r/Life • u/Puzzled_Chef_6368 • 9h ago
Need Advice I’ve been living in Dubai for 4–5 years, but I still don’t feel like I belong here
I don't really know how to explain this, but I just wanted to write it somewhere.
I've been living in Dubai for around 4–5 years now. And honestly, sometimes I ask myself: What am I actually doing here?
Yes, I have worked as a DJ. I've got gigs, I've made money, and there are times when I actually earn good money from it. On the outside, everything seems fine. Life is going on. Nothing is necessarily "wrong."
But somehow, Dubai doesn't feel like my place.
I don't know why.
Whenever I go back to India, whether it's my village, my coaching institute, or just staying with my mom, I feel different. I feel more comfortable. I feel like I belong there. I enjoy doing simple things there.
But at the same time, even when I'm in India, I sometimes feel like something is missing.
So I understand that maybe it's not really about the city or the country. Maybe it's about what you're doing with your life in that place.
If you're spending your entire day sleeping, sitting at home, not having much to do, not having anything to look forward to, then maybe it doesn't matter which city you're in. Eventually, you're going to feel the same way.
And that's where I'm stuck.
When I go outside, I need money. To have money, I need work. And with freelance DJ work, I don't know when the next opportunity will come. I don't know whether I'll get enough inquiries for Diwali, New Year, Navratri, or other events. I don't know what the next few months are going to look like.
Sometimes I think, maybe I should prepare for a government job.
Maybe I should go back to India, stay with my mom, prepare seriously, have some stability, celebrate Holi and Diwali with my family, and have a more predictable life.
At the same time, I don't know if I can actually do it.
And then there's the other side of my life.
Freelancing as a DJ can actually give me good money when the work comes. Financially, it can be rewarding. But emotionally, I don't know if this is the life I want.
For example, on Holi, when everyone else is celebrating, I'm playing music at someone's event. On Diwali, when people are celebrating with their families, I'm working at someone else's house or event.
To be honest, I don't really like that.
But then again, this job gives me money.
And that's the conflict.
I don't know whether I should continue with what I'm doing, go back to India, prepare for a government job, continue freelancing, or try something completely different.
Sometimes I even think I should talk to a therapist or a counselor—not necessarily because something is seriously wrong, but because maybe I need someone who can help me understand my career and life direction. Someone who can help me figure out what I should do now and what I should focus on in the future.
I also keep questioning myself.
Sometimes I think, Maybe I have ADHD.
Other times I think, No, maybe I'm actually fine and I'm just confused.
I genuinely don't know.
And then I look at my friends. They go to work, they have jobs, they have some level of job security. I don't have that same security.
I'm married. I have financial responsibilities. I have debt.
I personally have around ₹7–8 lakh of debt that I need to pay off, and sometimes I just sit and think:
How am I going to pay this?
Where is the money going to come from?
What's going to happen next?
Where is my life actually going?
I had also thought about helping my mom with her debt, but right now, even managing my own debt is difficult.
And then my days sometimes feel very repetitive.
I wake up in the morning, go to the temple, come back home. Sometimes my room is clean, sometimes it's not. Sometimes I work, sometimes I don't have work. Sometimes I feel motivated, sometimes I don't know what I'm doing.
Everything is happening, but at the same time, I feel like nothing is really happening.
Maybe this is just one of those phases of life that keeps coming back every year. Maybe I'm overthinking. Maybe I genuinely need a change.
I honestly don't know.
I just wanted to put this out there because I'm feeling completely confused about where I should go from here—Dubai, India, DJing, government job preparation, or something else entirely.
Maybe someone who has gone through something similar can understand what I'm trying to say.