Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

So I'm trying to do some diggin' on which are the areas to go for in Dubai and so far I've been recommended:

• Dubai Marina
• JBR(Jumierah Beach Residence)
• JLT(Jumierah Lake Towers)
• Dubai Greens
• Emirate Hills and Springs

Was wondering if anyone could give me a bit more info on each (demographic, housing costs, photos, nightlife etc etc etc).

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Have a start by reading the wiki and searching out past threads, quite a lot of those areas have been talked about as well as the social life and cost of living.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

It will all depend on ....

Do you have a family

How much your housing allowance is (if you have 1)

Where you work.

Where you manage to get your children into school ( if you have them)

As Bob said..do a bit of searching. :)

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

My personal circumstances aside, I thought it might be handy to have a central repository for all this info so people can just hit the one article with maybe a para on each area within Dubai without having to trawl through the other articles just to get a snapsot. Once they've read that article, they could then start doing some research on the area they are interested in. I wasn't trying to be lazy and avoid searching the forums :), I thought it'd be genuinely useful to have a little guide on each area as a starting point for people like myself.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

is this enough information? :p

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

JBR is the strip of high-rise (35-40 stories) between the Marina and the beach, on the other side of the road is the Marina, sandwiched between JBR and SZR and JLT is directly on the other side of SZR - the poor man's Marina! lol

Seriously though, everywhere's within walking distance, so it all depends what accommodation tickles your fancy.

JBR is huge (40-odd towers that all look alike) and some would say sterile, although it has a very distinct community and obviously the shops and restaurants of The Walk.

The buildings within the Marina are varied - age, facilities, price... and they're gradually filling in the gaps of individual plots. It's come on a lot in the last 3 years, with the marina-side walk being completed and shops gradually filling up the ground-level mixed use units.

JLT is a bit wierd and the price is lower in proportion. It's formed in clusters of 3 towers that are build on very obvious multi-story car parks (most towers are, but at least most hide them) and it's an absolute nightmare to get around by walking unless you know how to get there. I once got stuck in a huge loop because they'd put multi-level barriers to prevent me crossing the road. a 20 minute walk ensued just to get to the other side of the road. One was not amused. It's still an area very much under construction, but tbh, I doubt it'll be finished any time soon.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Succinct.

Don't suppose you feel like elaborating? You obviously know your stuff as you seem to be the most regular user on here but I'm guessing you have either a hatred for these area or me? Profuse apologies of my line of questioning has displeased you.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

That's really useful. Thanks for the advice.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

np - I lived in JBR when we first arrived and then moved to the Marina. I actually really like the area, unlike the Truman Show style villas of Meadows/ Springs et al.

Basically, within the Marina area, you have really good bus and metro links, a mall, more restaurants than you can shake a stick at, a good number of licensed bars, hotels, supermarkets, an inordinate number of beauty salons, gyms, doctors, dentists and nurseries. It's actually so close and complete that I haven't really needed a car in the last 3 years to go about my daily business - a taxi will magically appear within a minute (ok, max 3 minutes) of stepping towards the curb. I take public transport to drop the kids off at nursery and can get to any of the malls (should I want to!) by metro.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Well the Marina definitely sounds like the top choice at the mo, the only thing it doesn't seem to offer (and I'm hankering after) is high rise living. If money allowed I'd be at the top of Burj Khalifa. Perhaps JBR would be a good compromise of high rise and still in good proximity to the local amenities in the Marina. You mention SZR but I'm not sure where/what that is.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Errrrr.....................

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

I happily stand corrected. I thought JBR was highrise and the Marina was low rise. I guess I'll find all of this out when I actually get to see the city. It seems crazy thinking about it that I've accepted a job there without having been.

Exciting times ahead!

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

gosh, yeah... lol!

there are some "low rise" at 10-odd stories, JBR being the 40-odd stories and then some brand spanking new super-highrises that are up to 110 stories. Most of the buildings are between 20-35.

The only thing is, yes, in principle it's great fun, but I used to live on the 35th in JBR and when you come to realise that they don't do fire-alarm checks, no-one's got a clue how to evacuate the building properly, that the security guards really couldn't give a fig and that cracks start appearing under the downstand beams because of poor build-quality, you start reassessing if you actually want to live there (as well as waking up at night to formulate a mental list of what to do in order to get you and your family to safety).

