# Relocating - Help! (please)



## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

Hi Guys, 

I'm new to this forum, but really hoping I can sound out some constructive advice for the following question. 

Me and my partner are relocating to Dubai within the next 4-5 weeks. I've done some fairly intensive research on areas to live, but I feel maybe some advice from people who reside there now may help me decide. 

I've narrowed it down to 3-4 areas, all ranging within the same price range. Please see below: 

- Discovery Gardens
- Motor City 
- JLT
- Marina 

I will be working in Business Bay and my partner near The Emirates Towers. 

Budget: 70,000-90,000 AED (yearly)

My main questions are:

- where would be best to reside for two 20 something westerners (London)? 

- We aren't really looking for an industrial setting, we quite like the idea of having some green to walk, jog around etc?

- Do you have any experience with any of the above locations, could you provide some pro's/con's?

Thanks for taking the time to read this.


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## Yussif (Jul 27, 2015)

Marina doesn't really have much in the way of greenery, hotel-bars and restaurants and your right on the beach front.

JLT does have a little more, depends where you live you might get a decent view

Motor city has a bit of greenery and your right round the corner from the els golf club - gorgeous!

I don't know about discovery gardens at all.

The only thing is, you say these places are comparable prices but i don't know of anywhere in that price range, i flat share myself but my friends who are living in apartments paid for by their companies are 120k + - where did you get your prices from>? any specific buildings?


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

They're looking at 1-bedrooms, presumably.

Which is very doable in all these areas with their budget. 120K+ is the top end for a one bedroom in higher spec buildings like Al Majara, Park Island, Fairways, Links, or doable for a basic two bedroom in the bog standard towers. 

I'd also throw in the Greens as a one bedroom is right in the middle of your price range and it's a pretty "green" community as greenery goes in Dubai.



Yussif said:


> Marina doesn't really have much in the way of greenery, hotel-bars and restaurants and your right on the beach front.
> 
> JLT does have a little more, depends where you live you might get a decent view
> 
> ...


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

Best advice balls, come over and take a look yourself. That said, on your criteria I'd be looking at JLT.


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## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

Sorry, I forgot to add its a 1 bedroom we are looking at. 

Discovery Gardens for 75-80k can get you a 1400 sqft apartment in the Zen/Med buildings. 

I do like the look of JLT, but, for 75-85k it will only get your roughly 800-900sqft of space. :-(

I will check out the greens also, but you're right, we will be over around the 21st September and we'll just have to look at the different areas.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Bails said:


> Discovery Gardens for 75-80k can get you a 1400 sqft apartment in the Zen/Med buildings.
> 
> I do like the look of JLT, but, for 75-85k it will only get your roughly 800-900sqft of space. :-(


Make up your own mind, but I will definitely prefer a smaller apartment in DG to a smaller one in JLT.
DG, in general, is not well maintained and has traffic issues.


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

rsinner said:


> Make up your own mind, but I will definitely prefer a smaller apartment in DG to a smaller one in JLT.
> DG, in general, is not well maintained and has traffic issues.


You mean a smaller one in JLT over a larger one in DG?

I concur.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Disco Gardens buildings have no pool or gyms and maintenance is iffy. Traffic is a nightmare getting in and out of Disco Gardens during rush hour. For years the apartments were crammed with bachelors and workers with 4-8 people to a 1-bedroom. Many buildings don't have designated parking as well, leaving you to the mercy of a shared parking lot.

All towers in JLT will have pools and gyms. Towers vary greatly in quality but most of them will be better than what's available in Disco Gardens. Many more amenities in JLT as well.

By the by, be aware that both Discovery Gardens and JLT (except for Armada Towers) are district cooling, which means you pay separately for your air conditioning, which can add as much as another 1,000 AED/month on average to your rent. Most apartments in the Marina and all of the Greens are "chiller free," meaning you pay nothing for the AC. It's little hidden costs like chiller fees that make Disco Gardens not quite the bargain and many don't realise it.

If you want something cheap I'd also look at Sports City or JVC/JVT. Further out (5-10 minutes), still a construction zone but new apartments, good size, and 70K seems to be the going rate. 

Last but not least, be very careful with quoted square footage in Dubai. It rarely matches up with the reality. My current 2-bedroom apartment is quoted at 1200 sqft, I've done the measuring and the reality is closer to 900. All the extra square footage is the balcony and whatever creative accounting that justifies incorporating public hallway space. Most people I know have taken better amenities and better location OR lower rent over bigger square footage. 



