# Move to Sharjah/Dubai?



## Viren89 (Mar 19, 2014)

Hey folks,

I'll be joining a firm in Sharjah in the Al-Khan area in a couple of months. Would be great if someone could guide me whether I should take up a residence in Sharjah or Dubai?

I'm a guy who enjoys a beer and some good company to go along with it . Would I be able to do this in sharjah? I dont mind bunking in with someone but would of course prefer an apartment to myself (I like playing the guitar and being by myself). My habits are spartan-like.

Also if I choose to live in dubai, what would the time spent in commuting be like? Last question, what are the average rentals like for either location?


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## Zeeshan08 (Sep 15, 2013)

I can help with SOME insight. I just went thru the Sharjah/Dubai thing myself. However I'm married and have a daughter and sounds like you're single. 

My office is in Deira, Dubai. I was (still am for 5 more days) in a temporary accommodation in Al Barsha near Mall of the Emirates. It's a nice area, walking distance from the mall so walking distance from the metro. That was very convenient for me, although it was an hour worth of traveling via walking and metro to get to my office every day then an hour back. I was still interested in staying in the area. I asked that same building what the rent would be starting april 1st if I wanted to stay in the building, I was quoted 80,000 which for me is out of my budget. A year ago, my neighbor in this building moved in for 45,000 to give you an idea of how inflated the prices are now. 

Anyway, I looked all over Dubai and didn't really find a "nice" place anywhere near something I could afford and yet be convenient for my daily commute. So I decided to check out Sharjah. My uncle lives in Al Nahda so that's where I began my search. I was very unimpressed (i think i'm pretty picky also) and crossed Al Nahda off the list pretty quickly. Then, one day while I happened to just be driving around with my uncle he took me across to that Al Khan area Al Qasba area. So we walked into a brand new building right next to Qasba and that large ferris wheel (eye of the emirates) and immediately, i was now impressed. 

Long story short (ok not that short) I ended up booking a 1 bedroom there and am quite happy with what I got. Paying 55,000, chiller free, big hall, ok sized bedroom, 2 balconies one from the kitchen one from the bedroom, amazing ocean views (this is something I had long wanted when living in USA but could never afford). So for me Sharjah is the place to be for a few main reasons. First is price, second is the great building and spectacular views, and third is its an amazing area for a family. 

Now my suggestion to you would be this...if you're working in Sharjah, Al Khan, check out the new freshly built buidings there, they are quite nice and 30-40% cheaper than a similar Dubai building. As far as going out, nightlife, etc go to Dubai for the weekends. I mean if you're living and working in Al Khan and don't have to deal with traffic and all that nonsense you're gonna be extremely comfortable. Dubai on the weekends is very easily reachable, Al Khan to Dubai (like downtown) is a 20 minute drive. But you'll save some money thats for sure. Rates in Dubai are very high right now. 

As you said you would prefer to have your own place rather than a roommate...this will be much more easily done in Sharjah depending on your budget which we don't yet know what it is. 40-50k in Sharjah will get you a 1 bedroom in a new building and ocean views, 40-50k in Dubai will get you a studio in Discovery Gardens, Silicon Oasis, Jumeirah Village Circle which will quite a commute for your daily.


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## Viren89 (Mar 19, 2014)

Thanks Zeeshan! That was really helpful. What you are saying makes sense. I can actually save a lot of time & money by living in Sharjah...

My budget, well, is around 25-30K and I would be totally alright with a studio apartment in Sharjah. Think I could get a nice studio Apartment with ocean views (being greedy here ) for that much?


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## Zeeshan08 (Sep 15, 2013)

Ocean views probably not...unless it's and older building...and even then its a MAYBE...not because of budget but more so because there are very few studios in Sharjah. But i'm sure you'll find a decent place in your budget...possibly even look into Ajman. Check out a building called "Ajman One" brand new building, nice big apartments, low low price.


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## zatapa (Jun 21, 2013)

Ocean view is impossible anywhere in Dubai or Sharjah. Which ocean do you wish to view?


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## Zeeshan08 (Sep 15, 2013)

zatapa said:


> Ocean view is impossible anywhere in Dubai or Sharjah. Which ocean do you wish to view?


Ok, if you want to be so technical, "sea" view. I'm from California, we're used to "ocean"


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## IzzyBella (Mar 11, 2013)

Commute from Sharjah to Dubai and back is hell at typical office hours. A 20 minute drive can take over an hour, bear that in mind. You'd save a lot more money in Sharjah though. Just depends what you value more: money or time.


