Across Abu Dhabi’s Diverse Communities, Residents Find Safety, Opportunity and a Sense of Belonging.
At 6am, before the day’s heat begins to settle over the capital, Abu Dhabi’s Corniche belongs to the early risers. It may seem like an ordinary morning, but the scene reflects much of what defines the city.
“I was born here. It’s where my story starts,” said Mohamed Munawwar, a software developer and researcher who was born and raised in Abu Dhabi.
From newcomers beginning a fresh chapter to long-time residents who have built their lives here over decades, people from different backgrounds find themselves becoming part of the same community.
Abu Dhabi is home to residents from well over a hundred nationalities, each with their own experiences, memories and a unique version of the city they call home.
For Advait Bal, a solutions consultant who has lived in Abu Dhabi for the past two years, the capital stands out for its sense of peace and safety. But the moment it truly began to feel like home came through subtle changes in his everyday routine.
“When I started getting around the city without using a map, and when I found myself showing newcomers around, that’s when it started to feel like home,” he said.
Advait Bal, Abu Dhabi resident for two years
For young women building independent lives, Abu Dhabi can also provide opportunities that go beyond professional growth — something reflected in the experience of another resident.
“‘The American dream is dead; the UAE dream is on.’ That’s what I thought when I first saw the city and realised what I could achieve here,” said Elizaveta Vartanian, an Armenian who moved to Abu Dhabi in 2023 to pursue her master’s degree and now works as a lecturer.
“At the time, I thought it would be a two-year chapter, and then I would see where life took me. And yet, here I am, still here,” Vartanian added.
What Abu Dhabi looks like from the inside
For Munawwar, returning to Abu Dhabi after leaving the city for higher studies felt less like relocating and more like finding his way home again.
“You realise how deeply a place becomes connected to your memories,” Munawwar said.
“The first thing I did when I came back was go for the classics: shawarma, hummus, a Francisco and a cup of karak. It sounds simple, but that first bite and that first sip felt like the city welcoming me back.”
Mohamed Munawwar, Abu Dhabi-born resident
Through the eyes of a dreamer like Vartanian, however, Abu Dhabi takes on an almost poetic character. She said the reality of the capital can be very different from the image imagined by those who have never visited, particularly the familiar perception of a city defined mainly by desert landscapes and skyscrapers.
“Abu Dhabi is nothing like you imagine if you’ve never visited,” she said.
“I found a city full of nature, greenery and life. It can feel almost like island living if that’s what you want, with beaches, mangroves and slow sunsets, while still offering the energy of big-city life when you want that instead.”
Elizaveta Vartanian, Abu Dhabi resident
For Bal, an introduction to Abu Dhabi would begin along the Corniche, where the city meets the waterfront, before perhaps continuing towards Saadiyat Island. Between the two, he said, visitors can experience the capital’s “aesthetic architecture and the overall class of the city.”
‘That’s Abu Dhabi to me’
For Munawwar, some of the strongest memories of Abu Dhabi are found in small acts of kindness.
He recalled a neighbourhood baqala owner who would occasionally give him free juices as a child, telling him that he could pay him back one day when he was older.
Years later, after returning from India, Munawwar walked into the same shop and was immediately recognised.
“He smiled and said, ‘So, big man now?’” Munawwar recalled. “That’s Abu Dhabi to me. Even as it grows, the city remembers you.”
For Vartanian, Abu Dhabi stood out from the beginning as a place where possibilities seemed almost limitless.
“Everything seemed possible here. The city was building, growing and welcoming people with ambition, and I remember thinking: this is a place where you can actually make things happen,” she said.
As she settled into life in the capital, its cultural diversity became one of the qualities she valued most. Rather than viewing the mix of nationalities and traditions as something she needed to adapt to, Vartanian began to see it as one of Abu Dhabi’s greatest strengths — and a key part of what makes the city feel welcoming.
“In one week here, you can celebrate three different holidays, taste food from five countries and hear ten languages. Where else do you get that?” she said.
Many people also arrive in Abu Dhabi without their families, she noted, creating “an openness you don’t always find in other cities” as residents form new friendships and communities of their own.
And while large cities are often associated with loneliness, Vartanian believes a sense of community also depends on what individuals are willing to contribute.
“If you want to have a village, you need to be a villager,” she said.
A city still being built
Ask residents what Abu Dhabi’s future might look like, and their answers often combine optimism about what lies ahead with a desire to preserve the warmth and sense of community they value today.
“When I think about the future, I see Abu Dhabi becoming even more sustainable, innovative and leading in the region and the world,” Munawwar said. “Being part of that through my own work is something I’m grateful for.”
For those still trying to understand the character of the emirate, Vartanian offers a more personal comparison. If Abu Dhabi were a person, she said, it would resemble a generous older relative.
“I think it would be like a generous older relative: always busy, always building something new, but never too busy to pour you a cup of tea and ask how you’ve been.”
