# cost of renting for family in Sharjah. help please



## mpdav1

hello all, 

This is a great site and my first post. I hope the wonderful expat community can help my wife and I make a very big decision. I am considering accepting a position that offers 25000 AED housing allowance. We would need to rent a 3 bedroom fully furnished appartment which will obsiously cost alot more. 

The children would go to the Australian International school in Sharjah and we would like to live as close as posible to here. 

The question is, how much can I expect to pay for a fully furnished appartment in this area? Any feedback is welcomed. We are an Australian family and would be seeking modern accommodation but nothing too lavish. I think the most we could afford would be 75000 AED. Is this realistic?

Regards
mpdav


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## TallyHo

Is it realistic to find a 3-bedroom flat for under 75,000 in Sharjah?

Sure.

Will you like it?

We can't tell you that.

What we can tell you is that there isn't a big western expat presence in Sharjah. Sharjah is not a popular place to live for a variety of reasons. 

I don't know any of your circumstances and what the Sharjah job offers you, but I'd have to be pretty desperate to accept a job that only offers a 25,000K housing allowance, requiring me to live in Sharjah. This may sound snobby, but this sentiment is based on the practical realities of life in the UAE. The lower the income, the fewer the advantages are for moving to the UAE versus remaining in an established Western country like Australia. 



mpdav1 said:


> hello all,
> 
> This is a great site and my first post. I hope the wonderful expat community can help my wife and I make a very big decision. I am considering accepting a position that offers 25000 AED housing allowance. We would need to rent a 3 bedroom fully furnished appartment which will obsiously cost alot more.
> 
> The children would go to the Australian International school in Sharjah and we would like to live as close as posible to here.
> 
> The question is, how much can I expect to pay for a fully furnished appartment in this area? Any feedback is welcomed. We are an Australian family and would be seeking modern accommodation but nothing too lavish. I think the most we could afford would be 75000 AED. Is this realistic?
> 
> Regards
> mpdav


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## mpdav1

Thanks TallyHo for your thoughts. 

We are truely blessed to call Australia home. We are interested in moving to sharjah for a couple of years to experience the arab environment and expose out children to this part of the world and all that goes with it and then we would return home. I agree the allowance is very small, but all the other conditions appear to make up for it. The additional costs of housing would be the only turn off. 

I have read a lot about the many pros and cons of living in sharjah v living in dubai and I think I understand where you are coming from. I don't really want to get into a discussion on those issues but I respect your opinion.

In addition to peoples thoughts on cost of renting, I would like to hear about places in sharjah that are close to the AIS school. Where should I be looking? 

Thanks again


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## Canuck_Sens

Hi,

I like your attitude. Don't let ppl put you down. Not all expats like to live in "western" places. Every neighbourhood has its thing going on and ecosystem to support it.

Sharjah is considerably cheaper so you will find places to rent, but as you said it is far more expensive furnished. One option is to look for hotel apartments since they do rentals too. I lived for awhile in a hotel apartment in Sharjah but the price is salty if you dont have a good allowance.

on the other hand if you decide for a not furnished place You can always knock yourself out in ikea or else for furniture or buy second hand stuff. Several expats leave after working couple of years and sell their stuff online still new in sites like dubizzle.com

See if your employment contract is covering tuition fees for your children. I guess you have already looked into that!

Good luck


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## piluooo

Hi, 

This is a great site and my first post. 
I hope the wonderful expat community can help my wife and I make a very big decision.

My queries are:

1.	What are the minimum monthly rentals for a 2 bedroom fully furnished apartment in Sharjah?
2.	What is the average time of commute between Sharjah and Dubai?
3.	Does the commute between Sharjah and Dubai also involve paying of any toll taxes? 

Thanks in advance.

Regards


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