# Moving to Dubai



## Cara (Jun 14, 2008)

We are moving to Dubai this summer. We have lived in Saudi Arabia and have visited Dubai so we are somewhat familiar with the area but do have some questions.
My husbands company is in Sharjah. Can anyone give me an idea as to housing within 15 miles of there? Jumierah? We would be looking for a minimum of 4 bedrooms and would prefer being on or close to the ocean or at minimum access to a pool on property. I believe the Palm Islands are going to be too far for his commute, is that correct? When renting in Dubai, what are the requirements as far as the length of the lease, is rent paid up front for a year or paid month by month? Same for utilities? We'll have the usual expat package, including rent, car, tuition and have a good handle on the amounts needed.

We have one child who will be in 11th grade next spring, are any of the "American" schools within that area? And is there typically a wait list or can we expect that he will be able to attend on time? Can anyone give me some insight about the various american international schools overall? Another daughter is going to be a freshman in college and will be with is in Dubai until next Springs semester, is there a university also in that area? If we decide to bring our flat screen TV with us, will we be able to use it with the right power converters? Will we have a choice of furnished and unfurnished housing options? If furnished does that include linens and kitchen items? 
We will have a driver and 2 cars, so no issues getting around as needed. We prefer not to have our housekeeper live with us, is it difficult to find someone who can live off premises?

Thank you in advance for your replies.
Cara


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## sgilli3 (Mar 23, 2008)

Cara said:


> We are moving to Dubai this summer. We have lived in Saudi Arabia and have visited Dubai so we are somewhat familiar with the area but do have some questions.
> My husbands company is in Sharjah. Can anyone give me an idea as to housing within 15 miles of there? Jumierah? We would be looking for a minimum of 4 bedrooms and would prefer being on or close to the ocean or at minimum access to a pool on property. I believe the Palm Islands are going to be too far for his commute, is that correct? When renting in Dubai, what are the requirements as far as the length of the lease, is rent paid up front for a year or paid month by month? Same for utilities? We'll have the usual expat package, including rent, car, tuition and have a good handle on the amounts needed.
> 
> We have one child who will be in 11th grade next spring, are any of the "American" schools within that area? And is there typically a wait list or can we expect that he will be able to attend on time? Can anyone give me some insight about the various american international schools overall? Another daughter is going to be a freshman in college and will be with is in Dubai until next Springs semester, is there a university also in that area? If we decide to bring our flat screen TV with us, will we be able to use it with the right power converters? Will we have a choice of furnished and unfurnished housing options? If furnished does that include linens and kitchen items?
> ...



Hi Cara
Welcome to the board.
1. If your husband is working in Sharjah, then thats where I would live or at least very close to the border of Dubai/Sharjah.
It can be a horrible commute, and there is NO way I would commute from Jumeirah to Sharjah and back each day (a very long trip)

Again, I personally believe the Palm is also too far. 
It will also depend how far into Sharjah he will be working.

The closest housing area would be Mirdiff.
Parts of Mirdiff are under the flight path, so keep that in mind. (hence why some of the prices seem a "little" cheaper than other ares of Dubai)

Have a look at Dubai Property Real Estate – Rent, buy or Sale Property in Dubai, Apartment and Villa with Better Homes. Manage or Invest in Dubai Property with us. for ideas of villa prices in Mirdiff
(there are lots of web sites, but this one has best pics)
Depending on your budget, you may find a villa with a share pool, or if your budget is substantial, you may be able to get a private pool.

Yes, generally rent is paid 1 year up front, (1 cheque) though you may find some people will take 2 payments (2 cheques)
Add to the price 5% agents fees.
DEWA (Dubai Electricity + Water ) send out monthly bills. 

