# Wanted: a balanced, thoughtful appraisal of Sharjah



## lordsnooty (Jan 2, 2012)

Hi everyone. An institute of higher learning located in Sharjah is interested in hiring me. The money and benefits seem to be pretty good; the only unknown at this point is Sharjah itself. 

I'll be visiting soon, but I won't have time to see much of it in a handful of days. I made the mistake of looking at the Dubai forum here for more information; all I found were terse comments like "Sharjah sucks." Most of these comments seemed directed at the drinking laws of Sharjah, not really about anything of greater substance.

I'm looking for some thoughtful information from someone who's actually lived there. Right now, my impression is that Sharjah is, more or less, like a suburb, in terms of demographics and night life. Can anybody confirm/deny/add to that?

(Also: i do not drink. At all. Consequently, partying is not my scene. Much more of a homebody. I'm assuming this will have an impact of my impression of Sharjah.)

Any info would be helpful. Thanks!


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## amaksoud (Jan 3, 2012)

Well Sharjah is not that bad anyway, specially that you are not concerned about the drinking issue.

IMHO Sharjah is a good place to live, it's smaller than Dubai but it's only a 5 to 15 minutes drive and you are in Dubai.

The only problem in SHJ is the crowd towards Dubai during rush hours and in holidays.

Sharjah has a few malls that are not as good as Dubai's.

I've been living there for the past 6 months and almost everyday I go to Dubai for shopping or whatever.


You must know that gas stations in SHJ are a few these days after 2 companies closed their stations due to financial problems. 

If you need more info just point out what you need to know.


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

You might find some information on here useful http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Sharjah&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

Sharjah is quite conservative when compared to Dubai. Years ago, the Emirate actually published a list of decency regulations. http://www.angelfire.com/ok5/dxbthemeparks/sharjah_decency_and_public_condu.htm

One of them resulted in a friend of mine who was wearing a pair of shorts that were down to her knees receiving a citation because she was not considered to be "decent". 

The mix of nationalities tends to be more from South Asia and other Arabic countries.


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## lordsnooty (Jan 2, 2012)

amaksoud said:


> If you need more info just point out what you need to know.


Thanks, all very helpful information.

My remaining question would be whether Sharjah has public transit between the city and Dubai, for when i do shopping/recreation. I have heard horror stories of the traffic between the two destinations. If there is public transit, lengthy commutes wouldn't be a problem -- I live in the Midwestern USA, and the trip between home and work on PT takes about 75 minutes, door to door.


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

If you live AND work in sharjah, you dont have to come to Dubai often if you dont need the falshy night life and alcohol. The traffic between the two though, if you have to come often, will frustrate you. My 40 min drive over has turned into 2 hours when leaving at the wrong time. 

They have malls and even though I despise malls and do my best never have to enter them, the times I have been drug out by friends in sharjah to the few big malls there, isnt much different then the dubai malls. A bunch of westernized stores to buy more crap in. ?? How different is a western store in a dubai mall vs a western store in a sharjah store, is beyond me. 50 stores or 100 stores, isnt really that big of a difference, if you know what I mean ??? 

Gas station thing is a bit crazy, but you will learn which ones are open, and when to go and not go. I can not understand in the uae, whilst people line up for a 30 min wait like they are about to run out of gas, all the time. Just go at a different time. There isnt always lines, just during the peak hours. 

If you do not drink, assume you have other hobbies. Hopefully you can find those things to do there. It is a quiet place and being a homebody probly helps. You will get to experience more 'culture' being in sharjah. 

There are no bars so to say in sharjah. People tend to head over to Ajman, a city that is surriounded by sharjah. Is odd but ?? It is what it is. There are a few hotels over there that have bars. 

Sharjah has a nice corniche and is quite familiy orientated. There doesnt seem to be as many pockets of labourers standing around in large groups. Westerners get stared at there still but isnt quite so intense as what happens in Dubai. More curious like and people seem to be a lot more friendly. 

I wouldnt say it is more like a suburb. It really is like a completely different place. You will find a bit more then just a little conservative, as what Bedou says is pretty what my friends say. Wear clothing that covers your shoulders completely and no knee showing at all for the ladies. You can get away with a peck on the lips in malls in dubai even though is frowned on and pockets of more westernized areas allow alot more freedom of affection in dubai, but those are big no no's in sharjah and could get you in trouble. 

I dont live in sharjah just good friends with a pakistani family and a local over there that I go see quite often.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Sharjah is not everyone's cup of cake. It is more conservative than Dubai, has far fewer "western" amenities and a much smaller western expat community. I'm not entirely sure where Jynxgirl is coming from regarding the staring factor as all Western women I know and work with are much more comfortable in Dubai than in Sharjah. On top of this, Sharjah's infrastructure is more basic and every summer sees frequent power outages, which you do not want to have happen when it's 120 degrees F outside.

Many western expats who work in Sharjah live in Mirdiff, which is the first proper residential community on the Dubai side of the border, and commute. 

Visit and explore both cities. You'll quickly realize what's best for you and whether you can tolerate living in Sharjah.


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## lordsnooty (Jan 2, 2012)

TallyHo said:


> Sharjah is not everyone's cup of cake. It is more conservative than Dubai, has far fewer "western" amenities and a much smaller western expat community. I'm not entirely sure where Jynxgirl is coming from regarding the staring factor as all Western women I know and work with are much more comfortable in Dubai than in Sharjah. On top of this, Sharjah's infrastructure is more basic and every summer sees frequent power outages, which you do not want to have happen when it's 120 degrees F outside. ... Visit and explore both cities. You'll quickly realize what's best for you and whether you can tolerate living in Sharjah.


I should have mentioned, my living quarters would be in University City. Someone on a different board has described this as "barely in Sharjah," and that the blackouts would be overall less rampant. That's what I'm working on, at any rate.


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## amaksoud (Jan 3, 2012)

One thing I want to add here, if you live in Dubai and work in Sharjah, provided that you working hours are normal working hours, 8 to 4 or 9 to 5, most probably you will not be having any traffic problems going and coming back from work.

The traffic jams are mainly from SHJ to DXB morning time & the other way around afternoon.


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## ChloeB1984 (Sep 2, 2010)

I've been in Sharjah for 18 months and have only experienced one blackout of any significance (around 20 minutes one morning last August).

The traffic is not great at peak hours but you learn to avoid it, the taxi drivers are good at avoiding it and to be honest I've been stuck in worse in certain areas of Dubai! 

If by 'University City' you're talking about American University of Sharjah and the institutions out over that way then it's very picturesque and a lovely area to live.


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