lanarkwitch

Having dodged the Doha bullet we're now moving from AD to Dubai, beginning of December time.

Currently we spend 180k on a 2 bedder on AD Corniche, just me and Mr Lanark, no little Lanarks to worry about.

Question is what to do about accommodation in Dubai,there seems to be a vast number of options, and we really want to save some cash on housing which definitely seems doable.

Initial thoughts were a 2 bedder in the Springs or similar, but as I may have mentioned before we do like our nights/early mornings out now and then. Then we thought the Marina, apparently there are at least 40 bars there, but then I heard about 39 on them are full of poncy wannabees so really not up our street at all.

I have one maybe 2 weekends to get this sorted out, he'll have to drive back to AD for a month or 2 then his new job will be close to the old Metropolitan site, where should I look that is fairly close to some decent bars/nightlife and is reasonably priced?

Bahtatboy

I'm in (well, just off) Marina. I've yet to find any bar I really like in Dubai that isn't a dive. The few I've been to round Marina are either dull or poncy, but given the number of hotels here there must be a few decent ones, surely.

Marina's a "nice" place to be--walk around in the afternoon and evening and its difficult not to believe you're on holiday. You may have to travel for a bit for a decent bar, but the upsides are good.

Patsy Stoned

Have a look in the Downtown/business bay area. lots of nice bars and restaurants in the area. Walking distance to the Dubai Mall and the right end of town for your husband's work. Or if that is too pricey try the Tecom/Al Barsha area.

LooPtruy

good luck!

Fizzy_Bear

There are lots of popular towers in Downtown. Take a look at Executive Towers or South Ridge. Your husband will have a short commute from there. Old Town itself is really nice but I find the apartments a bit on the small side. You will have Dubai Mall, the fountains, Burj Khalifa on your doorstep but it gets very busy with tourists and I find the traffic a nightmare at weekends.

However if you want the Marina end of town, he will be travelling against the traffic. I work near his location and it takes me about 20 minutes to get to work from the Marina end of town. There are lots of great towers in the Marina and it is nice to stroll around there at the weekends and you are close to plenty of bars.

Stay away from a 2 bed in the Springs. They are tiny.

Good luck with your move!

mission

i live in the marina and i personally think the bars and restaurants are great....most places are walking distance within the marina, otherwise cabs are always readily available. My only issue with some of the bars in the marina is they can be full for rude ass, obnoxious and drunk brits - most of these tend to congregate in Barasati (which for me is the worse bar in dubai) and thats probably because the booze is pretty cheap there compared to other bars.

lanarkwitch

Thanks FB, that really useful info on the towers and travel time, it was a worry with the marina as we've heard some horror stories about getting in and out at busy times, he tends to need to be at work by 7am and is generally finishing up around 5pm so I think he might avoid any bottlenecks there.

We are interested in the Downtown area as well as a friend of his had mentioned it might be a good choice. Problem is when you look on Dubizzle it either shows you pictures that couldn't be less helpful (inside of shower cubicles??) and as we all know half of what is on there doesn't exist either.

We're gonna head down next weekend when he's off and have a bit of a look round to try and get a feel for it

Bahtatboy

Here what you're saying about traffic. It was a major consideration for me, too (driving back and forth to AD most days). I see horrendous queues in the evening into Disco, but I'm sort of opposite Barasti and access to/from J32 is never more than a few minutes.

Millhouse

Here is a curveball... motorcity

Big apartments, cheap as chips, not too busy and a reasonable selection of restaurants below. No bars though and a little bit 'out'... close to the polo club though for a quiet beer.

Greenways

Hi lanarkwitch
My husband and I (no kids here) live in the marina and really like it. We like the accessibly of pubs, cafes and restaurants. I work in healthcare city (near waafi) and it takes me 30 minutes to get to work, as someone else has said you are going against the traffic.

We looked at springs, but decided that a garden didn't make up for the atmosphere here.

Where ever you end up I'm sure it will be fine.

mikewot

Didn't I bump into you in Barasti?