# Rental in Al qusais



## bright17 (Apr 15, 2013)

Dear All,

I along with my wife and kid (5 years) would be moving to Dubai in a month and my work place is located in DAFZA, could you suggest an area nearby where I could get a 1 bhk with reasonable rent and not too much of daily commute. 

what is the difference in rent between Al qusais dubai area (near to DAFZA) and sharjah - Dubai border areas, I am trying to do a cost vs time comparison here.

Additionally as it would take around 6 months time before I could get a UAE DL, does it make sense to stay in sharjah unless I have my own means of transport.


----------



## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

Difference between Qusais and Sharjah? Qusais will be more expensive but you will likely cut your commute in half in peak traffic.

You will be charged 20dhs by a Sharjah or Dubai taxi driver to cross the SHJ/DXB border. In Dubai you have Qusais, Muhaisnah and Nahda to choose from close by. Sharjah is cheaper but you pay in terms of traffic and selling your soul to the devil


----------



## bright17 (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks a lot for your quick response, would you say that there is a difference of more than 10K pa in the rent between qusais, nahda and Muhaisnah compared to Sharjah border areas?

If I am going ahead with Sharjah,does it make sense to pick a place nearer to the Dubai border or somewhere nearer to prime areas of sharjah where the cost might be cheaper. I am assuming the time for travelling to dubai will be nearly the same from both places.


----------



## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

nahda is cheap, so maybe less than 10k. Qusais is more expensive especially now that the metro runs next to it

Traffic can be bad at the border but supposedly worse inside Sharjah itself. I have not been crazy enough to venture too far inside that madhouse of an Emirate


----------



## bright17 (Apr 15, 2013)

Still in a dilemma should it be Al Nahda Sharjah or Qusais Dubai. Looking at Dubizzle I see that the variation in rent is around 33-36 K in Al Nahdha and 38-42K in Al Qusais. With the new salik coming in as well as the daily transportation cost and hassle, I dont think there is a distinct financial reason for choosing Al Nahdha


----------



## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

I agree; Qusais would probably offer a bit of choice, from the more expensive areas near the metro and DAFZA to the slightly cheaper places further north nearer to Nahda/Zulekha hospital


----------



## bright17 (Apr 15, 2013)

Are you aware of any specific buildings or landmarks in qusais within walking distance of DAFZA


----------



## stamboy (Apr 1, 2013)

Just jumping on this thread rather than start a new one 

Is there much in Qusais or Al Nahda with regards to shops, restaurants, facilities. Is it essential to have a car if you are close enough to the Metro?

Thanks


----------



## bright17 (Apr 15, 2013)

There are quite a bit of super-hyper markets,eateries,etc in the area. A car isnt required if you are willing to restrict yourself to the facilities along the metro line and have a lot of patience.


----------



## stamboy (Apr 1, 2013)

bright17 said:


> There are quite a bit of super-hyper markets,eateries,etc in the area. A car isnt required if you are willing to restrict yourself to the facilities along the metro line and have a lot of patience.


Patience for what - noise, waiting for metros or just in general?


----------



## bright17 (Apr 15, 2013)

Amazingly there isn't much noise in the non main road areas. Patience is required for metro and bus connections if you don't have a car


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

I should point out that Al Ghusais is overwhelmingly South Asian. It's fine and clean and safe and there's nothing wrong with it but if you want a community of like-minded British expats you won't find it in Al Ghusais.

The neighbourhoods north of the airport towards Sharjah (Al Ghusais, Deira, Al Nahda, Al Twar) are a mix of the locals, South Asians, Arabs, Russians and Filipino. They are just as safe and clean as anywhere in Dubai and they do have a range of amenities but these are not where Western expats live unless they've been housed there by their companies (and usually complain about it). You will also be isolated from the areas where Westerners do live as the traffic can be quite bad and the metro does take some time.

I have no idea what you want out of life. If you just want a quiet apartment to got to at the end of the day and aren't expecting much of a social life with other Westerners, Al Ghusais will probably tick many of your boxes. 



stamboy said:


> Patience for what - noise, waiting for metros or just in general?


----------



## stamboy (Apr 1, 2013)

TallyHo said:


> I should point out that Al Ghusais is overwhelmingly South Asian. It's fine and clean and safe and there's nothing wrong with it but if you want a community of like-minded British expats you won't find it in Al Ghusais.
> 
> The neighbourhoods north of the airport towards Sharjah (Al Ghusais, Deira, Al Nahda, Al Twar) are a mix of the locals, South Asians, Arabs, Russians and Filipino. They are just as safe and clean as anywhere in Dubai and they do have a range of amenities but these are not where Western expats live unless they've been housed there by their companies (and usually complain about it). You will also be isolated from the areas where Westerners do live as the traffic can be quite bad and the metro does take some time.
> 
> I have no idea what you want out of life. If you just want a quiet apartment to got to at the end of the day and aren't expecting much of a social life with other Westerners, Al Ghusais will probably tick many of your boxes.


Tallyho, firstly thanks for the great post. 

