# Al ain or Abu Dhabi



## santa002

I have been offered work in Al Ain or Abu Dhabi and am unsure what to do, I have not seen either. I am to old for clubs but like a social life and a good night life, i am worried Al ain will be to quiet and I will be isolated. Abu Dhabi is chaos I have heard, so I really stuck. I will be going to Dubai as well a fair bit, but I really not sure what to do, would love to hear from someone in Al Ain and what life is like


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## tribalmatt

Abu Dhabi is a capital city with a vibrant social scene, ample retail, restaurants and some world class hotels and facilities. Al Ain by comparison feels like a sleepy provinical town. It really depends on your priorities. Al Ain has a much slower pace to life, and social and dining options are much more limited. On the flip side it has more of a 'local' and relaxed feeling to it, and is much more manageable.


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## santa002

*TA for that*



tribalmatt said:


> Abu Dhabi is a capital city with a vibrant social scene, ample retail, restaurants and some world class hotels and facilities. Al Ain by comparison feels like a sleepy provinical town. It really depends on your priorities. Al Ain has a much slower pace to life, and social and dining options are much more limited. On the flip side it has more of a 'local' and relaxed feeling to it, and is much more manageable.


Yes looking at a few books I can tell that's how it seems, can you still do Friday brunches in al Ain ? is there a cinema and any other things like bowling or ice rink, is there decent shopping, I do not mean just Malls

ta for reply


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## Jynxgirl

I like Abu Dhabi. I dont find it chaotic. I find it less stressful to be in then dubai. The roads in and out are still very much a work in progress but it seems to be more mixed culture. See more locals and arabic, as well as expats. I get the feeling that Dubai's local community or maybe its the expat themselves ?? has segregated themselves off from each other. There also just seems to be more things to do in Abu Dhabi, then in Dubai. The downtown area of Abu Dhabi biggest problem that I find, is lack of parking. I havent lived there though, if I had, I prob would have said cost of accommodations. I live in Dubai but work in Abu Dhabi region due to our company wishing to save alot of money  If you have to pay for accommodations, you may find it cheaper to drive and get better accommodations here then abu dhabi if that is what you pick. If they provide them, I would hands down choose Abu Dhabi without even seeing Al Ain. 

I have not been to Al Ain except to drive thru. Hope someone else will comment.


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## tribalmatt

I have spent a lot of time in Al Ain. Boring could be one word to describe it. There are a few malls, but nothing on the scale you'll find in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. There is also a small local shopping area around the centre, but it is uninspiring and filled mainly with either cheaper goods aimed at the lower end of the market or gold and jewellery at the higher end. There are a couple of modest cinemas, but the selection of movies is rather limited. There is a small bowling alley and ice rink in Al Ain mall, but that is used mainly by kids. I don't know of any places that offer Brunch - dining in Al Ain is limited. What Al Ain does have however is access to some outdoor activities, including Jebel Hafeet mountain, easy access to the desert and is closer to Oman for easy weekend trips. If you're looking for any sort of social activities or nightlife however, then Abu Dhabi is the place to go.


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## santa002

Thank you so much for replies up to now. would welcome any further inputs !!!!!!!!!!!


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## CarlZA

I live in Abu Dhabi (temporary in Hotels). I know where to get beer so I'm happy.


AD isn't bad imo. Haven't been to other places, so I'm biased perhaps. Lots to do if you know your way around - from the over the top to the more normal like socializing. You'll have to integrate though into some community (expat), unless you are fortunate to be working with fellow expats. 

Traffic sucks - but this is the UAE and I've been told this is considered normal as opposed to Saudi. Parking is problematic if you decide to stay down town, but I reckon you'll be looking for housing on the outskirts of the busy bee portion (commuting will be a problem).

Personally, I'd opt for AD in your situation. There's a mixture of people and things to do and you have the option to segregate yourself from the city. There's a lot of options in AD plus housing is a bit down currently and if more people leave AD to Dubai for housing then the next couple of months will be interesting.

I also vaguely heard yesterday that AD has capped pricing on property for the middle income bracket - so there's some drive to keep the folks here happy (to some extent).


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## Eileen5

Hi!

I just read this post, so I don't know if you're still looking for feedback. I live in Al Ain, and I love it. Definitely quieter than AD or Dubai, but the hotels all offer Friday brunches. My favorite is at the Rotana - they just remodeled their restaurant and it is gorgeous. Al Bawadi Mall opened fairly recently and has a great cinema, including one Grand Class theater. 

