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The morning here starts with a strong coffee and an open laptop. I came to Abu Dhabi after chapters in other cities, other ambitions, other versions of myself and found something I hadn't expected: a place building at the same pace I wanted to. I work in tech and AI, with a young, curious team. We're always working towards the next big thing.
By mid-morning, I'm walking on Yas Island. I live here, I work here, I exercise here; it's rare to have all three in the same postcode and rarer still to feel the ground shift under you while you do. A new building where there wasn't one last month. A stretch of waterfront that didn't exist a year ago. If you want to watch a city get made in real time, this is the island to stand on. The curves of the Yas Marina Circuit cut through it all, a reminder that this place has always been comfortable moving fast.
The best hour of my day is the one before sunset. I lace up and head out for a run, sometimes along the waterfront, sometimes a loop past Yas Marina and back. A few of the boys usually join. We call ourselves the Yas Boys Club. You move to a new country and you wonder if you'll ever have that, the people who show up, who rib you, who know your pace. I have it now.
Evenings end slowly, a good meal somewhere with a view, usually in Yas Bay or along the marina, the city lights starting to come on across the water. Abu Dhabi didn't hand me a place. I built one. And the city kept building too, right alongside me.
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