Mcavennie

Me and my husband are making the move over to Dubai in early April for his job which will be based at the Marina. I'll be looking for work once out there but ideally would like to be based somewhere near the metro line.

We'll be looking at a 2 bed apartment with either a study/maid's room and top budget would be AED 120,000.

After looking at Dubizzle we're leaning towards Al Barsha as it seems you get more for your money then looking somewhere like the Marina itself, but if anyone has any other suggestions I'd really appreciate it.

Millhouse

Not the marina.

Business bay would be my choice.

I know a cracking 2+large maid for,125. 2 parking too.

DXBtoDOH

If he works in the Marina might as well live in the Marina. Commute time down to zip. Why argue with that?

You will get more for your money in JLT, which is just across SZR from the Marina and depending on where husband works and your tower is, can be walkable.

Al Barsha 1 is an odd area. Out of place in New Dubai. If you haven't seen it, then you won't know what I mean. Apartments are very basic and some blocks are downright filthy (I was once in possibly the shittiest apartment building in Barsha and I saw three cockroaches while walking from the elevator to the apartment I was visiting....)

There's a reason why it's not popular with Western expats although if you find a clean enough apartment you'll be just fine and dandy.

The other area with lots of apartments within your budget would be SZR near DIFC. Several metro stops. 25 minutes by metro to the Marina.

Business Bay isn't that handy for the metro unless you're in Executive Towers directly opposite the metro stop.

scrubbedexpat141

120 gets a 1 bed in the Marina.

JLT is your best bet.
Business Bay you will get a 2 bed for that, which is an easy commute in the morning but boring at night.

Metro is shit. It connects nothing to nowhere.

DXBtoDOH

Are you being ironic?

I took a look at propertyfinder and there's a bunch of 2-bedders in the Marina for 120 and just under. Torch, Pinnacle, Marina Crown, Time Place, even La Riviera.

scrubbedexpat141

Wow, I'm amazed. I've got mates paying not far off that for a 1 bed. Thought it was still lumpy.

No, not being ironic. You mentioned Exec Towers but it's a solid 8-10min walk from Exec Towers, not very enjoyable in summer. Unless you live that side of the marina in Horizon Tower you're looking at a sweaty walk as well, or a ride on the slowest tram on earth.

The Metro's OK but it's hardly convenient.

DXBtoDOH

If you work by a metro stop and live by a metro stop, and many do, it's very convenient. I take the metro all the time, especially if I go to Deira. Sometimes even out to Dubai Marina as it's only an extra 10 minutes compared to taxi and only for 3-5 AED compared to 40 AED. I know a few Westerners who take the metro all the time and rarely bother with taxis. Plenty take metro to DIFC from Marina / JLT as part of regular commute.

8-10 min walk is nothing even in the heat of the summer. I did it all the time. Barely broke a sweat. Your body adjusts if you do it regularly.

Fair enough, it's not comprehensive like the underground or Paris's metro but it's much better than not having a system at all.

scrubbedexpat141

Good for you and those who see the inconvenience of it as a good thing.

I've got it to and from work when I was in JLT a few times when car in service, was fine, but the commute in the morning was longer and in the evening similar.

What I really want to do is get the water taxi thing from the new canal to the marina.

DXBtoDOH

Don't be a smarmy fat arse western expat. It's a lifesaver for most people who use it, who are people who cannot afford to have a car of their own. It's far quicker than taking a bus would be. In the days before metro people used to commute via fleets of private minibuses who were often driven by horrendous Indian drivers cutting off people at top speed and accidents were way too common.

For those of us better off, the metro provides options and can be convenient if you organise your life around it - live and work by a metro stop. I'd rather take the metro from Marina to DIFC and read a book and relax whilst surfing on the mobile than deal with the traffic jams and parking.

It's not for everyone, but as mentioned, don't be an arse and blow it off as inconvenient when that's really not the case at all.

scrubbedexpat141

**** me.

Call me whatever you like, make me sound like some sort of ignorant Western ****, I honestly don't give a monkeys. That won't change the very, very simple fact you're ignoring; it's not convenient unless whatever you are going to is within a very short walk from the station.

IKnowNothing

Get a bus - after all, we all do/did do that in London.

(And you do sound like a jumped up arse).

DXBtoDOH

Sorry mate, but you're just perpetuating the stereotype of the ignorant western expat blowing off public transit in Dubai.

Metro can be quicker even if there's a 15 walk afterwards compared to sitting in traffic, whether car or taxi. Tell me which is quicker in evening rush hour, Marina to BurJuman: metro or car? Hmm.....? (as my director used to take this route all the time he can confirm metro is the way to go - gold class, of course).

And definitions of convenience vary. For some, the trade off of more time on the commute in exchange for the leisure of not having to drive or hunt for parking is the convenience. Convenience is not necessarily always the quickest point from A to B. Metro is an asset. Just because you don't need to use it doesn't mean it still isn't convenient to the masses who take it daily.

Millhouse

I used to like the bus in london.

Never took the tube, I value my eyes/lungs too much. Always the bus.

DXBtoDOH

Cheaper too

scrubbedexpat141

I used to get the bus in London. Never got one here, wouldn't even know where to start.

Don't care, I'm clearly not intending to demean the use of the metro by those who rely on or require it. I was merely making a very valid and simple point. Comprehension of that isn't my responsibility.

I've said 'The Metro's OK but it's hardly convenient' and you've gone loopy acting like Martin Poppins. Quite why such an angry response was needed is beyond me.

It's not convenient when it involves 20mins of walking and getting hot and sweaty in the summer. Changing the meaning of convenience doesn't really work either.