Batchelor Life in Dubai..........
Discussion
......... well for 45 days anyway. I have 45 days accomodation from when I arrive (2 weeks today!), and am currently in discussions with an appointed agent in Dubai to get my managed apartment.
I am not asking for much.. 1 or 2 bedroom, with lounge area, table/desk for working, kitchen, balcony and parking. Also want a pool and a gym so I can perv at girls. I will be working in DIFC, which I know will bore me to tears at the weekend if I stayed there. I have suggested to the agent that I stay in the Marina, but so far all they have come back with are places in Media City, which again I believe will be dead at weekends. Have I made the correct assumption?
Remember for first 20 odd days of being there I won't be able to drive (yes I know taxis are cheap), and I want to have somewhere I can walk to for beer, football watching, and even perhaps some food. Hence I thought the Marina would be perfect.
They have sent me only 1 place in the Marina to look at:-
I am not asking for much.. 1 or 2 bedroom, with lounge area, table/desk for working, kitchen, balcony and parking. Also want a pool and a gym so I can perv at girls. I will be working in DIFC, which I know will bore me to tears at the weekend if I stayed there. I have suggested to the agent that I stay in the Marina, but so far all they have come back with are places in Media City, which again I believe will be dead at weekends. Have I made the correct assumption?
Remember for first 20 odd days of being there I won't be able to drive (yes I know taxis are cheap), and I want to have somewhere I can walk to for beer, football watching, and even perhaps some food. Hence I thought the Marina would be perfect.
They have sent me only 1 place in the Marina to look at:-
- Dusit Apartments - look a bit crap
- The Address Dubai Marina - I stayed at the hotel side when there before, and the complex is nice, but rooms are small in comparison to others
Hi, quick answer as just on the way out.
Media City will be busy in the week and packed on a Thursday night but pretty quiet on weekends, however there are bars in TECOM and the Marina is literally just up the road (as well as Barasti) so it's not the worst place to be.
However, as you say Marina would be better suited, just beware of the traffic.
Good luck!
Media City will be busy in the week and packed on a Thursday night but pretty quiet on weekends, however there are bars in TECOM and the Marina is literally just up the road (as well as Barasti) so it's not the worst place to be.
However, as you say Marina would be better suited, just beware of the traffic.
Good luck!
reread the OP and updated my case:
grand millenium is serviced. one half is hotel, other is 1, 2 and 3 bed long stay apts. pretty reasonable rates as well, think it was about $2k a month when i was there. its our preferred place for new starters as its a very good standard and centrally located. the one bed i was in had a huge bedroom, decent sized lounge, dining area and kitchen. think laundry service was either included or there was a machine, can't recall ever paying for laundry anyway. you can order takeaway as a long termer and the concierge will buzz you when it arrives. very relaxed and easygoing staff.
belgian beer cafe is top banana. still like going back there [we use the GM for offsite mtgs as well]. there's also nelsons, flavours, the crown and anchor etc. all in close proximity. the crown and anchor is right next to two emirates accomodation blocks which guarantees the eye candy.
there's a pool on the roof with views to atlantis and a decent gym. underground valet parking for residents.
tecoms not dead any evening really, just inside rather than an outdoor location such as the walk. rocky b's at the ramee rose anyone?
hardly any traffic on a weekend either, and easy for DFC. its about 15dhs in a taxi to the marina, maybe 30 to dubai mall.
grand millenium is serviced. one half is hotel, other is 1, 2 and 3 bed long stay apts. pretty reasonable rates as well, think it was about $2k a month when i was there. its our preferred place for new starters as its a very good standard and centrally located. the one bed i was in had a huge bedroom, decent sized lounge, dining area and kitchen. think laundry service was either included or there was a machine, can't recall ever paying for laundry anyway. you can order takeaway as a long termer and the concierge will buzz you when it arrives. very relaxed and easygoing staff.
belgian beer cafe is top banana. still like going back there [we use the GM for offsite mtgs as well]. there's also nelsons, flavours, the crown and anchor etc. all in close proximity. the crown and anchor is right next to two emirates accomodation blocks which guarantees the eye candy.
there's a pool on the roof with views to atlantis and a decent gym. underground valet parking for residents.
tecoms not dead any evening really, just inside rather than an outdoor location such as the walk. rocky b's at the ramee rose anyone?
hardly any traffic on a weekend either, and easy for DFC. its about 15dhs in a taxi to the marina, maybe 30 to dubai mall.
Have a look at the Nuran serviced apartments if you're still considering Marina.
