I come from Northern NH, where cars are a necessity and trucks are even better. When you move overseas, you learn about the transportation needs of new locations.
Moving to the UAE taught me that my family could survive with one car (we had always been a multi-car family - and usually also had a back-up third car/truck).... If we had been placed in Abu Dhabi city, depending on my school's location, we might not have needed a car at all because public transportation is so prevalent. Due to the location of our first flat in Al Ain, we learned that having a personal vehicle was the way to go, and after observing the driving here, we opted to purchase a new car. Many people chose to buy, but I also know many people who enjoy the conveniences of renting.
It took less than a week to find a buyer for the car, but due to some confusion with my registration (I really should have learned to read Arabic and be more fluent with speaking it), the sale took almost two weeks to close. After multiple visits to the traffic office, bank, and phone calls, as well as the assistance of a good friend, and her Arabic speaking husband, the registration issue was resolved and the sale could conclude with a final trip to the traffic office.
Thank heavens for a patient buyer and for being a woman, as each visit to the traffic office allowed me to skip the queue and jump to the front of the line - even before they started to recognize me upon arrival! Definitely a cultural perk I will miss.
After concluding the sale, I learned that there are no refunds on your Salik account (the UAE version of EZPass), so for future exiters, let your Salik run low before selling your vehicle to minimize the loss.
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