Here are some high schools that I think have a US curriculum (K-12)
Universal American School- Dubai
Sharjah American International School (SAIS)- Sharjah
Raffles International School - Dubai
International Academic School - Dubai
Emirates International School (EIS)- Dubai (Jumeirah)
Dubai International School (DIS)- Dubai
Dubai American Academy (DAA) - Dubai
American School Dubai- Dubai
Al Mawakeb- Dubai
American Academy for Girls (Mizhar) - Dubai

As for universities 
American University Sharjah
American University -Dubai
University of Wollongon - Dubai
Dubai Womens College - Dubai


TV should be fine with correct converters
If furnished, I doubt it will include linen, and small kitchen items (it would usually include main living furniture, bedrooms, cooker, fridge etc)
To have linen etc, I believe it would need to be a serviced apartment/villa.

Are you bringing over your own maid ?
If not, tou will either need to sponsor one here. She would either have to live with you, or you need to include an extra amount to allow for her housing (which can be hard to find)
You can also use a maid service, which is approx 30 dhs per hour.
It is illegal to share maids with others or have a part time maid that isnt through an agency or isnt sponsored by you.

Will your driver be living with you/sponsored by you?

Hope this helps a little


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## Cara (Jun 14, 2008)

Thank you so much for your reply, VERY helpful!


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## Mayapatel (Apr 8, 2009)

*Indian Friends*

Hi I am moving to Dubai in August i have two children and wonder what the indian community is like in Dubai. I am gujarati and currently live in the UK. I would like to hear from any indians out there who may be in the same boat as me. Would love to make new friends when i come out.

Do indian festivals like Garba happen in Dubai, do they have bollywood films in cinema's:


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## flossie (Jun 9, 2008)

Mayapatel said:


> Hi I am moving to Dubai in August i have two children and wonder what the indian community is like in Dubai. I am gujarati and currently live in the UK. I would like to hear from any indians out there who may be in the same boat as me. Would love to make new friends when i come out.
> 
> Do indian festivals like Garba happen in Dubai, do they have bollywood films in cinema's:


There is a HUGE Indian community here. (My husband is half Indian, but we don't count ourselves as being part of the Indian community, though. He's definitely a Kiwi> ) My daughter hangs around in a group of girls and about half of them are Indian. I know that her Indian friends go to the cinema quite alot to watch hindi films and she also said that her friends all have their car radios tuned into stations that broadcast in Hindi. I am not sure where the festivals are celebrated, but I would bet my bottom dollar they are. (Excuse my ignorance, but what's the festival which has something to do with lights? I know that's celebrated here.)

I also know there is some sort of Indian association. Maybe do a search on the web? I will ask my daughter's friends where they go to celebrate. It might be just friends' houses, but I don't think you will have any problem at all meeting fellow Indians. 

BTW, the Indian food here is fabulous.


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## Mayapatel (Apr 8, 2009)

flossie said:


> There is a HUGE Indian community here. (My husband is half Indian, but we don't count ourselves as being part of the Indian community, though. He's definitely a Kiwi> ) My daughter hangs around in a group of girls and about half of them are Indian. I know that her Indian friends go to the cinema quite alot to watch hindi films and she also said that her friends all have their car radios tuned into stations that broadcast in Hindi. I am not sure where the festivals are celebrated, but I would bet my bottom dollar they are. (Excuse my ignorance, but what's the festival which has something to do with lights? I know that's celebrated here.)
> 
> I also know there is some sort of Indian association. Maybe do a search on the web? I will ask my daughter's friends where they go to celebrate. It might be just friends' houses, but I don't think you will have any problem at all meeting fellow Indians.
> 
> BTW, the Indian food here is fabulous.


Thank you. I feel much better now. The festivalof lights is Diwali, which is our Christmas


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## flossie (Jun 9, 2008)

Yes, that's the one. My daughter's friends all come to school with their eyes hanging out after Diwali. It sound beautiful. Might have to wrangle an invitation from a family next year.


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## manaj (Jun 7, 2009)

Hi Mayapatel & flossie, came across your thread - having done a search under 'indian'.

Maya, I guess you're joining hubby here in august?.
My trouble 'n' strife (wife) and 9yr old DD (we're Gujarati too!) joined me here recently from the UK. They both love it - what with the daily sunshine (getting hot now though and be more so when you're here in august!) and the countless indian vege restaurants - feels like Ealing Road Wembley but much better!.
So, yes, we're 'in the same boat as you will be', but no complaints yet, except the missus is starting to feel a bit 'unoccupied' - what with all the sudden newfound leisure time!.