Low rise building on the water front, most apts have marina views, there is a decent pool and a gym. Two minutes walk in one direction you have the Address Hotel, Marina Mall, Waitrose, Cinema and plenty of food options, two minutes the other way you have the Yacht Club which has three bars (including a sports bar and another upstairs one - can never remember the name - that always used to be pretty busy on a thrs / fri night). In same street you've also go the Byblos hotel which has another couple of bars and Bob's Fish & Chips.
You'll also only be a short walk away from the new beach development on The Walk with more food options.
No idea on size or prices but sure there are deals to be done and location is pretty decent. HTH.
Low rise building on the water front, most apts have marina views, there is a decent pool and a gym. Two minutes walk in one direction you have the Address Hotel, Marina Mall, Waitrose, Cinema and plenty of food options, two minutes the other way you have the Yacht Club which has three bars (including a sports bar and another upstairs one - can never remember the name - that always used to be pretty busy on a thrs / fri night). In same street you've also go the Byblos hotel which has another couple of bars and Bob's Fish & Chips.
You'll also only be a short walk away from the new beach development on The Walk with more food options.
No idea on size or prices but sure there are deals to be done and location is pretty decent. HTH.
As a contrary opinion, I would stay as far away from the Marina as possible.
The traffic is awful, and whilst a few bars in the locality might be nice on one or two nights a week you'll have to suffer the traffic every day and all weekend.
If you're working in DIFC then I'd be living as close to there as possible, you can always get a cab on the evenings you fancy a beer out, the short commute every work morning will be of much more benefit!
The traffic is awful, and whilst a few bars in the locality might be nice on one or two nights a week you'll have to suffer the traffic every day and all weekend.
If you're working in DIFC then I'd be living as close to there as possible, you can always get a cab on the evenings you fancy a beer out, the short commute every work morning will be of much more benefit!
Cheers for advice guys. When you guys say Marina traffic is horrendous - are you guys comparing apples with apples?!
The reason I ask was we were told when we came out for a visit in May that Marina traffic was awful due to the tram works going on, yet we never saw any traffic. Same as people have advised about living (permanent living) too far out of City due to traffic, and commute times, yet again we never saw any traffic (we were in a car during commuter time on a Sunday and Monday just to see how bad it could be).
Remember we are long term commuters today, which means our commutes are a mix of walking, driving, trains which take 90 mins on a good day, and 120 mins on a bad day each way (or 60 mins on a bike every day). Is traffic really going to seem bad to us?
I can see the logic of being close to DIFC and just jumping cabs to go out, but having done long term stays abroad on business before, I like to feel I am away from the office. The commute actually breaks up work time from social time. If I stay close to the office, I end up doing 15/16 hour days in the office. If I have to travel - I will make sure I leave before then. I know that sounds illogical to most, but that is my main reason for staying somewhere away from the office.
The reason I ask was we were told when we came out for a visit in May that Marina traffic was awful due to the tram works going on, yet we never saw any traffic. Same as people have advised about living (permanent living) too far out of City due to traffic, and commute times, yet again we never saw any traffic (we were in a car during commuter time on a Sunday and Monday just to see how bad it could be).
Remember we are long term commuters today, which means our commutes are a mix of walking, driving, trains which take 90 mins on a good day, and 120 mins on a bad day each way (or 60 mins on a bike every day). Is traffic really going to seem bad to us?
I can see the logic of being close to DIFC and just jumping cabs to go out, but having done long term stays abroad on business before, I like to feel I am away from the office. The commute actually breaks up work time from social time. If I stay close to the office, I end up doing 15/16 hour days in the office. If I have to travel - I will make sure I leave before then. I know that sounds illogical to most, but that is my main reason for staying somewhere away from the office.
When asking how bad the traffic is... let's just say I've been to the marina / JBR area no more than half a dozen times in the 4 years I've lived in Dubai (despite only living 3km from the marina) solely due to the traffic.
The last time I had to go there (5 weeks or so ago) I took 2.5hrs to travel less than 3km, a lot of that being the pointless 1.5km drive to U turn
It is impossible to overstate just how bad the traffic in that area is. If you value your sanity stay elsewhere.
The last time I had to go there (5 weeks or so ago) I took 2.5hrs to travel less than 3km, a lot of that being the pointless 1.5km drive to U turn
It is impossible to overstate just how bad the traffic in that area is. If you value your sanity stay elsewhere.
Dubai Marina is a complete mess, a large construction site filled with a mass of ugly buildings. I lived there back in 2007 in the first six Emaar Towers. It was quite nice back then. Marina Walk is now filled with tacky shisha cafes and fast food outlets.