Both AD and Dubai are close enough to drive to whenever you'd like to go, and people in Al Ain frequently make day trips to each city on the weekend.

It is definitely quieter here, but you see more of the Emirati culture. It is also quite green with a great deal of landscaping. 

It is drier here since we're not on the coast, although after a certain point, it's just plain hot. I love living here and would recommend it. When are you planning on moving, or have you already?


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## botak_ding

Hi,
Anybody with experience living/working in UAE (Al Ain) and Thailand (Pattaya)? If you're offered for THB120,000/month without accomodation and AED35,000 with accomodation, which you'd select?
Just interested in saving point of view. FYI my wife is not working and have 2 children; 7 (primary school) and 3 years old.


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## mgb

santa002 said:


> Thank you so much for replies up to now. would welcome any further inputs !!!!!!!!!!!


We live in Al Ain and love it! There are four(?) major hotels here, with leisure facilities and some will do Friday brunch. The rugby club is great as well, they have a leisure centre which is about a third of the price of AD clubs, as well as cheap drinks and a great quiz on a Wednesday night.

We are serious offroad fanatics, and this activity as well as camping in the winter months, dominates our time - and there are wonderful dunes just on the doorstep here in Al Ain. (But if you want to do this, please seek advice before buying a 4x4, some 4wd cars are just not cut out for dune bashing!)

Plenty of cinemas, bowling alleys etc, right on the border with Oman so easy to travel further afield.

Villa and apartment rents are about 1/3 of the cost in Abu Dhabi and there seems to be a glut of apartments available just now so you can pick and choose. Everything is cheaper here, furnishing your home, getting your car serviced, restaurants etc. 

I think the key to enjoying living here is that you have to make the effort to go out and find things to do, and there are lots when you look, whereas in AD and Dubai you just need to read the Timeout magazine for inspiration. 

Send me a PM and I can point you in the direction of more info


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## glopez11

*sounds Good!!*



mgb said:


> We live in Al Ain and love it! There are four(?) major hotels here, with leisure facilities and some will do Friday brunch. The rugby club is great as well, they have a leisure centre which is about a third of the price of AD clubs, as well as cheap drinks and a great quiz on a Wednesday night.
> 
> We are serious offroad fanatics, and this activity as well as camping in the winter months, dominates our time - and there are wonderful dunes just on the doorstep here in Al Ain. (But if you want to do this, please seek advice before buying a 4x4, some 4wd cars are just not cut out for dune bashing!)
> 
> Plenty of cinemas, bowling alleys etc, right on the border with Oman so easy to travel further afield.
> 
> Villa and apartment rents are about 1/3 of the cost in Abu Dhabi and there seems to be a glut of apartments available just now so you can pick and choose. Everything is cheaper here, furnishing your home, getting your car serviced, restaurants etc.
> 
> I think the key to enjoying living here is that you have to make the effort to go out and find things to do, and there are lots when you look, whereas in AD and Dubai you just need to read the Timeout magazine for inspiration.
> 
> Send me a PM and I can point you in the direction of more info


My wife and I are moving to Alain in August, we are teacher, in mid 50s. We are looking forward to the adventure.
G


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## vicki33

Are there any property websites for Al Ain you could recommend please? Struggling to find, and am trying to price up rent there


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## BedouGirl

vicki33 said:


> Are there any property websites for Al Ain you could recommend please? Struggling to find, and am trying to price up rent there


Posting on threads that are well over a year old probably won't help you much. There's a few threads on here from posters such as IndigoGirl that would be more helpful to you and I am sure people would be happy to respond to PMs. Suggest you put Al Ain in the search engine and check the dates of posts before adding to them or contacting posters. Good luck 


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## shadiaswad

*alain*

im going from alain to abu dhabi airport daily and i need one sharing me the road


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## kundapur

santa002 said:


> Thank you so much for replies up to now. would welcome any further inputs !!!!!!!!!!!


I have lived in both and have to say I loved Al Ain - plenty happening if you go out and look for it!! A lot depends on where you live there - we lived on a lovely compound with a nice private garden and great facilities!! I really didn't want to move to AD when the time came but have to say I really love it!! It's not so frenetic as Dubai (lived there too) and is much easier to get around! We live on the Corniche which is fab - highly recommend it!!


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