clarabelle

What about Mohammed Bin Zayed City?

busybee2

kca is al yasmina.
kcb is bisad.

busybee2

mbz is fine too. there is mazayad mall which has just opened has a lulu supermarket in and thats about it. jigsaw a pop nursery is opening just across the road in january but thats it.

busybee2

i lived in kca before anything was there, but then i have kids in schools on island so i still had to drive into town for anything. its handy if you only have to go to al yasmina etc but there are no big supermarkets as such, raha mall is across the road, but there is no bridge to it, so you have to go the long way around and its a 20 min journey, they are building one but not until next year it will be opened. there is a new car4 opened in mussafah but its still about 10 mins drive to that one or the one on airport road, there are coops in officers city or between the bridges, an abelas in the shang hotel, mangrove village has a small spinneys and so does sas al nakheel compound, there is talk of an abelas opening in etihad plaza which is in the new section of kca right up by the airport. there is a adnoc in kca with a kfc, as well as an adnoc in btb with a burger king so there is stuff not that far away but you need a car.

commander

shitholes...

raha gardens is ok though. Used to live in a 3 bed townhouse and liked it. Dimarco is part of your utilities and therefore your company should pick up the bill..mine did.

The problem with ARG is that there are no and i mean absolutely no compound facilities or social areas etc. Which is unusual for compound living

I really would not get a villa in KCA/KCB though. badly build, labourers (100 to a villa) as your neighbours and the endless smell of refuse.

On a positive with ARG, as it is a compound, when things go wrong (and they do) at least you have reliable internal maintenance guys, who i found to be pretty reliable.

We have just rented a 7 bed stand alone villa in Between 2 bridges for an unearthly sum, and it has caused nothing but problems with leaking roof, shit AC, no internet connection, cracking walls and getting a reliable maintenece guy is a joke.

If space is not too much of an issue (or you dont really need massive gardens etc) then for an easy existence, i would go for ARG

busybee2

[QUOTE=commander;8207825]shitholes...

I really would not get a villa in KCA/KCB though. badly build, labourers (100 to a villa) as your neighbours and the endless smell of refuse.

thats only your opinion, yes you can be unfortunate and live next door to a labour camp, as you know, we suffered for that, but it doesnt happen everywhere, but i would say there is more of that going on in kca, than kcb. there are more villas being split in kca and so you will have that problem. the builders in kca are squashing more house on the plot, not so much in kcb. i know of a great little compound in kcb that they have not had any probs with maintenance etc. it does depend on the ll. when we were living in btb again the house was older but as it was under the banks name they provided the maintenance. and now i have seen a lot more ads for split villas/studios etc in btb and officers city.

clarabelle

Thanks so much guys for all the info! I really like the look of Sas Al Nakhl village,noticed that there was a few for rent there in my budget . Can i get around without a car ok? Taxis etc?

soukie

Sas Nakeel does have a shop and a pool although last time I was up there the facilities were closed and I am not sure why. You will still need a car to get around. The problem with this compound is that it is very near overhead power cables - best to take a look and see what you think.

clarabelle

Thanks! Think i am going to have to stop stressing and wait till we have had a chance to go and have a look at these places.We live on a great estate here in the uk and the kids have freedom to play out on there bikes etc I just dont want to live somewhere where they cant go out a play!
Another question while i am doing the figures...Groceries.How much do you spend a month? We are a family of four and here i spend about 100 pounds a week.Have read on another website people spending 5000-8000 dirhams a month,which sounds a lot to me!
Thanks again for the info x

Aikman7981

Do not stress out, yet. Save it for when you arrive.

KCA does look horrible and I agree with Commander's comments. That along with outrageous rents pushed us to Dubai. I'll drive an extra 70 kms to have a pool, gym, beach, restaraunt, bar, and shopping within walking distance. Oh, and we saved 100k on rent.

If the budget is under 240, I would think Sas al Nakhl is highly unlikely. That was my first choice as well but availability is scarce so rents are pretty fixed. Sure looks like a nice place.

Groceries are expensive, and eating out can be cheap (if you like Indian/Lebanese cuisine). Get a car, you'll go nuts.

But seriously, everything is fine. You will stress no matter what we say.

busybee2

first rule of thumb in ab dabs, dont believe the ads for rentals, they quite often dont exist. the 3 beds (if any available) were 220 and upwards. think twice there, nice houses, have facilities, although they have closed them for a little while (perhaps needed refurbing already..!), but they are under overhead power lines...!

you will need a car if you live there.

busybee2

groceries can be expensive, not as cheap as tescos etc......

i would wait until you are here, and not to stress over things now, there will be a lot of that when you arrive.

Millhouse

Al Raha, KCA and KCB are bascially in the middle of a wasteland with an airport nearby. Lovely place.

Al Raha is actually quite nice, but it is basically corination street (without the rovers return) dumped into the middle of the moon.

busybee2

drove past yesterday, somebody is extending "upwards" already, looks really odd.

just be aware of the sinking streets in kcb and kca, have you seen the one in kca it looks like a scene out of earthquake

soukie

There's some sinking happening at Sas Nakeel too!