“It’s not a country that is a rule of law country,” says Middle East analyst Bohl. “It’s kind of rule by edict.

“They have laws, but they’re selectively enforced based on political considerations. British expats tend to get a bit lighter treatment… but sometimes the Emirati feel like making an example.”

And although the emirate has become much more tolerant over the years – for example, ditching screens at restaurants open for non-Muslims during Ramadan – gay people still face discrimination. Same-sex sexual activity is a crime, while gay couples cannot hold hands or kiss in public without facing the risk of prosecution, imprisonment and even death.

Women cannot always expect fair treatment either, while the loss of livelihood for foreign workers can be swift and brutal in the event of economic turmoil.

“It is very much rollercoaster capitalism there,” adds Bohl. “They are on an upswing right now, but there are very few safety nets. And that’s important to kind of keep in mind if things turn sour.”

British exodus risk

Britain is still a net magnet for foreign talent, but that doesn’t mean a steady loss of skilled workers to Dubai shouldn’t raise alarm bells.

“We have a lot of people of very high calibre still coming into London,” says Paul Johnson, chief economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

“And looking over history, there have been concerns over the last 20 years about high levels of migration to the UK. But of course, if you go back to the 1970s, there was a lot of worry about a ‘brain drain’ – about people going elsewhere.

“Whether there was really solid research on that, I don’t know, but it was part of a general sense of national decline.

“But if you are in a world where your brightest and best are looking elsewhere, even if that’s only a small number, it’s a slightly worrying straw in the wind.”

For Max Marlow, director of research at free market think tank the Adam Smith Institute, the trickle of graduates and families to Dubai is an obvious consequence of high taxes, soaring inflation, punishing rents and – for families – extortionate childcare costs.

“I’m a graduate, fresh out of university, and I see almost half my my salary go towards HMRC, even before other things such as rent and the cost to maintain what is, really, a [poor] standard of living for a country which seems to think of itself as rich,” he adds.

“It’s easy to reach the conclusion: Why should we stick around here?”

For Luke, the graduate consultant, it was clear where the better deal was. “The UK will always be there for me to go back to,” he adds.

“But right now, it just seems like the opportunities there are in Dubai.”