I think that your happiness in Dubai can be strongly correlated to where you come from. It's all relative and if you come from South Africa or certain parts of the UK, Dubai feels super safe..amazingly so. However, if safety includes driving, it is probably one of the less safe places on the planet. Keep in mind that if you come here you will, at some point, experience appalling and dangerous driving of the likes you have never, ever witnessed.
We enjoyed our time there but are over the moon to be gone as well. Our favourite part of Dubai was actually all the travelling we did. Being part of an airline makes this super feasible and a huge perk. Everyone goes on about the lifestyle but for us, it was limiting. If not for the ability to travel, we would surely have lost our minds. How much mall hopping and beach time can you really endure? It does feel like a holiday for the first few years and there are some nice perks. You can work and my wife did for many years which helped finance a lot of trips out of there but it comes with it's fair share of headaches as well. Human rights, fairness, and
ethics are in short supply on the ground in Middle Eastern countries and if you can turn a blind eye to that and know what your goals are than it can be doable. But, trust me, you will have some **** days there where you wonder what the heck I am doing here?
As an American, you really should consult your countrymen in terms of their level of happiness and also how long they have been there for. Most people are in a honeymoon phase for the first few years and love all the perks but it is a longterm commitment and you have to consider what that means to you to drop out of your home life for 7 - 10 years?