# Moving to Mirdif...Advice?



## CYtoDubai (Mar 2, 2010)

Hello :wave: -

I have read through several threads on here re: life in Mirdif. My family is planning a move in 2 months with our 2 young children (8 years and almost 2). We are originally from CA but currently live in Cyprus. 

I have several questions and hopefully some of you can chime in...

(1) Does anyone live in Uptown Community? Are there 3 bedrooms avail...how much?

(2) We are looking at 3 schools: Uptown Primary (Mirdif), Universal American International (Festival City), & Deira International School (Festival City). Thoughts on how the schools are run from people w/ kids there (or have left there)? My son will be entering 3rd grade -- are there spots open at these schools? I know in the past, when Dubai was booming, there were long waiting lists... I haven't heard back from the admissions offices yet, hopefully one of you will have some insider info.

(3) Are there other places in Mirdif I should consider renting? Shorooq is the only other one I know of. We are looking for a place to live with a "suburban" feel. Not "gated community" necessarily, but a typical American subdivision ( I like Uptown's mixed use retail/living setting).

My husband will be working many hours and I would like a central place with easy access to shopping, amenities, playgrounds, etc (my 2 year old can be a handful, so I think traveling far just to reach a park will not be fun for her or me). Somewhere my son can ride his bike without being run over!

I have a ton of other questions...but these are the most time sensitive. I hope to visit to finalize these things in about 2-3 weeks. Just wanted to be prepared beforehand.

Moving on short notice to a completely different "world" is a bit unnerving...and exciting.

Thanks for the help!


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

Mirdif and in particular Uptown and Shoroof are right under the flight path for Dubai International Airport. Before you comit to living there I recommend you check out the noise at different times of the day especially late at night, midnight to 3 ish, as at night Dubai is one of the worlds busiest international airports with peak movements of up to 50 planes per hour.


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## CYtoDubai (Mar 2, 2010)

Felixtoo2 said:


> Mirdif and in particular Uptown and Shoroof are right under the flight path for Dubai International Airport. Before you comit to living there I recommend you check out the noise at different times of the day especially late at night, midnight to 3 ish, as at night Dubai is one of the worlds busiest international airports with peak movements of up to 50 planes per hour.


Yeah, I took someone's advice about following the flight path of the runways to see what parts of Mirdif are "noisest" -- and Uptown was so dead on, they couldn't have planned it better 

We are also looking at Festival City, but a friend mentioned it wasn't as "family-friendly" in terms of the community as Mirdif.

We hope to get a better idea when we visit in a couple of weeks...

Anyone else with any advise?


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## alphaville (Sep 23, 2009)

The flight path crosses Mirdif diagonally. Even 50m either side of this diagonal make a difference. Imagine Uptown Mirdif in the middle (with Dubai south) northwest and southeast of Uptown Mirdif is not as noisy, in some areas not at all. After a while you won't notice the noise from the airplanes. Aircon on and TV usually cover it. You would find villas around 100-120.000. If you see a rent sign usually the villa is unlocked and open to inspect. If there is a real estate agent sign you have to call the agent. The agent will charge you.

Shorooq has currently some 3 and 4 bedroom to let around 120,000 and 150,000 respectively. I have seen the places, add to this cost curtains and they they didnt have lights fixed in. Coming out of Shoorooq in heavy traffic hours may be a problem. There are no pools at the moment. The Mirdif City Centre is opening in a few days :clap2:, not sure how this is going to affect the traffic in Mirdif.:confused2:


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## CYtoDubai (Mar 2, 2010)

alphaville said:


> The flight path crosses Mirdif diagonally. Even 50m either side of this diagonal make a difference. Imagine Uptown Mirdif in the middle (with Dubai south) northwest and southeast of Uptown Mirdif is not as noisy, in some areas not at all. After a while you won't notice the noise from the airplanes. Aircon on and TV usually cover it. You would find villas around 100-120.000. If you see a rent sign usually the villa is unlocked and open to inspect. If there is a real estate agent sign you have to call the agent. The agent will charge you.
> 
> Shorooq has currently some 3 and 4 bedroom to let around 120,000 and 150,000 respectively. I have seen the places, add to this cost curtains and they they didnt have lights fixed in. Coming out of Shoorooq in heavy traffic hours may be a problem. There are no pools at the moment. The Mirdif City Centre is opening in a few days :clap2:, not sure how this is going to affect the traffic in Mirdif.:confused2:



LOL at villas usually being unlocked for viewing and agents charging to show you a villa! Two completely opposite thought processes...

