BBC iPlayer has a brand new show about life in the luxury city of Dubai. The show, Dubai Hustle, follows 10 20-something estate agents working at an upmarket agency selling properties for millions of dirhams to wealthy ex-pats and Sheikhs.
The eight-part series, available on the BBC’s streaming service and on the newly revised BBC Three, takes on a reality television theme as cameras track the progress of young, ambitious workers.
Filmed with agents from the haus & haus estate agency, British young professionals have made the move out to Dubai in the hopes of a better life in the sun. The high quality of life, constant warmth and low taxation has led to many Brits moving to the Middle East. With a time difference of only three hours, and a weekend from Thursday to Saturday, many people are finding jobs and life better, as the programme shows.
High stakes
As we follow the drama of relationships, parties and work, we see the young people finding their feet and spending their money in the big city. The world of brokering is highly competitive, and the show portrays this as we see them fighting for properties and trying to learn the city’s strict code of conduct towards house buying.
The stakes are high in the property brokerage, as someone can always swoop in at the last minute and take the deal. Working on commission, the agents must work hard to reap the rewards, and earn enough to eat and pay rent.
As we meet each new broker, we see them struggle with homesickness, competitiveness and relationships in the workplace. There is also the draw of the city’s nightlife which is proving a difficult vice to stay away from for some of the new brokers.
Stunning houses
Based in different areas of Dubai, we get to see behind-the-scenes looks at beautiful properties in places such as the world-famous Palm and newer estates such as Dubai Hills. Each member of the company is unique and comes with different difficulties. Some are struggling to make ends meet, others come from social housing estates and are determined to do well to provide for their loved ones back home.
The agency they work for- haus & haus- is British-founded, and so the managers we meet are aware of the challenges moving across the world can bring. But, that doesn’t stop them requiring their staff to hit targets and do well. Combining luxury and wealth with business has created a new format of reality television, and has meant the show has been compared to Selling Sunset combined with The Apprentice. The first four episodes are available now, with the next four releasing later in the year.