# Athens vs Dubai

> On balanced weights, Athens comes out ahead: 60 against 53 out of 100, mostly on research output and clean air. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/athens-gr-vs-dubai-ae/

Scores out of 100: Athens 60, Dubai 53. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=athens-gr,dubai-ae

## Line by line

| Line | Athens | Dubai |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,201 take-home a month | €4,998 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 97 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 119 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 9 h 31 min | 10 h 35 min |
| Sunshine | 2,881 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) | 3,609 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 65 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 8 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 12.6 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 35.0 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 0.8 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 81.8 years (World Development Indicators) | 83.1 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €50 a month (World Development Indicators) | €17 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 43 weeks (mother 37, father 6) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | no data |
| Happiness | 6.90 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | no data |
| Research output | 64 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 2 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 20 km (OurAirports airports) | 20 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | no data | no data |
| Rail and metro stations | 74 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 2 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | no data | no data |
| Cycle network | 0.22 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 0.29 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | no data |
| Walking and cycling to work | no data | no data |
| Quick way out by bike | 4.8 km, about 19 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | no data |
| Near the sea | 6 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 13 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 19 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 87 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 29.7 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 7.5 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 43 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 32 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 51 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 50 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | no data | no data |
| Doctors | 6.6 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.0 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 8.5 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 2.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 44.6 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) | 55.7 % of adults (World Development Indicators) |
| Developers around | 22.7 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 7.1 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 0.25 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.15 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | no data | no data |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | no data |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | no data |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 8 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 0 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 10 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 0 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 17 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 10 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 66 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 74 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 248 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 145 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 7 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 169 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 55 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 21 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 96 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 231 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 71 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 230 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Athens or Dubai?

Everyday prices are lower in Greece: 65.5 against 68.8 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Athens and Dubai, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Athens and in Dubai?

About €38,407 a year in Athens (Greece 2026 tax rules) and AED 246,408 in Dubai (United Arab Emirates 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Athens or Dubai?

Dubai is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 34.8 °C against 22.8 °C in Athens (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Athens or Dubai?

Athens has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 12.6 µg/m³ against 35.0 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2025 and 2024).

### Can a citizen of Greece live and work in Dubai without a visa?

No. Citizens of Greece need a visa or permit to live and work in the United Arab Emirates.

## Cite

Borgo, "Athens vs Dubai", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/athens-gr-vs-dubai-ae/, figures as of 2026-11-05.