pinebluffvariant

Hello residents of Dubai,

I am finally making the move after almost 6 months of my role being available then unavailable and then available again!

I am arriving in Dubai late on Sunday 24th Feb and picking up my work visa and rental car from the airport. I will be in Dubai until Sat 1st morning. I now have an international driving permit and understand this will be enough to rent the car. I then plan to drive from the airport to the hotel MiNC Waterfront Hotel Apartments off Khalid Bin Walid Road which is about 10km (hopefully no traffic at night!). I have printed some street views off google maps which I hope will be enough to get me to the hotel (where can i find route finder instructions for Dubai?). The hotel was the cheapest I could find that was close to DIC (£146/night compared to £200 plus PLUS - though the company is paying).

The next day I am planning to meet up with an agent from Parkvale (Liane was reccomended from here) to go apartment hunting around Dubai.

In the week I am there I need to:

-Secure a apartment to rent
-Open a HSBC bank account locally (and later a offshore account in the channel islands)
-Secure a UAE driving license
-Maybe if I have time go car hunting

Company is taking care of medical.

I will then be returning back the UK on the 1st March for a couple of weeks and then jetsetting back to Dubai.

Am I forgetting anything? Any advice reccomendations?

God bless you all you helpful helpful people!

Cheers yall!!

nudda

Glad its working out well for you. Can I ask who you applied to get the job and which sector its in?

I hope I can write such a thread soon !!!!

Thanks and good luck !

pinebluffvariant

Hello my friend, this is an internal company transfer in the area of IT software consultancy, so I already had a foot in the door very luckily for me.

I can imagine it must be daunting looking from scratch but all the best to you.

Inselaffen

you cannot open a local bank account or get your driving licence until you have your residence permit. so forget those two.

by the way many people wont know where you are talking about if you mention Khalid Bin Walid Road. Its known locally as Bank Street.

good luck with the move

pinebluffvariant

Thanks for the advice - more time for sun and sand then! I cannot find such a road either on google maps and was wondering why. That explains it.

Confucius

That's where you're wrong, my advocate friend...
Anyone on visit visa can have a bank account,but, a savings account...You can only get a current account and a check book if you're a resident...

Inselaffen

but a savings account will not be what a new resident here is after!

Confucius

What???A new resident wants to give out dud cheques left and right???Is that it???

Inselaffen

of course. why else move here?

Confucius

You only get the priviledge to abuse once you get your residency...

pinebluffvariant

It is true - why deny it, this has always been my ambition - many a worthless chequebook has been soaked in my wet dreams about this...

Am I likely to have much trouble driving from Dubai airport to bank street late at night?

Confucius

It's preferable to rob banks during daylight...

pinebluffvariant

I figure local police will all be asleep by then seeing as they need to be up early for mandatory morning prayers...

Confucius

The lew never sleeps...

Inselaffen

no traffic shouldnt be a problem.