uae bloggers what doesnt suck

UAE Bloggers: Jeff & Anne of What Doesn’t Suck?

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Jeff and Anne are the travel couple and vloggers behind What Doesn’t Suck?, a blog that highlights their adventures and videos in Dubai and beyond. This couple recently got married, quit their jobs and have embarked on a trip around the world.

Prior to this Round-the-World trip, they’ve been consistently producing quality videos of their adventures. Their popular “48 Hours in…” video series details their weekend escapades in various places in and outside the emirate. Their guides are very helpful especially with Dubai being strategically located on the map so it’s much more convenient to explore to other countries.

Another interesting thing about Jeff and Anne is that while they were still based in Dubai, they managed to travel to 13 countries in 1 year while maintaining full-time jobs. As a lot of us are busy expats, this can be quite a challenge. However, they’ve shown that it is doable so long as you sacrifice and prioritize certain aspects of your lifestyle.

jeff anne bloggers what doesnt suck

UAE Travel Couple Feature: Jeff and Anne of WhatDoesntSuck.com

Even if they’ve been to many destinations already, it’s nice this couple has remained grounded and still write practical tips that people can relate with. Be advised that their adventures are not limited to luxury travel or backpacker travelling, but  somewhere in between and essentially featuring what doesn’t suck.

In our interview, Jeff and Anne share their story of how they met in Dubai, how they started the blog and their future plans. Read the rest of our feature below.

1. Tell us a little about yourselves.

Anne originally came to the UAE to finish a master degree in marketing, while I moved two years after her to take a position in television production. While we continued to work full-time for the four years we were together in Dubai, we regularly traveled on the weekends and made 48 hour travel video guides whenever we could.

2. Can you tell our readers more about your blog?

We started “What Doesn’t Suck?” out of a desire to help remind people how great of a city Dubai was to travel from. While we really enjoyed living in the UAE, we soon realized it is probably the single best city in the world to travel from so we wanted to show people this.

With my background in television and video production and Anne’s in marketing and social media we were able to take the best parts about our jobs and combine them into a travel blog we really enjoyed growing over the years.

What doesnt Suck Bloggers

3. What are your top places to visit/attractions in the UAE?

While we have spent a ton of time traveling outside of the UAE we have also explored a ton inside the Emirates. Our favorite escapes would probably be camping in the mountains and exploring more of quiet and beautiful Ras Al Khaimah – a hidden gem in Dubai that too few people visit regularly.

4. What are the restaurants that you recommend in the UAE?

Ohh man, tough question! With so many popping up and vanishing each year it is hard to keep track but some of our favorites are Pepper Crab at the Grand Hyatt, Hot Pot in the Marina, Hanoi for amazing Vietnamese and Axe House in JLT for some really great vibes, food, and drinks.

5. What’s a common misconception you had about Dubai or the UAE that’s been dispelled after you got here?

I moved to Dubai not knowing anything about the Middle East, Islam, or the culture and was instantly surprised at home open, welcoming and free I felt living in Dubai. Being about to be around so many people from all around the world, all free to live their lives how they wanted and being exposed to so many different cultures was a really exciting entry into the Middle East.

6. What has been your most successful blog post and what is it about?

Wow, good question. Interestingly enough, our most read article in the last year has been “Where is Dubai?” as I think so many people around the world are curious about this amazing city but are never quite sure where it is located. Our “48 Hours in…” written city guides are quite popular as well as our “68 Things Dubai Expats Say“.

bloggers what doesnt suck

7. Name some of the bloggers/personalities whom you look up to and why?

We’ll keep it just to the UAE as there are so many but some of our absolute favorites are Manal Rostom (@manirostom), Haifa Beseiso (@flywithhaifa), @monkyseemonkydo and @lifehappensoutdoors.

8. What tips can you share to aspiring bloggers in the UAE?

Things have gotten a bit tough and confusing with the new UAE blogger license but I would just tell people to passionately and creatively work on making the best, most unique, fun, valuable and informative content they can and stop caring about likes, links, shares, and comments.

It’s tough, but at the end of the day if you create a product that people relate to or is valuable you will have an easy time growing an audience going forward.

jeff anne what doesn't suck

9. Can you give us more details about your future/current plans for the blog and/or your travels?

Yes! After years of living in Dubai and working full-time we made the choice to quit our jobs and travel around the world! While this wasn’t a snap decision, and required months of planning and saving, it came as a surprise to many.

We recently got married last September and decided now was the perfect time to spend a bit more than 48 hours exploring new destinations and couldn’t be more excited to be traveling through the rest of the year. We’re not sure exactly when or where we’ll end up when we finish – it’s all part of the ride!

Video: What Doesn’t Suck?

Check out this video from Jeff and Anne to give you a better insight of what they do and why they create videos.

Connect with Jeff and Anne

Facebook: @WhatDoesntSuck
Instagram: @WhatDoesntSuck
YouTube: @WhatDoesntSuck
Twitter: @WhatDoesntSuck_
Pinterest: @WhatDoesntSuck


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