# American thinking of living in Bur Dubai



## whatthemiguel (Jul 22, 2013)

I have been offered a position in the UAE and am seriously considering it. Last time I was in Dubai, I stayed at the Desert Rose Apartments in Bur Dubai. I found the location to be fun, safe and vibrant. I know it isn't very 'western', but I figure, if I am going to be in the UAE for a few years, why not 'live local'. 

From what I have read, most people on the forums DO NOT recommend Bur Dubai. I was hoping to get some feedback from an other Expats who DO live (or have lived) in Bur Dubai. I will be the only Expat from the States in my office - for whatever that is worth. I will be living alone until my wife joins in a year or so, therefore I was thinking of spending around 60-75,000 AED on a place to rent. Can I get something decent with that? Any other thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!


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## Simey (Dec 4, 2012)

whatthemiguel said:


> I have been offered a position in the UAE and am seriously considering it. Last time I was in Dubai, I stayed at the Desert Rose Apartments in Bur Dubai. I found the location to be fun, safe and vibrant. I know it isn't very 'western', but I figure, if I am going to be in the UAE for a few years, why not 'live local'.
> 
> From what I have read, most people on the forums DO NOT recommend Bur Dubai. I was hoping to get some feedback from an other Expats who DO live (or have lived) in Bur Dubai. I will be the only Expat from the States in my office - for whatever that is worth. I will be living alone until my wife joins in a year or so, therefore I was thinking of spending around 60-75,000 AED on a place to rent. Can I get something decent with that? Any other thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks!


I live in the Marina personally and like it a lot but I have friends who live in the Bur Dubai/Deira area and who really like it. I also end up there pretty frequently because that's where the best restaurants are. There's a lot of snobbery in Dubai. If you like the area and have taken a look at the alternatives, why not live where you want to be?


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## fcjb1970 (Apr 30, 2010)

whatthemiguel said:


> I have been offered a position in the UAE and am seriously considering it. Last time I was in Dubai, I stayed at the Desert Rose Apartments in Bur Dubai. I found the location to be fun, safe and vibrant. I know it isn't very 'western', but I figure, if I am going to be in the UAE for a few years, why not 'live local'.
> 
> From what I have read, most people on the forums DO NOT recommend Bur Dubai. I was hoping to get some feedback from an other Expats who DO live (or have lived) in Bur Dubai. I will be the only Expat from the States in my office - for whatever that is worth. I will be living alone until my wife joins in a year or so, therefore I was thinking of spending around 60-75,000 AED on a place to rent. Can I get something decent with that? Any other thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks!



Not sure what you mean by 'live local.' The population of Dubai is over 80% ex-pats. So when you are considering living in Bur Dubai, you will be still be living among ex-pats, it is just the ex-pats are not from the west (I am not saying that as a bad thing, just making a point).


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

If you were going to look at places in Bur Dubai, I would recommend the area around Khalid Bin Waleed street / Bur Juman Mall (behind it specifically). It is about 5 mins without traffic to SZR (Sheikh Zayed Road) from there and has quite a few good rental/hotel apartment options. 

Also this thread has some good info regarding Bur Dubai as a residential area:

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/du...ubai/153098-bur-dubai-vs-deira-pros-cons.html


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## whatthemiguel (Jul 22, 2013)

fcjb1970 said:


> Not sure what you mean by 'live local.' The population of Dubai is over 80% ex-pats. So when you are considering living in Bur Dubai, you will be still be living among ex-pats, it is just the ex-pats are not from the west (I am not saying that as a bad thing, just making a point).


True.


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## Desert_Fever (Apr 13, 2013)

Bur Dubai is the real Dubai! The old Dubai..  Just get a good building (which can be a challenge) which is close to the highway as Saraswat pointed out...


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

whatthemiguel said:


> From what I have read, most people on the forums DO NOT recommend Bur Dubai.


Most people are clueless about bur dubai and deira. You only know when you spend time walking around the area and driving. It really boils down to what is important to you and your wife. My case is really simple. Everything is nearby. Really everything. 



whatthemiguel said:


> of spending around 60-75,000 AED on a place to rent. Can I get something decent with that? Any other thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!


I dont think you can get even a one bedroom hotel apartment for this budget. What is decent for you ?


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

If I had to choose between Marina and Bur Dubai, it'd be no contest.

Bur Dubai.


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## whatthemiguel (Jul 22, 2013)

Canuck_Sens said:


> Most people are clueless about bur dubai and deira. You only know when you spend time walking around the area and driving. It really boils down to what is important to you and your wife. My case is really simple. Everything is nearby. Really everything.


Sorry for the confusion, but do you mean that in Bur Dubai everything is nearby - or in Dubai in general? 




Canuck_Sens said:


> I dont think you can get even a one bedroom hotel apartment for this budget. What is decent for you ?


Nothing fancy, just a 1 bedroom. Gym and balcony would be nice. Ability to get high speed Internet a must. Safe area. What should I be willing/expect to pay? I thought that 60-75k/year AED was okay for a rental, but I can go up to 90k if I must.

Thanks!


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

saraswat said:


> If you were going to look at places in Bur Dubai, I would recommend the area around Khalid Bin Waleed street / Bur Juman Mall (behind it specifically). It is about 5 mins without traffic to SZR (Sheikh Zayed Road) from there and has quite a few good rental/hotel apartment options.
> 
> Also this thread has some good info regarding Bur Dubai as a residential area:
> 
> http://www.expatforum.com/expats/du...ubai/153098-bur-dubai-vs-deira-pros-cons.html


I enjoy that area, I have a girlfriend that lives close and an employee that rents a one bedroom for AED5,000 a month. No gym or balcony though, but liveable.

