Air conditioned house to air conditioned car to air conditioned plane!! Most families leave Dubai and go home when it is at its hottest. For those that stay, family life revolves around the pool, beach and in my wife's case the phone but that is another (expensive) story.
Whilst it does get tooo.. hot in summer there are also a bunch of places to go for indoor activities including play areas for the little ones and even ice skating. As always, it costs money to entertain the troops. A trip to one of the indoor centres will probably run to 100Dh+ for the average family and this starts to add up as the summer wears on; but you have no alternative.
Don't get the wrong impression, Dubai does have a lot to offer year round, even though it is hotter than the face of the sun in summer. The snag is that when all the entertaining is done, it will cost an average family more money living in Dubai than in a more developed country.
The powers that be have forgotten that the guys that come to Dubai are ex-pats and as such need to save money so that when they return home (and they have to by law) they can buy a house and can retire reasonably comfortably; otherwise what is the point!
An FO's salary doesn't crack it, a Capt's salary is better. Most people haven't been here long enough to complain too much, but the trend is worrying. 40% inflation, 10% payrise over 10 years what will the future hold. Being an optimist I hope someone will see sense, otherwise there may well be a mass exodus in a couple of years and that would be sad.
By the way the difference between Phoenix and Dubai is that Phoenix is 'kin hot but dry whereas Dubai is 'kin hot and 99% humidity! The weather in Phoenix beats the !!!!! out of Dubai in summer, trust me.
Ghost