The UAE ‘side quest’ lifestyle: Why young people are always looking for something to do

It’s 7pm on a Thursday night. You’ve finished work, your friends are asking what the plan is, and someone inevitably says:

“Let’s go somewhere.”

Where?

Nobody knows.

Ten minutes later, you’re in the car heading to a café you saw on TikTok, stopping somewhere for a quick photo, walking around a mall you have no intention of shopping in, and somehow ending the night with karak at 1am.

Welcome to the UAE’s “side quest” lifestyle.

The term, borrowed from gaming, has become an oddly accurate description of how many young people spend their free time: constantly finding little adventures, activities and excuses to leave the house, even when there was no plan to begin with.

A side quest can be anything.

Trying a new matcha spot. Driving to the other side of the city for a dessert. Going to an art exhibition because you saw it on Instagram. Taking a late-night drive. Trying a pottery class. Going to a pop-up. Exploring a neighbourhood you have never actually walked around before. Or even going with your friend to their dentist appointment. 

Sometimes, the activity itself is barely the point.

It’s about having somewhere to go.

‘I just don’t want to stay home’

For many young people, free time in the UAE has become less about doing nothing and more about filling the hours between plans. It doesn’t even have to be something exciting. They text their friends and say, “What are we doing today?” and suddenly they have a three-hour plan.

That need for a plan has created a new kind of social routine.

There is always a new café to try, a new restaurant opening, an event happening somewhere, a pop-up that is only around for a few days or a new “hidden gem” circulating online.

And because the UAE is a place where new experiences appear almost constantly, there is always another side quest waiting.

The group chat is basically a tourism board

The modern UAE group chat has become its own planning department.

One person sends a TikTok.

Another sends an Instagram reel.

Someone asks, “Who’s down?”

Someone else says, “It’s too far.”

Then somebody sends another option.

Eventually, everyone agrees to meet at 9pm.

The original plan has changed three times by the time everyone gets in the car.

This spontaneity is part of the appeal.

Young people are not necessarily searching for expensive experiences or elaborate weekends. Sometimes the side quest is simply getting out of the house after a long day.

A drive with music playing. A supermarket run that somehow becomes an hour-long outing. Sitting outside with friends. Getting coffee at midnight.

The smallest plans can become the stories people remember.

Why are we so allergic to a quiet night?

Part of it may be the pressure to constantly experience something.

Social media has turned everyday life into a highlight reel. Every weekend comes with the possibility of another photo, another restaurant, another activity and another story to post.

There is also something uniquely UAE about having so many options within driving distance.

In Abu Dhabi and Dubai, boredom can feel almost self-inflicted.

There is always another café. Another exhibition. Another beach. Another mall. Another event.

So when someone says, “I’m bored,” the response is rarely “stay home”.

It is usually: “Okay, where are we going?”

The side quest is not always about Instagram

But beneath all the reels, photos and new places is something much more human: people simply want to feel like they are living.

For young adults juggling university, work, family expectations and increasingly busy schedules, spontaneous outings can offer a small break from routine.

You might spend most of your week sitting behind a desk or studying for exams. A random Tuesday night drive can suddenly feel like an event.

There is no pressure to make it productive.

No deadline.

No assignment.

Just somewhere to be.

And perhaps that is why the side quest lifestyle has become so popular.

It gives ordinary days a little bit of a storyline.

There’s always another side quest

Of course, there is a downside. Constantly looking for something to do can become exhausting and expensive.

A “quick coffee” becomes dinner. Dinner becomes dessert. Dessert becomes a drive. Suddenly, your bank account is questioning every decision you made that evening.

There is also the pressure of feeling like everyone else is doing something more exciting.

But maybe the solution is not to stop looking for side quests.

Maybe it is to stop expecting every side quest to be spectacular.

Because sometimes the best ones are the completely unplanned ones.

The ones where you leave the house without knowing where you are going, end up laughing in a car park at midnight, and realize you have spent four hours doing absolutely nothing important.

And somehow, that was exactly what you needed.

In the UAE, there is always somewhere to go.

The real challenge might be learning that you don’t always have to.