Binaries permeate discussions on Dubai, particularly regarding its urban spaces: binaries that represent some parts of the city as “tourist” spaces as opposed to those built for inhabitants; binaries of “Western” spaces versus “Emirati” ones; or even binaries of “low-income” and “wealthy” places. Indeed, academic research on Dubai often presents it as an ultimately segregated place (Elsheshtawy 2019; Kathiravelu 2016; Khalaf 2006). Of course, exclusions exist in a variety of ways and I will highlight the marginalization different groups experience, ranging from certain low-income individuals who are excluded from parts of “new Dubai,” to some Emiratis who feel uncomfortable in the more "Western" parts of the city. However, I also aim to show how contradictory and messy these experiences are: for instance, how some Emiratis use these “Western” spaces to get away from their own communities and gain a degree of anonymity, and how low-income users vary in their cultural capital and therefore their experiences of the city. Through an ethnography of Emiratis and long-term residents of Dubai, this research aims to provide a more nuanced account of cosmopolitanism, diversity, belonging and exclusion in this city.