Bails said:


> Sorry, I forgot to add its a 1 bedroom we are looking at.
> 
> Discovery Gardens for 75-80k can get you a 1400 sqft apartment in the Zen/Med buildings.
> 
> ...


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Is that what you meant?



rsinner said:


> Make up your own mind, but I will definitely prefer a smaller apartment in DG to a smaller one in JLT.
> DG, in general, is not well maintained and has traffic issues.


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## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

Ok, so looks like Discovery Gardens is out! I'd rather lose sqft and have a nice place to live in. 

Is JLT accessible to the Metro? I don't mind a short walk? I doubt we'll buy a car as soon as we get there, we'd like to get a feel for the monthly costs, environment etc, so metro is going to be useful for a few months. 

This information has been really helpful. Thanks everyone


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Bails said:


> I don't mind a short walk?


Nobody does until its 42 degrees at 0730am and the Metro station is a 'mere 400 yards away' along a concrete path in the sun 

That said, its do-able for a while as we are heading into cooler times so you'll have a car by the time you've learned to hate that walk 

My walk to work when I arrived was about 600 yards and by the time I had been here a month, I was taking a taxi which took a mile due to the one way system.


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## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

I've been warned about the heat, I guess I'll have to gauge it when there. 

What I meant was, as long as the metro is accessible (within reason), I could brave it for a period of time until settled. 

I'm going to check out JLT, Greens and Marina. 

I had more unless settled for D'Gardens; but after hearing about traffic (which I thought had been addressed/improved?) and it being smelly and occasionally maintained -it's put me right off!


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

I'd go for JLT. Choose your building wisely and you can be a hop, skip and a jump from one of 2 Metro stations with a massive park a shortish walk away. There's an abundance of high quality independent restaurants all over JLT that are very reasonably priced, and a fair selection of smaller supermarkets (including Park & Shop which is the best place to go for British brands, pork and proper bread - i.e. made with Hovis flour and not full of sugar like most of the rest of the supermarket bread in Dubai). The one way system only affects clusters O-U plus X (and even then it's only really inconvenient for clusters O-P), all the rest of them have no traffic issues.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

The heat's not that bad in the morning, even in the middle of summer. I park in cluster U in JLT (next to the Metro station) and my office is on the opposite side of the lake so I have about a 10 minute walk every morning around 8am and it's fine.


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## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

Thanks Gavtek! 

I'm going to look into JLT today and see what our money can get us  

Should be out there around Saturday 26th September as EID is the week before.


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## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

Another question I had was: would you recommend 'furnished or unfurnished?'.

If furnished, does it include cutlery, iron's, plates etc; or just the white goods, such as cooker, fridge, sofa, bed etc? 

Any help on this would be great


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

the heats nothing, its the Dubai Stone you need to be careful about


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Isn't that why we have all these tailors in Dubai ?

My personal stone is getting smaller. Desert riding at 0530 helps although my OH says the bags under my eyes are getting bigger as a result.


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## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

iggles said:


> the heats nothing, its the Dubai Stone you need to be careful about


I've heard about the weight gain. I'm massively into my fitness/diet, so I have no concerns about that aspect of the move  
:hand:


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## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

twowheelsgood said:


> Isn't that why we have all these tailors in Dubai ?
> 
> My personal stone is getting smaller. Desert riding at 0530 helps although my OH says the bags under my eyes are getting bigger as a result.


Talking of which, any recommendations for nice suits? I'm guessing wool blended suits would be a mistake out there? 

:help:


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## Nursemanit (Jul 10, 2015)

I have had agents get very testy with me when I bring my laser measure and figure the actual Sq ft. It is in most cases 60 -75% of what is advertised. 

Some hints - in UAE unlike the rest of the world they include balcony space , closed off mechanical space, and closets . There is nothing you can do about that it is just the custom. 

For a better picture - google the building / developer and you can sometimes see the website from the original sale with accurate floorpans and real sq footage ( but they still include what I listed above) 

I have had an agent say the difference was the parking spot was included + my share of the shared gym and pool .


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

My favourite is when you look at the floor plans and there's furniture on it and the place looks sizable enough until you realise that the three seater sofa is the same size as the tub in the bathroom. 

Common trick of the trade. Shrink the size of the furniture on AutoCad to make the place look bigger. 



Nursemanit said:


> I have had agents get very testy with me when I bring my laser measure and figure the actual Sq ft. It is in most cases 60 -75% of what is advertised.
> 
> Some hints - in UAE unlike the rest of the world they include balcony space , closed off mechanical space, and closets . There is nothing you can do about that it is just the custom.
> 
> ...