Anyway's, we're now exploring dubai (at weekends anyway) and hope to hear from you, maybe meet up when you're here in august - how old are you kids?, boys or girls?

flossie is quite right about the indian films and hindi radio station - much better than Sunrise Radio, no embarrassing 'maasis' ringing in to wish their 'vala batas' sitting next to them 'happy bir-day to you'!

Hey flossie, no need to 'wrangle an invitation from a family next year', here's your invite to our 1st Diwali here in Dubai...


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## Mayapatel (Apr 8, 2009)

Hi
Thank you for replying. My children are 2 and 4. Good to hear from you. You will have to give us some tips on the best places to eat. I would love to meet up once I am there. I can imagine all the spare time. At the momment i don't even have any spare time so looking forward to that. May your wife and i can catch a bollywood film together.

I shall pass on my details to you once i arrive. Where abouts in Uk are you guys from and where are you staying.

Maya




manaj said:


> Hi Mayapatel & flossie, came across your thread - having done a search under 'indian'.
> 
> Maya, I guess you're joining hubby here in august?.
> My trouble 'n' strie (wife) and 9yr old DD (we're Gujarati too!) joined me here recently from the UK. They both love it - what with the daily sunshine (getting hot now though and be more so when you're here in august!) and the countless indian vege restaurants - feels like Ealing Road Wembley but much better!.
> ...


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## mayotom (Nov 8, 2008)

flossie said:


> Yes, that's the one. My daughter's friends all come to school with their eyes hanging out after Diwali. It sound beautiful. Might have to wrangle an invitation from a family next year.


 
there is a great buzz around Bur Dubai for Diwali


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## Dgupta (Jun 9, 2009)

*Moving to Dubai from the US*

Hello,

We are moving to Dubai from the US. I am planning to bring my car (Toyota Highlander) which is less than 10 months old. I do realize that cars are cheap in Dubai, however if I sell mine here in the US I will end up losing a lot. On the flip side, I checked that the dealership in Dubai (Al Futtaeim) does not sell the Highlander model. When I called them they mentioned that they can service a Highlander - I am in a bind as am not sure whether spares are available for a car that is not sold in the dealership. Can anyone please help?

Many Thanks!

DG


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## manaj (Jun 7, 2009)

Mayapatel said:


> Hi
> Thank you for replying. My children are 2 and 4. Good to hear from you. You will have to give us some tips on the best places to eat. I would love to meet up once I am there. I can imagine all the spare time. At the momment i don't even have any spare time so looking forward to that. May your wife and i can catch a bollywood film together.
> 
> I shall pass on my details to you once i arrive. Where abouts in Uk are you guys from and where are you staying.
> ...


Hi Maya

Yup, I'm sure my wife would be happy to meet up with you when you get here, she is still getting to know Dubai - does the daily school run for our daughter on Sheik zayed road, bit of a shock gauntlet driving here - be warned!

We're from London and now at JLT in Dubai opposite the Marina, and you?


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## mayotom (Nov 8, 2008)

Dgupta said:


> Hello,
> 
> We are moving to Dubai from the US. I am planning to bring my car (Toyota Highlander) which is less than 10 months old. I do realize that cars are cheap in Dubai, however if I sell mine here in the US I will end up losing a lot. On the flip side, I checked that the dealership in Dubai (Al Futtaeim) does not sell the Highlander model. When I called them they mentioned that they can service a Highlander - I am in a bind as am not sure whether spares are available for a car that is not sold in the dealership. Can anyone please help?
> 
> ...


somebody correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the highlander the same as some of the Land Cruiser models that are available here??

:ranger:


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## Mayapatel (Apr 8, 2009)

manaj said:


> Hi Maya
> 
> Yup, I'm sure my wife would be happy to meet up with you when you get here, she is still getting to know Dubai - does the daily school run for our daughter on Sheik zayed road, bit of a shock gauntlet driving here - be warned!
> 
> We're from London and now at JLT in Dubai opposite the Marina, and you?


