# Dubai vs Melbourne

> On balanced weights, Melbourne comes out ahead: 57 against 54 out of 100, mostly on clean air and research output. 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/dubai-ae-vs-melbourne-au/

Scores out of 100: Dubai 54, Melbourne 57. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=dubai-ae,melbourne-au

## Line by line

| Line | Dubai | Melbourne |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €4,998 take-home a month | €3,896 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 119 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 46 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 10 h 35 min | 9 h 32 min |
| Sunshine | 3,609 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 2,285 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) |
| Dry days | 8 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 127 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 35.0 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 7.9 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.9 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 83.1 years (World Development Indicators) | 83.1 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €17 a month (World Development Indicators) | €82 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | no data | 10 weeks (mother 9, father 1) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | no data | 7.20 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 2 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 47 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) | 19 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | no data | no data |
| Rail and metro stations | 2 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 46 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | no data | no data |
| Cycle network | 0.29 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 1.67 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | no data | 99 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | no data | no data |
| Quick way out by bike | no data | 9.7 km, about 39 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 13 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 6 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 87 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 60 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 7.5 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 10.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 32 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 39 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 50 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 96 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | no data | no data |
| Doctors | 3.0 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 4.1 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 2.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 4.1 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 55.7 % of adults (World Development Indicators) | 47.5 % of adults (World Development Indicators) |
| Developers around | 7.1 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 7.6 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 1.15 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.84 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | no data | centre, 5.2 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | no data | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | no data | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 0 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 33 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 0 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 13 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 10 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 27 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 74 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 16 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 145 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 346 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 169 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 21 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 119 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 231 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 230 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 21 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

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

Everyday prices are lower in the United Arab Emirates: 68.8 against 94.4 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Dubai and Melbourne, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

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

About AED 246,408 a year in Dubai (United Arab Emirates 2026 tax rules) and A$74,462 in Melbourne (Australia 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Dubai or Melbourne?

Dubai is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 34.8 °C against 19.6 °C in Melbourne (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

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

Melbourne has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 7.9 µg/m³ against 35.0 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2024).

### Can a citizen of the United Arab Emirates live and work in Melbourne without a visa?

No. Citizens of the United Arab Emirates need a visa or permit to live and work in Australia; free movement there covers Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement citizens.

## Cite

Borgo, "Dubai vs Melbourne", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/dubai-ae-vs-melbourne-au/, figures as of 2026-11-05.