If I had to pay my own rent then maybe I would live down there as I enjoy the live bands and bars, but nothing beats my ocean/Marina view from 60+ floors up. And I work in Jebel Ali, just don't want to fight the traffic either.


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## earthworm88 (Jun 14, 2013)

whatthemiguel said:


> I have been offered a position in the UAE and am seriously considering it. Last time I was in Dubai, I stayed at the Desert Rose Apartments in Bur Dubai. I found the location to be fun, safe and vibrant. I know it isn't very 'western', but I figure, if I am going to be in the UAE for a few years, why not 'live local'.
> 
> From what I have read, most people on the forums DO NOT recommend Bur Dubai. I was hoping to get some feedback from an other Expats who DO live (or have lived) in Bur Dubai. I will be the only Expat from the States in my office - for whatever that is worth. I will be living alone until my wife joins in a year or so, therefore I was thinking of spending around 60-75,000 AED on a place to rent. Can I get something decent with that? Any other thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks!


Which pocket of Bur Dubai will you be working in? If you are closer to the creek near the consulates area, there are some buildings (regular rentals) there too. Otherwise, the area behind Burjuman Mall is good and safe, they are mostly serviced apartments though. The Winchester Grand is newish, only free internet in the lobby, but the cheapest would still be around 100 bucks a night on average. My suggestion is if possible, go in person to check out all the buildings in the area (a bit too hot to walk around there now), check out the apartment, if you like it, then negotiate your monthly rental rate with the manager, it will be a lot cheaper than their advertised "rack rate". 

The key point is try to find newer buildings so that you don't have to worry about things falling apart or smelling moldy. There is a newish (~2 years) rental apartment building behind Burjuman Mall, parallel to Bank Street, next to Habib bank in the back if I remember, and a 1 bedroom was going for ~70k the last I checked when it first opened, so it's probably more now. Most places will not have gym facilities, if they do, usually it's quite a sad minimal set up, so a lot of people go to Fitness First in Burjuman Mall. I avoid that place like a plague after office hours (and before dinner) because it is jam-packed and stinks to high heaven! 

If you are a foodie or rely on the metro, living around the Burjuman area is convenient. As someone pointed out, you are not really "living local", you just live outside of the western bubbles  Easy walk to Karama with lots of relatively inexpensive restaurants and multi international food like different regional Indian cuisines, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, Ethiopian, Pilipino, Pakistani, the list goes on. The traffic jam/traffic lights on Trade Center Road can be really frustrating at peak time while trying to access SZR, but it's do-able. 

You will probably find cheaper ones if you go further toward the ocean side near the Mankhool Road/computer street areas, but those buildings are generally old. There is a brand new tall apartment building at the intersection of the Al Fahadi metro station, super convenient, but I am not sure what the rental rates are.

Again, it really depends on what you are looking for and how much you are willing to pay. 60k is possible if you are just looking for minimal amenities, smelling everyone's cooking day in day out, a bit further away from the main thoroughfare  

Well, I had better stop advertising Bur Dubai now, in case people really get convinced and start swarming down like locusts and clogging up the roads  

Cheers!


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

whatthemiguel said:


> Sorry for the confusion, but do you mean that in Bur Dubai everything is nearby - or in Dubai in general?



If Dubai was a city we could call Bur Dubai, Deira, Marina neighbourhoods sort of speak. In each neighbourhood there is a "good location"; for me good location is where you have everything handy in couple of minutes by car (mostly)/ subway

So I live in Deira. Deira is not a small area it is quite big I find, but I happen to live in a place in Deira that is pretty handy. So I like it.

So nope, not everything is close in Dubai in general.



whatthemiguel said:


> Nothing fancy, just a 1 bedroom. Gym and balcony would be nice. Ability to get high speed Internet a must. Safe area. What should I be willing/expect to pay? I thought that 60-75k/year AED was okay for a rental, but I can go up to 90k if I must


Ok you can find something along these lines. Long term rentals enjoy 30% discount from regular rates and you can negotiate some perks on top


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## nouniii4 (Jun 12, 2013)

Hmmm... I'm not sure it's the perfect place for a family. I would recommend something along the lines of Arabian Ranches... but I'm not sure whether it would be within the price range you're considering or not.


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## rahzaa (May 2, 2012)

XDoodle****** said:


> I enjoy that area, I have a girlfriend that lives close and an employee that rents a one bedroom for AED5,000 a month. No gym or balcony though, but liveable.
> 
> If I had to pay my own rent then maybe I would live down there as I enjoy the live bands and bars, but nothing beats my ocean/Marina view from 60+ floors up. And I work in Jebel Ali, just don't want to fight the traffic either.


What tower did you live in Marina? These days its kinda hard to get a nice sea view from Marina with all the JBR towers in the way.


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## jgw99 (May 26, 2014)

I'd agree with what @fcjb1970 said. There are ex-pats and what others would refer to as migrant workers. One and the same outside of country of origin.

I think if you have stayed in that area before, were able to spend enough time exploring the place AND felt comfortable enough, there's something to be said about settling here at a place that will give you some sort of "familiarity" even if it's just temporary until you find another area of Dubai you'd rather stay in.

There is always the option for a hotel apartment if you really want to try a neighborhood for a a couple of months before committing to a year long lease.

Personally, to each his own as you can judge from the different replies. 

Glad to see many Americans replying =)


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Our company uses the Tulip, the three Savoy apartment hotels and another whose name I forget. Our Group HR Director still lives in a Savoy apartment and loves it.

They are all just off KBW Road (aka Bank Street) in the Mankool direction. They all have decent underground car parking as well.


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