Caroline Stanbury's Life Has Somehow Gotten Even More Fabulous in Dubai

The season finale of Ladies of London was filled with laughter, tears, and, of course, a bit of drama, all leading up to Caroline Stanbury bidding a fond farewell to the city and her mates.

Fast-forward nearly six months, and Caroline has settled in to her new home in Dubai. "The move's much easier than I thought, to be honest, because I never even lived in Dubai longer than a week's holiday in the Four Seasons. So I had no idea really what I was entering," Caroline told The Daily Dish. "It's been a ball. I like it so much more than I ever thought I would. Just waking up with sun makes a huge difference. The children are so happy here."

And that was something that Caroline was concerned about for her little ones, Yasmine, Aaron, and Zac. "I was worried more about them than I was me. I'm kind of fine wherever I go. I find someone to hang out with," Caroline said. "But they've got more friends here than they did there, I think. They just really enjoy it. I think the outdoor life, the sport, the school teachers, the school environment, they're loving it. Every day, their school ends earlier here, they have more time at home, they have many more outdoor sports, and they really have so many friends here now, it's crazy."

Not only has moving to Dubai for her husband Cem Habib's job helped keep the family together, it's also brought them closer, thanks to the city's slower pace of life compared to London, Caroline said. "I'm here when the kids get home from school. I'm much more around, which is so important to them, because before I had an office, and I had a social life, and it was very hard to find that balance for the children as well, which I think here, I'm really managing to do now. Although here, they don't want me to leave at all, ever," Caroline said with a laugh.

In fact, London's "hustle and bustle" is one thing that Caroline definitely does not miss about the city. "I don't miss the pace, the need to go out every night, to be at every event," she said. "It's exhausting. I don't miss that one bit. I've done it. Not one bit. I'm super happy to hang up those shoes." 

We mean, when your home was designed to your liking with the help of Earl Crown, as Caroline's Dubai abode was, would you really want to be anywhere else? "The house is exactly as I imagined it, and they did an amazing job," Caroline described. "It feels really kind of open and Los Angeles and light and spacey and airy, which is just really helping me feel at home, having my things unpacked. Earl Crown were really, really amazing at doing the house. All the colors. It just makes me happy being there. I could just hang out all the time. I think if you're busy, which you are when you've got kids, having your home as your haven, I never get bored. I think the house is cozy. I know it looks really big, but for here, it's not so big, actually. We're all a lot closer together than we were in the Surrey house. I love it. I'm so over the moon with it."

Caroline said that she also loves how safe Dubai feels for her and her family. The Ladies of London mom pointed out a recent moment when her daughter lost her cell phone and the security guards at her complex returned it two weeks later after calling every number in the phone. "If anything, I think they've got it right here, because it's so safe. You can let your children be children, which is really hard in so many other places, you always have to be wary where your kids are. You don't want to turn your back on them for a second," she said. 

Caroline has gotten to know a mix of old and new friends since moving to Dubai, including reconnecting with an old roommate. She also keeps in touch with several of her Ladies of London castmates, including Juliet Angus, Caroline Fleming, who visited her in Dubai with her son for about 10 days, and she recently reunited with Sophie Stanbury and Adela King in London. 

Even though Caroline has been constantly hosting visitors since she moved to Dubai, she said she still misses her pals back in London. Still, she knows she can always count on them to be there for her whenever she returns. "London stays the same. Every time I go back, it feels exactly the same to me," Caroline said. "And the thing is, because I'm inherently English, I slip straight back into the old routine, and it's very easy for me to come in and come out. Those are my friends for twentysomething years, so for me, it's not like leaving a country where I've only known people five years. They're always gonna be my friends, and it's like I saw them yesterday." 

Get the scoop on what all of the ladies have been up to since the season ended, below.

Ladies of London Season 3: Where Are they Now?