HGTV's "Living Abroad" Makes This Broad Happy

I’m all about luxury services, and this is one of the reasons I think I would do well living in Dubai. My friend Kenzie who actually lives in Dubai says it’s not all luxury services and malls there. There’s a little thing called a daily temperature of 134 degrees, every day in August. But I’m not one to let, oh, reality, intrude on my fantasy.

So I have mixed emotions about HGTV’s latest series called “Living Abroad”. It showcases American families, just like mine, and their adventure living in foreign lands, like Dubai or Japan or other far-flung destinations.

I like the series because it allows me to indulge my “path not traveled” fantasy life, like a good chat with Kenzie. Did you know most Americans in Dubai have a nanny and a housekeeper? It’s the fastest growing market for luxury goods, and at Dubaian swimming pools they have sunglass butlers whose whole job is simply to shine your sunglasses. Sign me up! Also, could I import one of those guys over here to help me find my sunglasses?     

I don’t like the show “Living Abroad” because it shows some of the gritty reality too, like the isolation of living in a culture that’s not your own. Kenzie shares some of this stuff as well when I talk to her. Like the fact that kangaroo burgers are easier to get in Dubai than pork anything. And the fact that it’s easier to procure camel milk than alcohol in this Muslim society.

I’m a Libra with an ability to “go with the flow” pretty much anywhere, but Dubai might be a tough putt for me. I could rock a burkini (what’s not to like about a wetsuit one can trick out with rhinestones?), but a ban on Pinot Grigio and beachside PDA would be tricky. So would the fact that my fella would have to “sponsor” me. I know he would abuse this "authority" by monopolizing the remote control the whole time we were there and/or threatening to sell me to camel traders.

So I think I’ll continue my monopoly on the remote and continue watching Dubai on “Living Abroad” from the safety of my nanny-less, housekeeper-less, sunglasses-butler-less home.   (Click on this link for more information about "Living Abroad" on HGTV.)