shake2000

Hello All!

In preparation of our move in August, we have been looking at schools as they seem to be biggest headache when people land. Luckily (or not) we have been successful in getting our daughter in to GEMS First Point at the Villa.
We were initially thinking of targeting Villas at Silicon Oasis but have recently come across Dubai land - The Villa community which might be within our budget. Yayy...?
I will be working in DIFC and and am hoping for some feedback on The Villa community. Our budget is between 150-180K. I do not mind the 20 min drive in to the city for work, with 2 kids, we will need our space. I am also hoping with school being next door, this will save the Mrs some time as well.

Thank you in advance, look forward to hearing back.

UKMS

We initially looked there because the properties on the face of it seemed excellent value for money, however we soon crossed it off the list as we felt the community was quite isolated. We settled on Arabian Ranches 2 and are very happy !

Speaking with agents who were honest they agreed that this was the biggest criticism from potential tenants and the sole reason properties are so cheap.

shake2000

Thank you for the honest feedback.

Our dilemma is space, schooling and location of my office with the budget constraint. I don't want to be driving 50 mins every morning in traffic and would rather do 25 with acceptable traffic plus the morning school run for my wife.
Is a 20 minute drive really so bad or am I missing anything? We're moving from Toronto where anything decent is at least a 45 minute commute if you're working downtown.

To be honest we like the layout and space in the pictures, then again, they are just pictures.

UKMS

Looking at your route to work, you may find that real world it could take you a fair bit longer than 20 min but if you are used to long commutes (as was I in the UK) then it still wouldn't be a problem. My office is in Dubai internet city so a different route from there which would have been acceptable to me.

For us the decision was simply how we felt about the geographical location being generally slightly isolated overall. I suppose it really depends what you are used to. As I said we are extremely happy in AR2 which for us struck a balance between being fairly quiet yet still close enough to malls etc by car. Everything we need is on site and close to home (walkable when not too hot). I'm not plugging AR2 but just saying it ticks all the boxes for us.

We visited Dubai several times when house hunting to get a feel for everywhere we considered.

shake2000

Valid points.

My reason for asking here is to understand if I am missing anything.I have checked traffic on Google maps during rush hour which is what my assumption is based on.

Internet city is on the other side of town and Arabian ranches makes complete sense if you're working there. I am in the opposite direction which is why this might work for me.

Will wait for others to respond, thank you again for your feedback.

Millhouse

40mins is my guess from DIFC.

Ditzy

It is 20 minutes from the The Villa to DIFC/Downtown, in both directions. There is a certain period of time in the morning where the road is a bit sticky during the school run but if you leave just prior to that then 20 minutes is fine. It is not isolated at all and has a small shopping centre, and a newly opened Polo Club/Hotel which provides drivers to drive you home free of charge at the end of an evening.

It is a great community to live in and if you pick the right house your children will be able to cycle to school, many do.

Great value for money on houses too, for the same budget as the Ranches you'll have an independent villa (often with a pool) and it is a lovely quiet community.

Hope it helps.

IKnowNothing

65,000 Canadian in rent every year. What a total and utter waste of money.

shake2000

Please do educate me on what other options Exist? Crash at your place..?

shake2000

Thank you all, it seems the only negative is the distance which we're ok with considering school is 5 mins away.

Are there any other areas we should consider? We will be put up in temporary accommodation for the first month and plan to use it to check out recommended communities.

Thank you Again!

UKMS

I cant help with anything heading up to where you will be working and again i'm not plugging it .... but worth giving Arabian Ranches 2 a good look, they are about to release a large number of new villas to owners over the next month or two so the rental market will be busy with new properties around the time you will be looking to move. This 'should' keep the prices competitive, with some negotiation you should get something (independent Villa) in budget. Mudon is another option across the road, nicely finished properties, I believe plenty of new ones available.

Good luck with the move !!

Ditzy

It's worth considering that unless you live and go to school and work all in the same place (almost impossible) then you will have a 20 minute drive to one or the other of them. We all drive these distances daily -and more - my morning round trip is an hour and my evening is 1.5 hours and it's really not that big a deal.

shake2000

I was not aware of Arabian Ranches 2 and definitely not aware of what all is coming to market, will add those to the list.
I have always heard people say "Sort out schooling before accommodation" which is why I was looking in the area. Additions to the list of areas to consider are welcome and is why I asked the question.
I agree, nothing will be 5 mins of each other, except where I am now. My kids go to daycare in the same building where we live and I have a 5 minute walk to work. I guess we will need to leave downtown Toronto some day!

UKMS

Arabian Ranches 2 has a school within the community ...... Ranches Primary School .... not sure if thats the age for your kids.

I researched everything around there to death ahead of our move ..... feel free to reach out if there's anything you need to know ..... I cant promise to know the answer but can soon find out.

scrubbedexpat141

Not everyone wishes to live in the George & Dragon....