World's Tallest Building Offers Views, Spacewalks

(FiniteTimes.com) – When the world’s tallest skyscraper opened Monday in Dubai, many assumed the 2717-foot tall structure was an homage to nationalism or a prideful icon to leader Sheikh Mohamed’s rule. The truth, it turns out, may be closer to just getting the hell out of Dodg…, er, Dubai.

“While not as pricey as it was in the golden days, this is true, Dubai is still a very expensive place to live,” said Realtor Saad Alabbari, one of the principles for developer Emaar Properties. “And much like sovereign nations and their territorial waters, these nations also have territorial space.” Mr. Alabbari pointed up. “The last three habitable floors of the building are outside of Dubai airspace. You technically are living in a very low orbit… much cheaper.”

While this has some obvious advantages in terms of escaping Dubai’s staggeringly expensive real estate prices, there are also some interesting side benefits that have been appealing to perspective tenants. One is gravity. Your weight on the top-most floor is only one-third that of what it is at sea level, a fact that many find both novel and appealing (and a few, nauseating… be forewarned).

The extreme height of the building also lends itself to some unique money-making opportunities.

“My cousin here hopes to get a suite and become a weatherman. He could tell you a good hour before rain hits the ground — imagine that!” said one man who asked not to be identified. He had been waiting for three hours with his cousin to fill out rental forms and join the waiting list. “Me, I’m going to open a UPS Shipping Center and sign for packages for the space shuttle. They can tether to my patio as they drift by… I’ll be rich!”

The sad reality is that this man and his cousin may have to wait some time to realize their paydays. The wait for suites on the top floors of the Burj Khalifa Bin Zayed tower are said to already be up to 3-4 years.

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