My husband has just secured an apartment near the dubai Media City, don't think the Marina is too far from there. I am terrified about the school runs, well we haven't even got a school place yet, my husband is saying its an nightmare. What school does your girl go to.


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## manaj (Jun 7, 2009)

Mayapatel said:


> My husband has just secured an apartment near the dubai Media City, don't think the Marina is too far from there. I am terrified about the school runs, well we haven't even got a school place yet, my husband is saying its an nightmare. What school does your girl go to.


Hi Maya,

We're getting to know Dubai bit by bit - I think Media city is next to Marina and we're on opposite side of shek zayed rd. My wife rented a car, takes about 20mins to get to school - English College. She's also terrified driving here but no choice- had to get used to the daily 'gauntlet'.

The word on the street is that many expats are leaving end of this term, so I'd say put your name down on as many schools as you can. We found a number of uk curriculam schools clustured around jumeirah which is where ours is, roughly midway between media city and down town dubai. I found google earth/map a good starting point to get orientated around here.


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## Mayapatel (Apr 8, 2009)

Thanks. Yeah we done all the research, its just all the schools have long waiting lists. We are just having to wait until the term ends my husband is told. Yeah i have no choice will be doing school runs too. Cheers for all the advice




manaj said:


> Hi Maya,
> 
> We're getting to know Dubai bit by bit - I think Media city is next to Marina and we're on opposite side of shek zayed rd. My wife rented a car, takes about 20mins to get to school - English College. She's also terrified driving here but no choice- had to get used to the daily 'gauntlet'.
> 
> The word on the street is that many expats are leaving end of this term, so I'd say put your name down on as many schools as you can. We found a number of uk curriculam schools clustured around jumeirah which is where ours is, roughly midway between media city and down town dubai. I found google earth/map a good starting point to get orientated around here.


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## Mayapatel (Apr 8, 2009)

Hi i'm in need of some quick advice. We have now managed to secure an apartment in the Dubai meica city and the nightmare is still continuing regards the schools. My husband is looking to put a deposit down at some of the schools tommorrow, as at the moment we still don't have a place. Can someone help and advice of any good schools that would be near where i would be leaving. I am willing to drive a small distance if it means getting my daughter into a good school. Please help !


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## jackandjill (Jul 20, 2009)

*Moving to Dubia - Help Please*



Cara said:


> We are moving to Dubai this summer. We have lived in Saudi Arabia and have visited Dubai so we are somewhat familiar with the area but do have some questions.
> My husbands company is in Sharjah. Can anyone give me an idea as to housing within 15 miles of there? Jumierah? We would be looking for a minimum of 4 bedrooms and would prefer being on or close to the ocean or at minimum access to a pool on property. I believe the Palm Islands are going to be too far for his commute, is that correct? When renting in Dubai, what are the requirements as far as the length of the lease, is rent paid up front for a year or paid month by month? Same for utilities? We'll have the usual expat package, including rent, car, tuition and have a good handle on the amounts needed.
> 
> We have one child who will be in 11th grade next spring, are any of the "American" schools within that area? And is there typically a wait list or can we expect that he will be able to attend on time? Can anyone give me some insight about the various american international schools overall? Another daughter is going to be a freshman in college and will be with is in Dubai until next Springs semester, is there a university also in that area? If we decide to bring our flat screen TV with us, will we be able to use it with the right power converters? Will we have a choice of furnished and unfurnished housing options? If furnished does that include linens and kitchen items?
> ...




I have read many replies regarding moving to Dubia. May I ask a few question please, I assume for the long term Expats currently in Dubia the have read similar requests, so I apologies beforehand.

My husband and I are looking to relocate to Dubia. My husband has had initial contact with a company about moving to work in a hospital ? Dubia as a advanced paramedic practitioner with 20 years experience. He has been informed that the salary would be approximately 10K UAE Dirhams, with an additional Special Staff allowance of 1K and possibly a housing and transport allowance of 2700UAE Dirham, these are all monthly allowances.

We have a 8 year old boy who obviously would accompany us.

Is this salary and add on's suffice to procure good accn, living etc?