To be honest I kind of like a mix of other nationalities rather than sticking to just Westerners. I think it adds to the experience and I won't be requiring a school so that won't be a problem.

I also prefer Asian food so if there are plenty of Asian food places around there then that ticks the boxes. My priority will be that the place has to be very close to a Metro as I don't want to mess about with buses after years of commuting in London. 

Secondly, as I don't want a car it will have to have a few amenities nearby without the need to jump on the Metro every five mins.

Lastly, I want it to be quite an easy commute into work. I will be working near the Maritime museum and Al Ghubaib is the nearest Metro station. Obviously the nearer I am to work the better but I also want a place that is going to be within my budget which is around 50k for a 1 bedroom or 60k for a 2 bedroom. 

So I think Al Nahda is going to be the furthest place out I'd want to go to be honest and the nearer the better. Deira or Buj Dubai appeals but there doesn't seem to be an abundance of places looking on Dubizzle (unlike Al Nahda) and those that there are seem older. 

I'm hoping the Metro isn't like the tube in London where we are jam packed like sardines!


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

I should point out a couple things.

Nowhere in Dubai do Western expats constitute a majority. Something like 85% of the city's population are expatriates and westerners consist of perhaps 5% of the expats. 

While Dubai is incredibly diverse there is not necessarily that much social mixing among the nationalities except that you _do _find social mix among affluent socio-economic groups so affluent people of different nationalities do intermingle. A good example is my office: certain divisions such as the AutoCad teams and payroll are almost entirely South Asians making perhaps 5-10,000 a month (many who do live in Al Ghusais). We work with each other perfectly fine but there is no socialising outside the office. The teams of architects, landscape architects and engineers are a mix of nationalities making comparable incomes, and we socialise all the time, except for the conservative Muslims who are pleasant enough but keep their social life strictly within their families. 

Moving to Al Ghusais doesn't mean you'll get to know lots of different people from a range of backgrounds. You'll be fine from a safety perspective and it certainly isn't hostile but the communities of South Asians and Arabs are very tightly knit and a bit more traditional. Even British Asians complain that many expats from South Asia keep them at arms length despite a common shared ethnic and cultural heritage. 

That's why I'm warning you moving to Al Ghusais might be an isolating experience. If you want the cheap rent, fine, but if you expect a social life, which will mostly be with your fellow peers at the office, expect to take taxis to new Dubai all the time. 

Al Nahda is a bit more diverse than Al Ghusais partly because several companies and schools house their staff, including Westerners, in some of the buildings, but Al Nahda is a few km walk from the nearest metro station. 



stamboy said:


> I'm hoping the Metro isn't like the tube in London where we are jam packed like sardines!


Yes, it is packed during rush hour. And can smell. I've had to take the metro a few times during peak travel and through that part of Dubai and the vast majority of passengers were 'bachelors' who didn't have the best body odour. Oh, it wasn't too bad but it wasn't a comfortable experience either.

All in all, you'd probably be happier in Bur Dubai in one of the buildings behind Burjuman Centre. Look hard and you'll find something. Or even Deira near Deira City Centre.


----------



## stamboy (Apr 1, 2013)

Many thanks Tallyho for explaining the cultural side of things here. Its sounds quite different to London where I'm used to working in respects of people from different backgrounds socialising/interaction. This is something I never considered as I thought being multi-cultural everyone would be used to being amongst other nationalities and mixing, etc.

I know there are a lot of Phillipino's in Dubai. I assume because they have some sort of agreement with UAE, but are there many Thais and if so do they live in a specific area? The reason I'm asking is that I love thai food so living close to their communities would be good ;-)

I'll take your advice and search out something in Deira or Buj Dubai.

Thanks again


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Thai restaurants, yes. They're not everywhere but there's enough of them. 

Thai communities, no.

Filipinos are everywhere but their native food is not endearing. 

People of all nationalities do work and live side by side. Wherever you live most of your neighbours won't be westerners and there's little, if any, hostility, but it's still pretty insular. It's part of human nature, people gravitate towards other people of similar backgrounds because they share cultures, mindsets and traditions in common. The reason you find more intermingling among the affluent expats in Dubai is because affluent non-westerners tend to be more 'western' in their outlook and expectations than the less affluent non-westerners. Of course this doesn't apply to everyone as there's plenty of affluent yet conservative Arabs who are extremely insular. 

I do find the Filipinos interesting as they are not well paid yet they move with great ease among the westerners / more affluent expats, but it's because their mindset and expectations are fairly westernised. 



stamboy said:


> Many thanks Tallyho for explaining the cultural side of things here. Its sounds quite different to London where I'm used to working in respects of people from different backgrounds socialising/interaction. This is something I never considered as I thought being multi-cultural everyone would be used to being amongst other nationalities and mixing, etc.
> 
> I know there are a lot of Phillipino's in Dubai. I assume because they have some sort of agreement with UAE, but are there many Thais and if so do they live in a specific area? The reason I'm asking is that I love thai food so living close to their communities would be good ;-)
> 
> ...


----------

