# Living Places near Dubai International Financial Center



## Sphinex (May 11, 2011)

Hello folks,

I am moving to Dubai in late September an will be working at DIFC and was wondering if you could provide me with some thoughts regarding:
1. Places you recommend for me to live. I am in my late 20s and appreciate a fine balance between hustle & bustle and serenity. I will be living alone. I was considering Dubai marina but I am not sure if there are any better places. I have been digging around on propertyfinder.ae with a budget of 80k to 100k for a one to two bedroom appartment. 
2. How much time should I allocate for finding a place? I am starting work on oct 3rd and was planning on arriving on the 26/27 of september. 
3. What's the protocol with realtors? I have tried contacting a few with no luck. 

Much obliged!


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## Sphinex (May 11, 2011)

Correction : dubai international financial center.


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## tarek.m2day (Aug 18, 2011)

DIFC - is in the heart of Dubai, and for suck budget you have for housing you can get 1 bedroom appartment in Sheikh Zaid road which exactly next to DIFC, i will PM you some details after contacting some people.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

The Downtown/Old Town area is nearby, lots of people in similar positions to yourself, lots of shops, bars, restaurants, etc, and the Dubai Mall on your doorstep. Should easily find something in your budget.

Unlike everywhere else in the civilised world, you need to pay commission to the real estate agent (usually 5% of the rental cost) even if they don't actually do anything to help you and once you hand over the cheque, you won't hear from them again.


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## Sphinex (May 11, 2011)

tarek.m2day said:


> DIFC - is in the heart of Dubai, and for suck budget you have for housing you can get 1 bedroom appartment in Sheikh Zaid road which exactly next to DIFC, i will PM you some details after contacting some people.


Is my budget low? When looking at marina the budget seems to be fine.


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## Sphinex (May 11, 2011)

Gavtek said:


> The Downtown/Old Town area is nearby, lots of people in similar positions to yourself, lots of shops, bars, restaurants, etc, and the Dubai Mall on your doorstep. Should easily find something in your budget.
> 
> Unlike everywhere else in the civilised world, you need to pay commission to the real estate agent (usually 5% of the rental cost) even if they don't actually do anything to help you and once you hand over the cheque, you won't hear from them again.


Thanks for the info. Do you know if there are any cycles, ie. Better to be there earlier or later in the month.


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