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## zatapa (Jun 21, 2013)

Let's not forget that most women i know will not even think about driving to sharjah as it scares them too much.


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## Zeeshan08 (Sep 15, 2013)

IzzyBella said:


> Commute from Sharjah to Dubai and back is hell at typical office hours. A 20 minute drive can take over an hour, bear that in mind. You'd save a lot more money in Sharjah though. Just depends what you value more: money or time.


He will never come to Dubai during business hours...remember he's working in Sharjah.


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## Zeeshan08 (Sep 15, 2013)

zatapa said:


> Let's not forget that most women i know will not even think about driving to sharjah as it scares them too much.


I think what you mean is most women YOU KNOW will not. Because last i checked, there were many MANY women living in Sharjah (it's not an all male Emirate). And I really don't know why (other than traffic) Sharjah gets a bad rep. Sure, for singles its no "party" zone, but for families it's a great place to live. Just like Dubai, or New York City, or L.A, or anywhere else in the world, some areas are nicer than others, but there's nothing "scary" about Sharjah. People on these forums act like its Compton (ok, so not everyone will understand Compton)


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## lordaragon (Jul 4, 2013)

zatapa said:


> Let's not forget that most women i know will not even think about driving to sharjah as it scares them too much.


loll, must be quite the lot you know... 

as much as i despise the dubai sharjah dubai drive i end up doing once a month to visit family, i've never found reason enough to consider it a "scary" drive.. unless the women you refer to, fancy a walk through the industrial areas in the middle of the night.. the last I checked, even manhattan and chicago downtowns were not the safest places for a woman to wander about in the middle of the night..


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## lordaragon (Jul 4, 2013)

Viren89 said:


> Hey folks,
> 
> I'll be joining a firm in Sharjah in the Al-Khan area in a couple of months. Would be great if someone could guide me whether I should take up a residence in Sharjah or Dubai?
> 
> ...


IMHO, it makes absolutely no sense to work in sharjah, and rent a place in Dubai, thats going to be at least 30 - 50% more expensive... you could always drive to dubai, and most evenings, you'll be driving in the opposite direction of peak traffic (which is mostly dubai to sharjah in the evenings, and sharjah to dubai in the mornings)...


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## zatapa (Jun 21, 2013)

I was referring to traffic. The men here in our community drive everywhere but most of the wives seem to stay away from that area due to traffic congestion and the chaos of driving there. 
I personally have no issues driving there but i do understand that the less frequent drivers are a bit scared of going there.
Sharjah vs Compton? Compton fo' shizzle!!


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## expatteacher2014 (Mar 18, 2014)

lordaragon said:


> as much as i despise the dubai sharjah dubai drive i end up doing once a month to visit family, i've never found reason enough to consider it a "scary" drive..


I don't find this reassuring coming from someone originally from India which has to be one of the world's scariest places to drive!!!


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## mdabubacker (Mar 13, 2014)

expatteacher2014 said:


> I don't find this reassuring coming from someone originally from India which has to be one of the world's scariest places to drive!!!


LOL, fully with ya. Actually it is other way around, If you have driven in India you can pretty much drive anywhere in the world. More than the driving skills it is the instinct what you learn when you drive in India which makes you get better at driving.


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## lordaragon (Jul 4, 2013)

expatteacher2014 said:


> I don't find this reassuring coming from someone originally from India which has to be one of the world's scariest places to drive!!!


Whoaaa, just because you find my origins are Indian, you assume 

a) I was raised entirely in India and I've never driven elsewhere, 
b) that I benchmark driving standards everywhere to what I may (or may not have) seen in India, which according to you is one of the scariest of places to drive, in the long list of countries that you can vouch for

FYI, I've lived in five different countries and am licensed to drive in most of the ones I've lived in. In fact, I've spent more time living abroad in countries that enforce stringent driving standards, than I have spent in India. If I were to apply your logic, you must be having an incredibly hard time driving a left hand drive car on the opposite side of the road from what you are (or may be) used to in UK. 

Of course I understand this is a public forum, and everyone is free to express an opinion. But I was assuming someone would apply "common" sense before drawing baseless inferences purely from someone's background. So the next time you feel generous enough to issue that certificate of authenticity, I suggest you take a moment to reflect.....


