the error of their ways. They will recover, but I don't think they'll be building giant towers or dredging the sea to create artificial islands again anytime soon.