I would look at Downtown next to Burj Khalifa. Convenient for the DIFC and filled with a large selection of bars, restaurants and shops.
I would look at Downtown next to Burj Khalifa. Convenient for the DIFC and filled with a large selection of bars, restaurants and shops.
Dubai traffic is like no other traffic in the Western world. It's not a case of being sat in queues - that's standard. It's a case of having to deal with numpties cutting you up every couple of seconds, forcing their way through queues, and trying to crash in to you at every given opportunity that makes Dubai (and in particular, The Marina) traffic so bad. I went down to the Marina a couple of weeks ago for the second time this year for Iftar - granted, Ramadan/Iftar traffic probably didn't help - but missed a slot due to ever changing roads/roadworks and then had over an hour queue to do a U-Turn, which meant a 4km detour just to get back to where I was.
Agree with all the above - JBR / Walk side of the Marina is a nightmare. I too got caught this weekend by making the mistake of driving out of the Marina on that side - queued all the way from the flyover past the Grosvenor down to the Mina Seyahi - took a good 40 minutes at least. The other side of the Marina though (Marina Drive) is a doddle by comparison - straight onto the SZR, no queues.
Further out from TECOM there is always the Movenpick at JLT? Some of our guys stayed there when they arrived - serviced apartments are supposedly pretty big and there is a decent enough bar downstairs. Could be an option if you don't mind a bit of space between 'home' and office.
Further out from TECOM there is always the Movenpick at JLT? Some of our guys stayed there when they arrived - serviced apartments are supposedly pretty big and there is a decent enough bar downstairs. Could be an option if you don't mind a bit of space between 'home' and office.
K50 DEL said:
When asking how bad the traffic is... let's just say I've been to the marina / JBR area no more than half a dozen times in the 4 years I've lived in Dubai (despite only living 3km from the marina) solely due to the traffic.
The last time I had to go there (5 weeks or so ago) I took 2.5hrs to travel less than 3km, a lot of that being the pointless 1.5km drive to U turn
It is impossible to overstate just how bad the traffic in that area is. If you value your sanity stay elsewhere.
aye but then you do seem to pick events like the boat show as the times you do come! look at JLT del, total traffic fThe last time I had to go there (5 weeks or so ago) I took 2.5hrs to travel less than 3km, a lot of that being the pointless 1.5km drive to U turn
It is impossible to overstate just how bad the traffic in that area is. If you value your sanity stay elsewhere.
kup in recent years but you go there everyday with no issues.i live on jbr, first block as you come over the bridge from the grosvenor end. jase lives on the other side of the marina by the new mosque [dewa end]. we are pretty much at complete opposite ends of the marina. it takes about 10mins to drive between our apartment buildings at rush hour. the traffic is overstated by most people who live outside as they are coming in only at peak times.
i work in jebel ali, takes 20-25min to get to work and back. the bottlenecks move around as the bridges close for the tram works. this is why i branded it ridiculous, random road closings all for a f
king stupid tram which noone will ever use. current worst spot is the u turn by barasti to come back over the grosvenor bridge, that can be a 15-20min queue. but would be an odd thing to need to do in normal driving. sure i have had the odd occasion where its taken me an hour to get from barasti to my house but these are very rare occasions. worst traffic is thursday and friday evenings from about 6pm. it can be horrible but is easily avoided by having this thing i like to call a social life. public holidays and events also wreck the place. also any accident either on the main marina roads or SZR south of the DEWA bridge will cause traffic chaos.
personally i don't find the traffic that bad in the main and nothing not notably worse than any other areas. i play football each weds in barsha and traffic north of the marina on szr is always at a standstill, takes me about 1hr-1hr15 to get there. all the main residential enclaves have their flaws, i can i can justify jbr easily as i can't find anywhere else in dubai that gives me what i have now [let alone improves on it] for a better price.
you pay your money and take your chance. as with everything in dubai, take everyone's opinion with a pinch of salt as we're all a bunch of opinionated moaners.
Edited by shirt on Tuesday 5th August 09:45
I'm on the other side of the coin. Several years in the marina, and no issue with traffic. Yes its busy at peak times, but only if you are crossing to the JBR side, stay on SZR side of the Marina and its no problem.
As for JBR, traffic is busy there at night and heaving at the weekends, so I simply avoid it. We have a great selection of food and drink in the marina, and the option to walk to numerous places on JBR, well worth the odd occasion I may get held up in traffic.
As for JBR, traffic is busy there at night and heaving at the weekends, so I simply avoid it. We have a great selection of food and drink in the marina, and the option to walk to numerous places on JBR, well worth the odd occasion I may get held up in traffic.
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