A ‘living in Dubai’ question
Discussion
captain.scarlet said:
The guy's on his own and he's being suggested RAK...the lonely drive up and down the E611.
We do need more info though. Somewhere quiet or with hustle and bustle? Decent but affordable eateries nearby?
Personally I would suggest Jaddaf (Dubai Creek) if you want to be close to work. It is fairly quiet, relatively affordable and modern.
You may find that initially be driving to work more often. Jaddaf is pretty handy for that and has large supermarkets a 'short' drive away.
Alternatively, Silicone Oasis is pretty good.
There are some other great areas the further south in Dubai you go, but you'd be increasing your journey time/distance.
If you can, avoid anything along the E11 as you'll rack up a lot in toll booth charges. An extra expense and faff you could do without.
Mirdif is also a nearby decent area with its own shopping centre.
Hustle/ bustle and reasonable eateries yes. Sub continent street food is more than fine! Looking at a map, yes Mirdiff and Jaddaf look good betsWe do need more info though. Somewhere quiet or with hustle and bustle? Decent but affordable eateries nearby?
Personally I would suggest Jaddaf (Dubai Creek) if you want to be close to work. It is fairly quiet, relatively affordable and modern.
You may find that initially be driving to work more often. Jaddaf is pretty handy for that and has large supermarkets a 'short' drive away.
Alternatively, Silicone Oasis is pretty good.
There are some other great areas the further south in Dubai you go, but you'd be increasing your journey time/distance.
If you can, avoid anything along the E11 as you'll rack up a lot in toll booth charges. An extra expense and faff you could do without.
Mirdif is also a nearby decent area with its own shopping centre.
For various reason the firm has relocated what I do from Singapore (where I worked with them before) to Dubai. - the main one being rentals in Singapore make Dubai look respectable, but also being able to cover EMEA as well as Asia Pacific. So decent number of ex colleagues have relocated from Singapore to Dubai - I’ll obviously ask them as well when I can.
Thanks for the tip on rental allowances.
There’s more to Dubai than extracting max value.
RAK, lol. No.
It’s like anywhere else, move where it suits your interests and budget.
I’m on the Marina. Traffic is gash at rush hour, but I get driven to/from work and go to work once a week-ish so it’s not an issue.
Yes, there are cheaper parts of the world, but it suits me down to the ground. Very spacious apartment on the water. I’m on top of Spinneys, which is handy. Literally thousands of delivery options on Careem. Next to the beach. Great places to eat & drink etc. Very easy for the stuff in the south.
It’s a common theme in expatria to note prices rising, but often without acknowledging that they have everywhere, and often far more steeply. Prices have crept up but I’ve come from a decade in Hong Kong so it seems like a bargain. Horses for courses, but the prospect of moving here and living in the burbs doesn’t fill me with glee. YMMV - depends what you’re into.
I think property has rebased somewhat. The demand is still very high and the Chinese money has begun flow post pandemic. Some areas will remain pricy, others won’t as the place is built up around them.
The beauty of the place is that there’s something for everyone.
RAK, lol. No.
It’s like anywhere else, move where it suits your interests and budget.
I’m on the Marina. Traffic is gash at rush hour, but I get driven to/from work and go to work once a week-ish so it’s not an issue.
Yes, there are cheaper parts of the world, but it suits me down to the ground. Very spacious apartment on the water. I’m on top of Spinneys, which is handy. Literally thousands of delivery options on Careem. Next to the beach. Great places to eat & drink etc. Very easy for the stuff in the south.
It’s a common theme in expatria to note prices rising, but often without acknowledging that they have everywhere, and often far more steeply. Prices have crept up but I’ve come from a decade in Hong Kong so it seems like a bargain. Horses for courses, but the prospect of moving here and living in the burbs doesn’t fill me with glee. YMMV - depends what you’re into.
I think property has rebased somewhat. The demand is still very high and the Chinese money has begun flow post pandemic. Some areas will remain pricy, others won’t as the place is built up around them.
The beauty of the place is that there’s something for everyone.
Edited by Royal Jelly on Monday 14th August 04:17
shirt said:
captain.scarlet said:
The guy's on his own and he's being suggested RAK...the lonely drive up and down the E611.
45mins outside of rush hour. its where the value is if work pattern/location allows it. otherwise you end up living in damac hills 2 thinking silicon oasis looks nice 
It is obtusely far out for some but suits us. We moved here 2 years ago and no rent increase yet making it a proper bargain. I have office in Al Quoz but go in once a week.
I totally agree with you re: Rak. If we move it will be there. Not sure id do that as a single guy though.
shirt said:
I guess it depends what you’re used to and how long you’ve been here, but I couldn’t live with those room sizes. Same as a lot of recent developments with 3+ beds all with en suite, a maids room, etc. but absolutely terrible space utilization overall.
I’ve come from living in Hong Kong for 11 years so anything in Dubai seems like a palace!I agree though. The older developments have far more space.
It really does depend on what 'floats your boat', but there are some very serene parts of Dubai that kind of do away with the need to live in somewhere like RAK for that, if it's what someone is after.
E.g. Damac Hills, Studio City, Sports City, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Production City.
I remember driving back to Dubai on the E611 one night from RAK and when a distances road sign came up, it felt bad enough seeing something like over 100km to Dubai, but to then see it was more than double that to Abu Dhabi was pretty stark.
The convenience of having everything on your doorstep (so to speak) and being able to meet people and try different things, activities, the motoring scene and the food scene etc by being in Dubai (centrally and conveniently located) is a massive advantage.
Practically and logistically, IMO if someone is on their own and is wanting to make new contacts etc, then it's likely that the last thing they'll want to do is have to drive long distances in order to partake in the plethora social or other activities that you won't have in more 'sleepy' places like RAK.
Then again the above is my take on things!
E.g. Damac Hills, Studio City, Sports City, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Production City.
I remember driving back to Dubai on the E611 one night from RAK and when a distances road sign came up, it felt bad enough seeing something like over 100km to Dubai, but to then see it was more than double that to Abu Dhabi was pretty stark.
The convenience of having everything on your doorstep (so to speak) and being able to meet people and try different things, activities, the motoring scene and the food scene etc by being in Dubai (centrally and conveniently located) is a massive advantage.
Practically and logistically, IMO if someone is on their own and is wanting to make new contacts etc, then it's likely that the last thing they'll want to do is have to drive long distances in order to partake in the plethora social or other activities that you won't have in more 'sleepy' places like RAK.
Then again the above is my take on things!
captain.scarlet said:
100km to Dubai
or 45 minutes outside of rush hour. takes longer than that to cross the jbr bridge on a friday night 
i take your points, but also this is a car city. who walks to the pub or restaurant? who socialises with their neighbours and/or built their social scene around their community? precisely nobody. i would not be selecting where to live based on what is within a specific radius, bearing in mind that even in the same development the location of your parking entrance can add 10mins to your commute relative to others [JBR i'm looking at you].
shirt said:
I guess it depends what you’re used to and how long you’ve been here, but I couldn’t live with those room sizes. Same as a lot of recent developments with 3+ beds all with en suite, a maids room, etc. but absolutely terrible space utilization overall.
Yup in general all new developments suffer the same. We came from a large 6 bed in The Villa and the only unit that suited up here was the 6 bed standalone v3. The 3,4,5 bed townhouses up here are as you say architecturally challenged.Gassing Station | Middle East | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff