‘No constant honking, no garbage’: Indian founder on life in Dubai

Riya Upreti, founder and CEO of Fobet Media, says relocating her company's office to Dubai has given her a stark new perspective on everyday urban life — and that returning to India requires readjustment. Fobet Media was previously based in Noida; Upreti now travels frequently to Dubai and used a recent post on the social platform X to compare civic infrastructure, cleanliness and public behaviour between the two places.

“We moved our office to Dubai and I travel there frequently. Every time I come back to India, it takes me a few days to adjust again,” Upreti wrote. “Every Indian should travel abroad at least once in their lifetime. It changes your perspective.”

Upreti said the differences she noticed go beyond aesthetic preferences and touch on basic civic amenities. “When you experience clean air, no constant honking, proper sidewalks, and streets free of garbage, you realise what basic civic infrastructure and citizen privileges should look like,” she added, arguing that international travel highlights “how much we’re still missing” in India when it comes to public services and behaviour.

Reactions and online debate

The post sparked debate on X, where users weighed in on whether cultural habits or governance are primarily responsible for differences in public cleanliness and order. Responses included calls for individual and collective responsibility: “Nothing will change till our people are ready to change,” one user said, while another wrote, “Citizens of developed countries contribute to the well-being of their country, no-one ever spits Gutkha on the streets of Dubai, no one litters.”

• “Forget Dubai, just travel to Sri Lanka, Colombo. Indians will feel ashamed,” one user commented, pointing to comparisons with other regional cities.
• “Even Vietnam is so much more developed then India. Even smaller cities are so clean and well developed. People have sense of driving,” another user added, widening the discussion to include diverse urban experiences across Asia.

Upreti’s observations echo a common thread in conversations among expatriates and business founders who relocate: the experience of moving between different urban systems can alter expectations of public services. For entrepreneurs like Upreti, who must navigate operations across borders, such contrasts can influence decisions on office location, talent mobility and work patterns.

Context and implications

Fobet Media’s shift from Noida to Dubai is part of a broader trend of startups and small companies re-evaluating their bases for regulatory, economic or lifestyle reasons. While Upreti focuses on civic infrastructure, other entrepreneurs have cited factors such as ease of doing business, tax regimes, access to international talent and travel connectivity when choosing regional hubs.

The online conversation prompted by Upreti’s post also underscores tensions in public discourse: some participants emphasize systemic failings and policy gaps, while others stress individual behaviour and civic culture. Both strands surfaced in the replies, reflecting a mixture of frustration, aspiration and comparison.

Looking ahead, Upreti’s message—“Every Indian should travel abroad at least once ... It changes your perspective”—may influence other founders and professionals who weigh quality-of-life considerations alongside traditional business metrics when deciding where to live and work. For policymakers and civic activists, the debate serves as a reminder that improvements in infrastructure and public behaviour often need parallel progress in planning, enforcement and citizen engagement.