Is this salary suffice for someone of his experience?

Schooling what would the standard fee be monthly?

I have a hundred and one questions, however would like to obtain the basic information prior to committing to such a big step.

Once again I apologise for asking questions that haave probably been asked thousands of time, but I am sure you can understand, lack of knowledge is frightening.

Many thanks Doreen


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## manaj (Jun 7, 2009)

Mayapatel said:


> Hi i'm in need of some quick advice. We have now managed to secure an apartment in the Dubai meica city and the nightmare is still continuing regards the schools. My husband is looking to put a deposit down at some of the schools tommorrow, as at the moment we still don't have a place. Can someone help and advice of any good schools that would be near where i would be leaving. I am willing to drive a small distance if it means getting my daughter into a good school. Please help !


Hi Maya,

We commu't a while back, sorry if following is not much more help but here's my tuppence worth...

There is currently a huge 'unknown' regarding expats, namely a persistent rumour that a 'large proportion' will depart during the summer due to the downturn, and if true than there should be a subsequent increase in availability of school places. No one really knows. Nevertheless your husband would/should(?) have already put down names before schools closed for the summer. He could try visiting them and see if open to take registrations. As it happens even the start date of new school year is uncertain (unless someone here can shed light on this?) due to some schools (govt) set to start after ramadan and others (int'l private) left to decide for themselves.


Regarding location, I assume you mean you will be in Dubai media city, in which case if my geog is right then the nearest good school would be Dubai College

All the best


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## manaj (Jun 7, 2009)

jackandjill said:


> I have read many replies regarding moving to Dubia. May I ask a few question please, I assume for the long term Expats currently in Dubia the have read similar requests, so I apologies beforehand.
> 
> My husband and I are looking to relocate to Dubia. My husband has had initial contact with a company about moving to work in a hospital ? Dubia as a advanced paramedic practitioner with 20 years experience. He has been informed that the salary would be approximately 10K UAE Dirhams, with an additional Special Staff allowance of 1K and possibly a housing and transport allowance of 2700UAE Dirham, these are all monthly allowances.
> 
> ...


Hi Jackandjill,

IMHO (In My Honest Opinion) a 10k salary/m + 'possibly' 2.5k/m for travel/housing is not really sufficient, even with the recent sever drop in rentals - I presume you would be looking to rent a 2bed apartment, currently down to around 100k/yr in half decent expat locations, means 8.5k/m

Is this salary and add on's suffice to procure good accn, living etc? - NOT IMHO

Is this salary suffice for someone of his experience? - NOT IMHO

Schooling what would the standard fee be monthly? - 40k/yr, say just over 3K/month.

Sorry to be pessimistic, but seems the company is trying to get on the cheap what with the downturn.


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## judicious (Oct 22, 2008)

manaj said:


> Hi Jackandjill,
> 
> IMHO (In My Honest Opinion) a 10k salary/m + 'possibly' 2.5k/m for travel/housing is not really sufficient, even with the recent sever drop in rentals - I presume you would be looking to rent a 2bed apartment, currently down to around 100k/yr in half decent expat locations, means 8.5k/m
> 
> ...


There are two bedroom apartments going for a lot cheaper than 100k/year at the moment in many areas of Dubai e.g. Dubai Marina & JLT.


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## studmed (Jul 18, 2009)

*medicine student*

I study medicine. just finished my 5.th year. I live in Denmark. 
I was woundering if it is at all possible for me to get a clerkship at an university hospital in Dubai or Abu dhabi. jus for a mounth or so. 

If someone in here study medicine or is a docter in UAI hope you can help me


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

studmed said:


> I study medicine. just finished my 5.th year. I live in Denmark.
> I was woundering if it is at all possible for me to get a clerkship at an university hospital in Dubai or Abu dhabi. jus for a mounth or so.
> 
> If someone in here study medicine or is a docter in UAI hope you can help me


Due to the cost of even temporary employment visas it is unlikley that you would be offered anything for such a short period.

I suggest however that you have a look on the Healthcare City website as there are numerous hospitals and medical facilites in that area that you could approach.

-


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