No alcohol anywhere in the emirate. Stricter public codes — no live music, modest dress more actively enforced. The Blue Souk, the Heritage Area, the Sharjah Art Foundation — Sharjah has more museums per square kilometre than anywhere in the UAE, and UNESCO designated it Islamic capital of culture in 1998.

Rents are cheaper. Significantly cheaper. Which is why roughly a third of Dubai's workforce lives there, and why the road between the two emirates is reliably gridlocked every morning at 7am.