One tiny word

I just noticed a post on one of the more popular expat forums asking for advice on what to bring to Abu Dhabi - in one word.  It's early yet, but things like satnavs, passport photos, and patience have already been mentioned.  Let me add another one that trumps them all:

CASH.

Cash can buy you any of the material goods you might have forgotten to pack (including satnavs and passport photos -- do people really not understand that there are photo shops EVERYWHERE in this city?  Jeez.)  It enables you to hop in taxis eight times a day for the first week or two and tip generously without blinking.  It will pay for a month (or two or more) of car rental so you no longer have to stand in the sun during rush hour waiting for a taxi.  Cash will cover your prescription medication in the event your doctor jots down the wrong diagnosis code and then leaves on holiday.  That expensive Etisalat USB modem that will allow you to remain connected to the world while you're sitting in a month-long queue waiting to have broadband installed at your villa will no longer seem so expensive with a pocket full of cash.  It can create a beautiful garden where there once once a sandpit and turn an empty villa into a furnished home.  Cash is an expeditor and a doorkey.

Cash is King.