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## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

Greens is nice and pretty good location for getting everywhere, JLT also pretty good - both these have metro stations not far away (if it's important choose a flat nearer to the station), good shops, restaurants, etc and buildings mostly with gym and pools I think? Marina expensive, Discovery Gardens not very nice really and traffic..

You usually pay a premium for furnished may or may not be worth it depending how long you're planning to be here - tons of second hand stuff around and you could likely furnish a 1 bed flat for less than the extra rent you pay in a year: and sell the stuff on or keep it after. Built in appliances are a bonus though I reckon. Depending when your partner's birthday is/how close to Christmas you're moving in, you can potentially save money by giving her a bundle of cash to spend in Ikea or Home Centre as a 'present'..


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## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

Racing_Goats said:


> Greens is nice and pretty good location for getting everywhere, JLT also pretty good - both these have metro stations not far away (if it's important choose a flat nearer to the station), good shops, restaurants, etc and buildings mostly with gym and pools I think? Marina expensive, Discovery Gardens not very nice really and traffic..
> 
> You usually pay a premium for furnished may or may not be worth it depending how long you're planning to be here - tons of second hand stuff around and you could likely furnish a 1 bed flat for less than the extra rent you pay in a year: and sell the stuff on or keep it after. Built in appliances are a bonus though I reckon. Depending when your partner's birthday is/how close to Christmas you're moving in, you can potentially save money by giving her a bundle of cash to spend in Ikea or Home Centre as a 'present'..


Thanks for your insight  

I think we are going to narrow our search to JLT, Al Barsha and Business Bay. 

We are in contact with a few Estate Agents and fly out September 26th.


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

Bails said:


> I've heard about the weight gain. I'm massively into my fitness/diet, so I have no concerns about that aspect of the move
> :hand:


I do a mixture of body beast and insanity, and I still put weight on. It's a different lifestyle here, constantly working and nothing much to do other than booze and eat. Especially as you'll be living in a hotel for 2-3 months. You'll be eating scrap from the supermarkets, or take aways. Hotel living is the worst.


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## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

iggles said:


> I do a mixture of body beast and insanity, and I still put weight on. It's a different lifestyle here, constantly working and nothing much to do other than booze and eat. Especially as you'll be living in a hotel for 2-3 months. You'll be eating scrap from the supermarkets, or take aways. Hotel living is the worst.


I'm more into my bodybuilding rather than insanity type of workouts. I have however tried and tested insanity, it's fun. 

We aim to have a place to live within the first couple of weeks of landing; but then again, I've heard things can take time for contracts to be signed etc?


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

Bails said:


> I'm more into my bodybuilding rather than insanity type of workouts. I have however tried and tested insanity, it's fun.
> 
> We aim to have a place to live within the first couple of weeks of landing; but then again, I've heard things can take time for contracts to be signed etc?


Me personally, landed here in Dec 1, got a flat Feb 18th. And I was house hunting like mad. But bearing mind I am in Abu not Dubai. Everyone has different experience. Contract signing takes matter of minutes, thats not the delay. Its wading through all the adverts (which are all false) visiting a place, liking it not liking, its been taken, negotiation..it isn't fun. I was planning on moving from where I currently live but I CBA with doing that again. 

Yes, i prefer weight lifting, but i needed to add more insanity as i was getting round the belly! :noidea:


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

You can't rent anything until you get your visas sorted out.

And you need UAE chequebooks to write a cheque to the landlord. Can't open account without a visa. And it takes several weeks from opening the bank account to getting the chequebooks. 

Then you need the money. It's great if your housing allowance is paid upfront. If not, you're looking at paying 3, 4, 6 or 12 months' rent upfront. Plus 5% to the agent and another 5% deposit to the landlord. Then the dewa/utilities deposit, the internet blah blah blah.

You've been warned


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## Bails (Aug 26, 2015)

TallyHo said:


> You can't rent anything until you get your visas sorted out.
> 
> And you need UAE chequebooks to write a cheque to the landlord. Can't open account without a visa. And it takes several weeks from opening the bank account to getting the chequebooks.
> 
> ...


Hi, 

Visa - sorted
Money - sorted 

Employer is providing yearly rent up-front which is then deducted from monthly salary. 

We're prepared to part with £15-20,000 within the first 12 months. We've researched thoroughly on all costs involved. We've saved a fair few pounds due to the relocation package offered


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