someone in al ain

happy eid guys and happy holidays..

all the best

Blue Cat

Happy Eid to you too Amer

sassypilotswife

Hello All..
Thank you everyone for the replies, pvt messages and emails. I am back home now and trying to catch up and get ready to move at the same time. Dad is home, went to cath lab and they decided to wait and try new meds first and then if no improvement he will get an internal defibrillator and pace maker. He is making alot of lifestyle changes such as smoking and getting more exercise. Mike (hubby) is here for next 3 weeks and we're deciding now if we're going to lower price of house, allow lease/purchase or rent our home. We're trying to decide on what furniture to bring/ what to sell vs cost of shipping. We did buy a beautiful bedroom suite that is already delivered to our villa in Al Ain. For any of you that live in the Hilton, is it a flat ? hotel room ?condo ? can you explain to me what it is like ? benefits ? Are you all there because you weren't able to find villa ? or didnt need large space ? I am just curious because Mike got this huge villa for us and i never got to pick it out, i have seen pics and its beautiful but huge and I wonder if I would have been happier somewhere smaller near more expats and next to the pool LOL. We will join either the Hilton or the Intercontinental but I wondered if we should have lived there instead of the villa ? Also, did any of you use a good moving company with good rates ? I have a few more questions, cell phone suggestions ? pet relocation information ? We got the shots and microchips done yesterday. Where to buy add'l furniture if we decide to either store everything here or sell some of it. Do I need to get my International DL before getting there ? How to send and receive mail from family ? How much is average rent there now for 6k sq ft villa ? How much is average rent at Hilton ?

ozkingy

Hi all. I'm here finally! I have a few weeks in a hotel and then on my own. Started to look for villas already. Not much out there at the moment. I;m trying to remember the name of the furniture store near Al Jimi mall. Not inside it, just outside, if anyone can remember? Also, where are there places to buy alcohol? Near the Spinneys warehouse is a place I think, but haven't been able to spot it. And is there a 'car buying' area like there is a rental area? Looks like I will be joining the Rugby Club soon. Looking forward ti getting out and meeting people very soon.

Cheers,

Kingy.

sassypilotswife

Hello Kingy.. welcome..

So are you looking for a villa for just you or your family. We have a 6k sq ft 7 bedroom 5/ba villa we're renting and one of the airline pilots my husband works with had to back out at the last minute because he was transferred back to germany. We may be interested in replacing him. Let me know if interested

Melanie

ozkingy

Hey Melanie, thanks. I have found a villa already. Needed one to ourselves as I have wife and two kids joining me shortly. Thanks for the offer though!

larnie

Hey

We have been here 18 months now and are on the move to a new assignment in St Petersburg. We lived at the Intercontinental for the first 8 months and rented cars. Subsequently we bought two cars and rented a 4 bedroom plus maids, 4 bathroom duplex and furnished it with new furniture pruchased here in AA. In hindsight we wish we had stayed at the Intercon. Life here is unpredictable so our view is to keep yourself unencumbered so that you can move on if necessary at the drop of a hat. As it is we now have to sell our cars, on lease our duplex and sell our furniture. Quite frankly given all the added costs of setting up home we know we would have been better off staying at the Intercon and paying what may have seemed a higher monthly rental. Take into consideration: fully serviced home so no housework or maid costs, electricity, water, access to pool and gym, bars, restaurants, service cars, insurance, initial outlay or loan payments etc etc etc. I would advice caution. Life here is fantastic but it is also unpretictable.

Love

Larni

Out of Africa

Hi Shammy

Yes, we did the border run, this time to Doha. And I have to say, after seeing Doha, Al Ain is a picnic! Was very glad to get back home again.

someone in al ain

hey ,

thought you guys would you be interested on Thursday event at the palm resort.