When you say villas are 100-120...are those in Uptown Mirdiff complex (built by Union Properties) or Uptown the area? I'm not sure if that distinction is necessary...I've never even been to Dubai, so I'm kinda (ok, really) lost. We are really keen on Uptown Mirdiff (the complex) so hearing renting can be 100-120 sounds pretty good...

I can't get anyone to write back to me from the management company at Uptown -- so I'm kinda in the dark. We are looking for 3 bedroom apt or villa...if anyone has any leads, that'd be great!

Thanks again...


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## alphaville (Sep 23, 2009)

CYtoDubai said:


> LOL at villas usually being unlocked for viewing and agents charging to show you a villa! Two completely opposite thought processes...
> 
> When you say villas are 100-120...are those in Uptown Mirdiff complex (built by Union Properties) or Uptown the area? I'm not sure if that distinction is necessary...I've never even been to Dubai, so I'm kinda (ok, really) lost. We are really keen on Uptown Mirdiff (the complex) so hearing renting can be 100-120 sounds pretty good...
> 
> ...


The prices I mentioned are for Mirdif, around Uptown Mirdif compex. Friends who live in Uptown Mirdif tell me 2-bedroom apartments are down to 130,000 and villas 180-200,000. The management company have an office in Uptown, they never answered my emails either. Why so obsessed with Uptown anywway? It's not really THE best place you can find. I hope this helps


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## CYtoDubai (Mar 2, 2010)

alphaville said:


> The prices I mentioned are for Mirdif, around Uptown Mirdif compex. Friends who live in Uptown Mirdif tell me 2-bedroom apartments are down to 130,000 and villas 180-200,000. The management company have an office in Uptown, they never answered my emails either. Why so obsessed with Uptown anywway? It's not really THE best place you can find. I hope this helps


Probably a bit obsessed mainly because I haven't seen the other wonderful parts of Mirdif. We mainly want to live somewhere I can take the kids for a walk with shops/landscaping and where my son (8 years) can ride his bike safely.

I won't have a car for the first couple of months and my husband will be working in Deira, so we want to be as mobile as we can without depending on a car/taxi/bus etc.

Thanks for the info...

I'm falling in love with Arabian Ranches and The lakes/springs/meadows as well now...so many choices, so little time. We better secure his school and then worry about finding a place close to his school.


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

I really wouldn`t like to be stuck in Mirdiff without a car as unless you live very close to the uptown mall or the city centre mall you will need a taxi to get anywhere when the temperature gets up. 
As for the a\c noise, you won`t often have aircon or the tv on at 3am I guess so be ready to get up early when the Russians start arriving and departing lol.


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

alphaville said:


> The flight path crosses Mirdif diagonally. Even 50m either side of this diagonal make a difference. Imagine Uptown Mirdif in the middle (with Dubai south) northwest and southeast of Uptown Mirdif is not as noisy, in some areas not at all. After a while you won't notice the noise from the airplanes. Aircon on and TV usually cover it. You would find villas around 100-120.000. If you see a rent sign usually the villa is unlocked and open to inspect. *If there is a real estate agent sign you have to call the agent. The agent will charge you*.
> 
> Shorooq has currently some 3 and 4 bedroom to let around 120,000 and 150,000 respectively. I have seen the places, add to this cost curtains and they they didnt have lights fixed in. Coming out of Shoorooq in heavy traffic hours may be a problem. There are no pools at the moment. The Mirdif City Centre is opening in a few days :clap2:, not sure how this is going to affect the traffic in Mirdif.:confused2:


Are you suggesting that you are charged to view a property? That is NOT the case.
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## alphaville (Sep 23, 2009)

Elphaba said:


> Are you suggesting that you are charged to view a property? That is NOT the case.
> -


Of course not, they will charge for finding you a place if you decide to accept the property they represent.:tongue1:


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

alphaville said:


> Of course not, they will charge for finding you a place if you decide to accept the property they represent.:tongue1:


Then I suggest a little more clarity in your posts, as that is what you actually said...

