Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

Hi,

Having been offer a job in Sharjah, I am considering moving the wife and kids out with me rather than going it alone.
Can anyone offer advise on the best locations in DXB to rent(not Sharjah)?
Would prefer expat community location close to parks & schools as I have 3 young children, one of which will start school in Sept.
Am looking for a furnished 3 bed villa and my budget is approx. 170,000AED pa.

Thanks for any help.

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

Al Mirdif?

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

It really depends how far into Dubai you are willing to come, Sharjah is not that far in mileage & from my knowledge about traffic to & from Sharjah in the rush hour (which is little) you should be ok as most people commute the other way round " sharjah - dubai not dubai - sharjah " If you want the expat community vibe i suggest meadows, springs, lakes, or the green community. All of these areas are next to each other & it has a nice community feel BUT if your budget was bigger you could always look at Palm Jumeirah or Emirates Hills, Arabian Ranches is nice but 15-20 drive out of town.

I suggest looking at websites like Better Homes, good luck

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

just a little bit of advice, betterhomes are still doing the "there's f**k all wrong with the property market" thing and their prices dont really reflect the price decrease, perhaps dubizzle or something similar might be a better option

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

Mirdif or Mizhar :)

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

Thanks guys for your replies all very helpful.

A couple of other questions which you might be able to answer, if you dont mind...

The package I've been offered is accommodation and vehicle provided and a monthly salary of approx. 13,000 AED. I'm trying to negotiate a contribution to school fees as I have 3 children, 1 will start school in Sept, the other 2 won't for another 2 years yet though.

Q: Will I be able to live a normal, comfort life in DXB with this package?

Q: How much would Water/Electricity cost on a 3 bed Villa and are there any
other utilities/service bills I would need to consider/pay?

Thanks again,

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

Not very expat community

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

WAIT. Do not take the job. You need to do some serious research before taking this offer. I may be wrong but I have not heard about any one with 13K AED per month living in a 3 bedroom Villa. DEWA (water+electricity) could take anything between 200AED (winter) and 2000AED (summer) for a 3 bedroom villa. School fees will be between 12K-25K per year per child.

You also pay some sort of council tax (5% of the rent per year).

If you are adding... I do not think you will make it with 13K AED and 3 kids.

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

they've got 170k housing allowance on top of that salary...so it could be doable if they get the school fees paid for, but they won't be flash with cash...

MM, xx

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

I read that... but he will really need to get school fees, health insurance, air tickets, and on top of that keep the AC to the minimum and water the garden only now and then. He could save some of his housing allowance but with 3 kids you cannot go with less than 3 bedroom and how much that would cost him in Mirdif? Minimum 140K?

Yes, it is doable... somehow.

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

just re read your posts, you won't get a furnished villa anywhere for 170,000 AED, and you definately won't be able to manage on 13k a month, no chance.

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

Hi Guys,

DXB sounds so expensive to live :(
Here in the UK I'm Currently paying on a mortgage and running 2 cars (which I wont have in pay for in DXB), after all my other utilities/food bills etc the equivalent salary here in the UK would leave me with have about 4000AED a month free! making for a quite comfortable life.
I appreciate school fees are expensive compare to free in the UK, but that aside is the cost of living in DXB that much greater than the UK?

If so I may need to seriously reconsider my options.

Thanks again for your advise.

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

are they giving you any allowance towards school fees? you will need two cars here as well.

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

Yea Paul DXB there are not many expats living in mirdif right enough.

You've never been there yea?

Re: Advise on Where best to live in UAE/Dubai
 

we are thinking of moving to Mizhar ;)