# Marina > Tecom Commute & General Advice



## Moving_to_dubai (Oct 14, 2013)

Hi all,

This is my 1st post, so I guess a quick introduction is necessary.. I currently live in the UK and have done for the whole 23 years of my life. Having visited Dubai & Abu Dhabi twice recently, the company I work for have decided it is necessary to open a branch in Dubai. Low and behold, we have a pre-approval DED license and have sourced an office within a building in the Tecom area to operate from. I will be flying out of Manchester on 4th November and landing in Dubai to finalise my visa and begin a new adventure. I have been reading numerous threads on this forum for quite some time and find the information very interesting.

This thread has been started in the hope to get some generous information on the best way to commute and hopefully pointed in the right direction for some affordable, yet nice towers in the Marina area to reside - I appreciate that there has been numerous threads/sticky's on accommodation..

The office tower that I will be working in will be Damac Smart Heights. It seems that the nearest Metro station is 1.2km away (Dubai Internet City) which is a little too far to walk to the office in the heat! Would people recommend commuting via taxi everyday as it seems to be only 5-6km between Marina and Tecom?

I have allocated around AED70,000 annually or AED5,833 monthly towards accommodation rent. Can somebody please advise which towers provide a nice 1 bed apartment/flat, close to a metro and within that price bracket within the Marina area? The reason I feel it would be best to be close to a Metro is because I do not think I would survive on the roads there until I knew them a little better!

Thanks in advance for all the help


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## stamboy (Apr 1, 2013)

Hi,

Welcome to the site, you will find lots of useful threads on here. I googled your office building and it appears to be here.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Da...F-8&ei=hKZcUpbcOKSW0AXvzoH4CA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg

near Dubai Media City Annex.

If so, there appears to be apartments within about 200m+walking range. The Metro looks too far for you to walk. And having moved from the UK in June, I can tell you that walking more than about 2mins would be uncomfortable for you in the heat of the summer. 

Of course earlier mornings are slightly more comfortable, and if you get a little bit sweaty on your way home you can at least jump in the shower and get changed. This isn't an option in the mornings unless you go to the gym. AND I notice from the map there is a Gym less than 10metres from your office, so that could be an option if you are intending on joining a gym.

If you've been here before you know that taxis are cheap. The minimum cab far is AED 10 (under GBP 2). If you are coming from TECOM or DIC it would be about this (depending exactly on the distance). If you were coming from say Al Barsha it might be nearer AED from places such as Sharaf DG and Al Barsha.

Personally I didn't like the feel of DIC, Marina and TECOM and chose to live in Al Barsha. I like the feel of Al Barsha and Sharaf DG. There's a few more pavements for starters compared to TECOM and it seems a better place for those who intend to walk about. Plus it's close to Mall of Emirates which is good. Marina can be a bit of a walk to the Metro depending on the tower. I also didn't like all the high-rises there.

I expect your company will be putting you up in a hotel for a while. I'd recommend using this time to look around the nearby areas and see what areas you like. In the meantime to get an idea of costs and availability have a look on dubizzle. You can see the prices for TECOM, Marina, etc.

I don't know that much about the Marina. However, what I would say is that it's better to be the Marina side of the Metro, if you intend using the Metro to commute to work. Going this way the Metro is fairly empty. However, coming from the other way it can be very busy, which is why I decided against the areas around Business Bay and beyond. If the beach is important to you then Marina may be the way forward

When I was looking recently there were plenty of 1 bedroom apartments available in TECOM and Al Barsha. Prices are going up quite fast though and agents are a pain to deal with. Marina will be more expensive, but Dubizzle will give you a good idea.

If you need any more help or questions feel free to PM me.

Cheers,


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## stamboy (Apr 1, 2013)

Just a quick follow-up. I actually went past your building earlier by sheer coincidence. I can tell you that the google map doesn't show all the apartment blocks. There must be at least 20 blocks within a 5 min walk and 10 within a 2 min walk. I'm sure you'll have no problem with commuting if you chose one of these. Also the glaring sun is blocked out by a lot of the buildings so you could avoid that to some degree by walking on the opposite side of the buildings.


The gym I mentioned seems to have a Carrefour attached to is which would be useful too.

Can't see you having a problem with getting a room in Tecom within your budget. Marina could bel be more of an issue as that's more expensive and rents are increasing.

Hope this helps, when are you coming out here?


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## Moving_to_dubai (Oct 14, 2013)

Thanks Stamboy.

Yes, that is the correct building. The reason I did not want to live in Tecom is because I have read that the landscape of the area is not too good and I also did not want to live in the same area as I work.

I chose the Marina as we stayed there when I last visited in Nov '12 and the surrounding scenery and amenities seemed great, albeit, the accommodation is slightly more pricey. Furthermore, I quite like the high-rise, city centre feel.

Work will be providing a hotel for up to 45 days when we land so that should be plenty of time to assess the area. Having also stayed in Al Barsha in a March '12 visit I think this would be the best location to stay in for the hotel stay as I believe it is affordable and has good transport links.

Finally, myself and 2 colleagues land on 4th November.

Thanks again stamboy.


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## stamboy (Apr 1, 2013)

Sounds like you know what you want and having been here already are at an advantage over others.

Good luck, hope you find something - check out dubizzle


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## IzzyBella (Mar 11, 2013)

You're more likely to find something affordable in JLT (across SZR and close the metro) with that housing constraint.

Marina is expensive...


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## Brav0 (Feb 11, 2013)

IzzyBella said:


> You're more likely to find something affordable in JLT (across SZR and close the metro) with that housing constraint.
> 
> Marina is expensive...


I live in JLT and can recommend it (apart from the traffic) however word to the wise if you decide on JLT pick your tower carefully. JLT is covered by 2 metros - Dubai Marina and JLT.

However rental has increased recently, our 2 bed in 02 Residence is now 135k!!


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