-


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## LP1971 (Jun 4, 2009)

Hello
I live in Uptown Mirdif in a 3 bed villa. Husband moved here in Oct and myself and 2 boys (ages 4 and 9) joined him a month ago. We love it here. Very safe for kids on bikes and my boys play out all the time. As weather is cooler at the moment we can walk to the Uptown shops via the gate so no need to go out onto main road. Swimming pool is also lovely. Plane noise can be heard but to be honest it doesn't bother me and has not woke me up and I am from a small UK village so used to no noise at all!
The Better Homes website currently show a 3 bed villa in Uptown for rent for AED 150,000 which is what we paid. We rented through Better Homes and used a lady called Rita. Here is the link to their website and the Villa:

Townhouse - Uptown Mirdiff Villa for Lease - Rental Villa in Dubai, Mirdif

My boys attend Star International school in Mirdif. It has only been open just over a year so has spaces available. My boys love it there.
Their website is

Welcome to Star International School - Mirdif

The headteacher is called Mrs Lloyd.

Good luck with it all. Feel free to message me with any questions.


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## SBP (Jan 4, 2010)

Why is ths area so relatively cheap compared to others? The villas seem nice, is it just because of the flightpath?


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

SBP said:


> Why is ths area so relatively cheap compared to others? The villas seem nice, is it just because of the flightpath?


Partly. And partly because it is a way out of town and used to have few facilities, although that is improving slowly, although there are no licenced bars up there and few restaurants.

The plane noise is LOUD, especially in the centre (nr Uptown Mirdif). Maybe people get used to it, but have friends living there and I find it very loud all the time.

Perhaps the shops there sell a lot of earplugs??

-


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## SBP (Jan 4, 2010)

Elphaba said:


> Partly. And partly because it is a way out of town and used to have few facilities, although that is improving slowly, although there are *no licenced bars *up there and few restaurants.
> 
> The plane noise is LOUD, especially in the centre (nr Uptown Mirdif). Maybe people get used to it, but have friends living there and I find it very loud all the time.
> 
> ...


No bars???? That's out then


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

SBP said:


> No bars???? That's out then


None that I am aware of in Mirdiff itself. No hotels = no bars (most of the time). I wouldn't say it was the place for a single chap anyway...

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## juzzrach (Apr 7, 2010)

alphaville said:


> The prices I mentioned are for Mirdif, around Uptown Mirdif compex. Friends who live in Uptown Mirdif tell me 2-bedroom apartments are down to 130,000 and villas 180-200,000. The management company have an office in Uptown, they never answered my emails either. Why so obsessed with Uptown anywway? It's not really THE best place you can find. I hope this helps



Hi there, I note you are from Australia and now in Dubai. We are considering a relocation from Brisbane Australia at the moment. Do you live in Mirdif? We are also looking at that area and concerned about air traffic noise. Which specific areas of Mirdif would have the least noise? thanks


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2010)

CYtoDubai said:


> Hello :wave: -
> 
> I have read through several threads on here re: life in Mirdif. My family is planning a move in 2 months with our 2 young children (8 years and almost 2). We are originally from CA but currently live in Cyprus.
> 
> ...


Hi, I don't know what your budget is, but IMO Mirdif is a little far from everything and as someone else mentioned it's right on the flight path. Driving could be a pain. Somewhere like the Lakes is really nice, very quiet and is very close to major amenities and I think you would find it has much more of a community feeling to it. 

Good luck!


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