Arabian Antiques Gallery , see the file attachment for more information

hope to see you there

i am bit sick , flue and cold is driving me nuts but I'll be alive!

sassypilotswife

Hi Larnie.. so forgive my ignorance about the Intercon.. but what type of house were you in ? I wasn't sure if it was a hotel room, apartment ( flat) or what. This whole villa thing has my feathers all ruffled. The guy we're renting a villa with is wanting to get a whole other family in it which will make our cost zero to live there but thats not my idea of setting house there and they have been told that. I do know that we will have 2 other pilots livng there and that is fine, they fly opposite times as my husband and 6k sq ft, we will never see them however, I would much rather invite the opportunity of being alone with hubby if we have something at the Intercon that is large, easy to aquire and enjoy all the benefits of living on the property luxuries such as pool, gym, restaurants, etc. Can you give me more specific information and possibly any links that will answer all my questions ? Also.. what vehicles do you have for sale as we will be looking for one and we also will be looking to buy furniture etc.. Perhaps we could meet when I get there if you haven't left yet and work out a few deals ?

larnie

Hi Sassy

We had what they call a Junior Suite at the Intercon. It included a kitchen, lounge/dining, separate bedroom, bathroom and walkin dressingroom/wardrobe. We also were lucky enough to have a large balcony overlooking the pool. I know what you mean about sharing your villa but as you say they are all so huge that chances are you can all lose yourselves. Our duplex is sdesigned in such a way that it could house two separate families without intrusion. Their is a small kitcen upstairs which we have never used ourselves but could easily have been utilised. We hardly ever cook as eating out in the local restaurants is so cheap and the food is delightful. A beautiful Indian meal at 'Super' cost about 40AED for twoor local Arabic food about the same. We know all the local restaurants in AA.

We have managed to on lease our house fully furnished so we have been very lucky. The firm my husband is leaving have taken it over for future staff recognising the shortage of housing here.

As far as the cars go we have a VW Passat and VW Beetle. You can tell we are VW fans. They are both still available for sale and I found out this week that we can assign the loans to a buyer which makes it so much easier. The monthly loan repayments on each are lower than monthly rentals so it is a definite option for someone, just haven't found that person yet. A couple of people have shonw interest but hey don't have residency yet so fingers crossed as we have less than 4 weeks left in UAE.

Hopefully we can meet before I leave.

Luv

Larnie

sassypilotswife

Larnie,
Thank you so much for the reply. I am passing this info on to my hubby about the vehicles. I was hoping to find a Jeep for him since he sold his CJ5 recently that he had for years. That would be the type of vehicle to definitely have out there i think LOL I'm more into the SUV's but we are looking forward to seeing the different vehicles available there. I guess the Villa is going to be best for us since we will have family and our kids flying in and out to visit often and will set up bedrooms for them and have the space to do so. We are going to join either the Intercon or the Hilton so we will have the club to go to for the pool, the gym and anything else that we want to participate in as well as meeting new folks. Also, we have 3 animals and I don't think the Intercon will take to that LOL. It is costing us a small fortune just to get them into the UAE. My husband stated yesterday that it would be easier to get Bin Laden over there vs a lab, pomeranian and manx cat. It is crazy all the paperwork we're having to get done including additional shots etc. We have bought 1 bedroom suite thus far and trying to figure out today actually what other items to ship instantly vs later such as household items, our TV's, surround sound etc.. and even my plants ? This is a headache ! Hope to meet you before you go !

Amazing Grace

Good luck ont move. Just one thing though I dont think you can bring plants in to the UAE but there are plenty of places you can get new ones

nicki254

Hi Everyone,

I have just moved to Al Ain, don't know much about the social networks out here. I'm stuck in the house until I start work in Jan with 3 kids (help!!!) it would be nice to get out and meet ppl... any advice?

Also, I bought a single loft bed off the souq website and it is in Dubai, I was told that there are drivers that can be hired to go pick it up and bring it back here to us..... tried googling it but can't get anything.... can anyone help? Have you heard of these services?

Thanks!
Nicki

sassypilotswife

You're welcome Oz.. did you find Villa yet ? we can send you to the guy who found ours for us. He had a few for hubby to look at before deciding, maybe there are some still available ? I know a condo is coming up because the pilot moving in with us is coming out of it. How old are you ? wife and kids ? Hope to meet everyone soon. Trying to find cheap travel right now. I took Grace's and alot of others advice and decided to find job when i get there and although hubby's job is great and had good package, it didn't involve me flying free to get there. Also, its costing us approx 2500.00 total to bring 3 pets via pet relocation service. Does this sound like a fair price we're paying ? Can anyone recommend a good flight deal ? Also 1 more question. Who to use to ship alot of stuff we need shipped immediately vs waiting ? Who is cheap but reliable ? We're going to ship our 2 plasmas, our surround sound, some pictures and a few things from the house that i want to bring to the new villa to decorate ( no furniture). I expect it to be about 10 boxes so far.