al dente

If your wife wants convenience as she doesn't drive, go to WTC. You can then walk to work for 6 months of the year.

What about Khalidiya village, as a compound? Or Karama? Taxis are easy to order and she will want to make friends and have other friends with babies. Making friends will be very important to her. Though i did laugh that one end of the corniche is isolated!

dominoman

The fact that WTC has the mall at the base that you can get to is a benefit I hadn't thought of much. But given wife will have baby at home it would be great for her in Summer to be able to take it out of the flat without going into the heat.

Shirley - When I went to the St Regis on Saadiyat there were lots of people around. There is also a waiting list for flats there I've been told. My company has one on the books and people are fighting over who gets it.

I've also had a look at slightly older buildings (only old by Abu Dhabi standards). Raha building on the Corniche is minutes from the WTC, has enormous balconies, and you can get a large 3 bedroom plus maid's room apartment for 100k AED. The savings compared to WTC would pay for a lot of brunches and nice holidays...

weasel decentral

it's simply chokkers with riff raff darling

Millhouse

Indeed, it sounds awful.

I bet they eat normal Kale and not the organic variety.

scrubbedexpat141

I tried mache the other day, or some variety of. Delightful alongside the frittata.

dominoman

Given the choice, and with wife plus baby on the way, would you go for:

- A 2 bed + maid flat in a great building in a great location

or

- Get more space and an extra bedroom but in a building we don't like quite so much?

Wife will want to go back to work in a year or so so we'd then need a maid, meaning we would then no longer have a guest room.

So the choice is do we go with what we want now and then upgrade in future, or do we future proof ourselves for the next 2-3 years by going bigger now?

What would you do?

DXBtoDOH

Reality: wife decides not to go back to work and that you're all much better off in a villa in Khalifa City.

Get the 2-bed+maid's in a better building because that'll make you happier on a day to day basis. If you need an extra room for visitors from out of town, book a hotel. Or put the baby in your room for the duration.

scrubbedexpat141

Save the cash now, get the 2bed.
What's the point in paying for empty bedrooms?

I refuse to pay for a 2-bed just so people can come and visit and have a bedroom for nothing. They can have an airbed.

Sadly it puts few off.

Millhouse

I have a spare room and a maids room

Millhouse

stop being so logical, go with the heart and get something you want. Nothing worse than an unhappy mum in the house. You won't even notice a few thousand dirhams in rent over the course of the year.

you'll probably move anyway after a year or two when you really know where you want/need to live.

scrubbedexpat141

Good for you. We thought about a two bed in the same tower this year, but for an extra 30-40,000 a year what's the point? I'd rather have the money.

Millhouse

is it really that much more though? I reckon I'm paying 20k more.... humm, actually that does sound like a lot.

Still, need to store all the crap somewhere.

scrubbedexpat141

Yeah, pretty much. Ours is 103k at the moment, 2beds are 135-155 on Dubizzle so assume that means 130-140ish. Mate just moved and got one for 135k.

It is and it isn't. Part of me thinks 'just do it' but another can't justify the extra cost for another bedroom for no real reason. The mate that's just moved was in an identical 1-bed to us. Square footage has only gone up slightly so he's sacrificing half a nice kitchen, a whole balcony and a big chunk of another balcony for another bedroom.

Millhouse

Agree - that makes no sense, no point in paying more to lose.

I'm in a two bed, mostly as I find the one beds just too small, I prefer the two + store /maids rooms as I like space - one beds in my building are tiny.

scrubbedexpat141

Ah, I would be the same if not where we are. Exec Towers 1 beds are big, we're about 1500 sq ft and two balconies. Massive storage cupboard / washing machine room.

I couldn't live in a 1 bed with a washing machine in the kitchen for example. It would drive me bananas.