SZR is Sheikh Zayed Road - the main 8/10 lane motorway that goes the length of Dubai

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Crickey, that sounds a little disconcerting. I've got 3 weeks in a hotel room when I get out there so hopefully this'll give me an opportunity to have a scout around, just interested to get peoples opinions before I fly out. I don't suppose there's a regular British meet up anywhere? I won't know a soul out there and it'd be good to meet some peeps outside of work.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

this place is so difficult to describe tbh... and you can look on the Intarwebz and find the sales pitches for each of the buildings which is quite a hilarious read given how far from reality they often are. My building apparently boasts Dubai's only residential waterpark (a kids pool with ok, a pretty awesome waterjet feature), on-site childcare with fully-qualified staff (a large room with an old trampoline, a plastic slide, a wendy house and no staff) and is set in lush,landscaped grounds (a few sad-looking stunted trees in large pots).

Basically, you have to see it and experience it to decide if you like a particular place. Maybe the security guards will make or break it for you, maybe 2 out of the 3 lifts will be broken when you get to an otherwise super place... who knows. I came over adamant that I wouldn't live in anything but a villa with a garden, saw what we could afford and ended up on the 35th floor!

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

I'll add to that, I live on the 1st floor of a tower in JBR; one facing the beach. It's an amazing view; horrific noise whenever there's a holiday.

Still, if there was a fire, at least I can easily get to the floor via my balcony. :D

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

I have it on good authority (only one position removed from the source) that a decent 2-bed apartment can be had for 140k. High-quality fittings, walk-in wardrobes, gym, tennis courts, pool, tenants' private observation deck, and rather more security than you can shake a stick at. Apparently the landlord of the apartment I've been told about was asking 200; the prospective tenant only had a budget of 140 and said that was all he could afford, and the landlord accepted. And apparently the landlord foots a 100k pa maintenance/security bill.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Sounds great but I'm after something on a monthly/quarterly basis initially. Don't wanna tie myself into a year and then find I hate the place : )

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Unless you go for a short term hotel-apartment deal; you will be tied into a year lease. I think there is normally a 2 month-notice get out clause, but the liklihood of getting your 5% (of annual rent) deposit back are unlikely if you cut short the lease IMO.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

The other alternative is to rent a room in an apartment for a while, you will pay monthly and not have the hassle of deposits etc. that way if you don't like where you are you can just move to another flat..look on Dubizzle

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Maybe you've not realised, but JBR is part of the broader marina development.

It goes very generally like this, in lines drawn from the sea inland:

----Sea----
---Beach---
Beach hotels
"The Walk"
----JBR----
----Road----
Other Marina developments
The Marina (the wet bit)
Marina developments (including the original towers) + Marina Mall + Metro station entrances
----Road----
LARGE DROP (eek)
----SZR (Highway)----
Road and Metro stations
----JLT----

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Ah right, that's quite useful. I hear a lot of people talk about "The Walk". What is it?

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

A cobbled road along the edge of the beach with restaurants, cafes and expensive shops. Very very busy at weekends.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

As Typical mentioned.

It seems more popular with non-western expats. The restaurants are mostly chains, mostly overpriced, but the atmosphere can be great if you like dining al fresco during the more pleasant months.

The restaurants at Souk Al Bahar and Dubai Mall with outdoor seating are better than the restaurants on the Walk.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

I challenge that. Go to BurgerFuel. Fantastic.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Or the Butcher Shop and Grill - if it's as good as it was when I last went two years ago.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

The closest Burger Fuel is in Al Khobar.

The best restaurant burger I ever had was at Five Guys in DC.

Funny story: at my first barbecue in Dubai, which was hosted by a bunch of Saffers, I turned up with burgers and buns.

They still won't let me forget it.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Dubai doesn't stand still without you. There is now one on the walk.

... and yes, Butcher's Shop still does a good burger but I was more taken back by the beetroot in the Burger Fuel one.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

It's the closest burger fuel to me.

But I imagine it's cheaper to get to Dubai and much less of a hassle. I'll be in the city sometime in November. Will let you know it it went.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Is this the same chain as the South African ones? If so, I'm getting myself down there asap.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

It's franchised, but yes.

Re: Dubai areas, a breakdown
 

Hi All,

I am moving to Dubai in January, I am keen to rent a two bedroom apartment in Marina. I have arou 80,000 AED to spend. Any recommendations would be great as there is so many apartments.

Also, can someone please advise how long it would take to get from Marina to Businee Bay in peak hour traffic?

Thanks :)