Tony is 25 and has lived in Abu Dhabi for three- and-a-half years. He moved to Abu Dhabi from London, UK, and works at the British Embassy. Abu Dhabi Week asked Tony what are the five things that he likes best about Abu Dhabi.

The desert
If I’m going to start with my absolute favourite – I’d say the desert. I love going off-roading at the weekend, and I just love the landscape and being in it. It is so different from the UK. It’s wonderful to get out into the desert and away from the busyness of the city and spend time chilling out with friends. We have a couple of areas we tend to go to between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

The sunshine
This next one is easy – I love the 365 days a year of sun. It’s true that it can get a touch hot in the summer months, but then that’s what summer holidays are for! The weather is definitely one of the best things about Abu Dhabi. I know so many people who went back to the UK during December this year and just hated it.

The people
The people who live in Abu Dhabi are wonderful. I’ve lived in a few different countries over the years and I’ve never enjoyed meeting and knowing the people as much as I do here. Emiratis really know how to take care of and for each other, they know how to spend time with their friends and value them. I appreciate that. They are really great people.

The beaches
I absolutely love the beach facilities in Abu Dhabi, and the ocean. I love swimming and it’s so great for me that you can just jump in a car or a taxi and within a few minutes you can be on the beach. I live only ten to 15 minutes away from the Corniche.

The location
Abu Dhabi is perfectly situated – you can get to so many interesting locations very quickly from a base here. You can hop on a plane or even in a car and be somewhere in three hours! Oman is one of my favourite destinations, I really like going for day trips every once in while – usually in March and April when there isn’t too much rain and it’s not too hot.