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## expatteacher2014 (Mar 18, 2014)

lordaragon said:


> Of course I understand this is a public forum, and everyone is free to express an opinion. But I was assuming someone would apply "common" sense before drawing baseless inferences purely from someone's background. So the next time you feel generous enough to issue that certificate of authenticity, I suggest you take a moment to reflect.....


Easy tiger, it was a throw away "observational" joke for the appreciation of those who have a similar sense of humour. My apologies that you have not found humour in this. Really. I'm sorry.


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## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

mdabubacker said:


> LOL, fully with ya. Actually it is other way around, If you have driven in India you can pretty much drive anywhere in the world. More than the driving skills it is the instinct what you learn when you drive in India which makes you get better at driving.


Do you mean the frequent beeping, driving on the hard shoulder and constant changing of lanes?


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## mdabubacker (Mar 13, 2014)

QOFE said:


> Do you mean the frequent beeping, driving on the hard shoulder and constant changing of lanes?


Not just that, managing the bikers and guessing which way they are going to turn and much more


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## RandomDude (Mar 7, 2014)

Another underpaid human being trying to figure out how ends meet

I rest my case.

My fellow,you are aking these questions because your salary sucks,sorry but this is the truth.

Oh, lets ask the people who commute from Sharjah to Dubai daily and work 6 days a week, do you do it because you love it and you are used to this life style? Yeah....?
You have accepted it because you know you deserve it? Yeah?

Good luck dude, you never know, maybe you can come here and after one year you'll be driving a Ferrari, I have seen it, not because your smart.


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## Entrepreneurial (Mar 30, 2014)

RandomDude said:


> Another underpaid human being trying to figure out how ends meet
> 
> I rest my case.
> 
> ...


Totally off-topic. But just as your name suggests, your thoughts are ditto. RANDOM at best! 

Try getting better..you never know whats stored within you than just passing irrelevant comments.

Sorry couldn't keep mumb and just pass by..


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## lordaragon (Jul 4, 2013)

Entrepreneurial said:


> Totally off-topic. But just as your name suggests, your thoughts are ditto. RANDOM at best!
> 
> Try getting better..you never know whats stored within you than just passing irrelevant comments.
> 
> Sorry couldn't keep mumb and just pass by..


Hilarious that someone's question is about WORKING in sharjah and traveling to dxb for a social life / recreation, and the "dude" just pops up with comments about underpaid human beings doing the daily sharjah dubai grind..


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## RandomDude (Mar 7, 2014)

I'm totally flattered that you took your sweet time just to create an account to have a single post glorifying my thoughts.

Yes, you think it is random, others will see the correlations. It is like a office 2003 document won't understand what what Office 2013 is talking about.

If this guy was well paid, and affordable housing provided, he would not be crunching numbers and carefully planning.

Sorry if you pick up the newspaper and go directly to the funnies.....

It is ok, some are not cut out for things..


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## Viren89 (Mar 19, 2014)

RandomDude said:


> I'm totally flattered that you took your sweet time just to create an account to have a single post glorifying my thoughts.
> 
> Yes, you think it is random, others will see the correlations. It is like a office 2003 document won't understand what what Office 2013 is talking about.
> 
> ...


No point dignifying your silly responses by a reply.

I thank everyone sincerely for the responses. Really helpful. I've taken up an apartment in Al-Khan very close to work.


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## mslarhrib (Aug 16, 2014)

Hi Guys,
I will work in DIFC area in Dubai and I'm interested to live in Al Qasba or al khan area. knowing the traffic situation... I want to know how much time it will take driving from al qasba or al khan neighbourhood to the nearest metro station like al nahda or union... during peak hours.
Thank you in advance for your response.
Sam


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## Zeeshan08 (Sep 15, 2013)

mslarhrib said:


> Hi Guys,
> I will work in DIFC area in Dubai and I'm interested to live in Al Qasba or al khan area. knowing the traffic situation... I want to know how much time it will take driving from al qasba or al khan neighbourhood to the nearest metro station like al nahda or union... during peak hours.
> Thank you in advance for your response.
> Sam


From sharjah your nearest metro station is stadium. It will take you 45 mins max in peak traffic.


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## Zeeshan08 (Sep 15, 2013)

I live in qasba and do this daily...but my schedule differs some days I go in late, leave home 10am, some days i leave at 8am so I've seen the traffic time as well as the non traffic time.


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