Hi

I have the chance to move to Dubai for a few years to work, however having a young family my wife and I have some concerns about moving.

Can anyone offer some general advice on moving, is it good for families, what areas are good british ex pat communities and how much would it cost to rent a decent 4 bed villa with private or communal pool.

Thanks

Dubai is a great experience for young families for a couple of years. Most people will move their kids school at least once as finding a school that suits can be hard. If your kids are young, I'd try for one of the established BC primary schools, Jebil Ali, Kings, Horizon. Expats are spread throughout every suburb of Dubai. A lot of families like the gated communities such as Springs, Meadows, Lakes, Arabian Ranches. I preferred to live closer to the heart of Dubai in the Jumeirah district in a Compound Villa, large adjoined houses with communal facilities. It's great socially for the kids as they have a ready made group of friends and a good way for the adults to make friends too. Here's an idea of rentals http://dubai.dubizzle.com/property-f...athrooms__gte=.

Thanks that's really useful, is there a waiting list for the schools and how much do they cost?

Here are the websites for the schools I've recommended. Fees should be listed on them. For the lower FS years there are usually waiting lists at these schools but if your kids are a little older you may strike it lucky. My three kids went to Raffles International school (2008-09 school year) and then Horizon (2009-10 school year). Raffles was expensive and wasn't suited to us, but Horizon was pretty good. There should be other people up soon that are still in the UAE that can offer some more suggestions. Good luck.

http://www.kingsdubai.com/content/view/15/37/

http://www.horizonschooldubai.com/

http://www.jebelalischool.org/

Hello and welcome to BE, friends of mine have just moved to the Arabian Ranches and are renting a 4 bed villa which is very nice, not cheap though 260k per annum. As for schools I think it depends on the child, our daughter is in Regent and we are very happy with the school.

DESS, JESS Jumeirah, JESS Arabian Ranches, Jebel Ali, possibly JPS, Kings, Horizon.

Unfortunately, most of the more popular schools have very long waiting lists.

Definitely go and visit any schools you are considering, get a feel for them and ask all the important questions.

how old is your child?

4 1/2 and 6 1/2, youngest is in foundation year and oldest is in year 2. Would we be able to get them into decent schools for next september?

What sort of things are there to do for families? Apologies for such a broad question but we are trying to get as much info together as possible to make the correct decision in regards to going or not, any advice you could give would be great.

I am visiting in a couple of weeks, is there any where you would suggest to look round?

Thanks

buy a boat and take them out whenever you can.

Or play tennis with them.

Look round a couple of the malls (suggest Dubai Mall and Deira City Centre as they give 2 different perspectives), get an idea of the shops which are available. Go round Carrefour to see what goods/food is sold and prices

Sit in a cafe in one of the Malls and people watch for a while.

Go to the beach and one of the parks (Safa park maybe)

Visit at least one of the schools mentioned to see what British Curriculum schools are generally like here (JESS, DESS, Horizon)

Visit Sheik Zayed Rd, JESS Ranches, Jumeirah area/Beach Rd to see what different types of areas there are to potentially live in.

Go on the Big Bus tour. Might seem expensive but gives you a great feel for Dubai, lots of info on the sound system plus free entry to Dubai Museum and trip on a dhow. Start early on this though as it needs a full day to make it worthwhile. You can get off and back on anywhere on the journey. Google it.

Walk out in the open (maybe at the park) to get an idea of what temps are like. In Feb, this is the coolest it gets. Summer is steaming hot, beyond imagination.

That's about all I can think of which might give you lots of 'info' in a short amount of time.

Good luck with your adventure.

are this potential Company going to give you a relocation Agent to show you around and give advice etc or they expecting you to do it on your own?

Luckily it's my current company wanting to send me, and yes they are going to arrange for a relocation scout.

Will my wife be able to find any part time work around school hours if she wants to work?

Thanks

Thanks that really useful!

she might but I doubt it, there are very few part time jobs available and working around the school holidays is a nightmare. The schools can literally shut for practically no reason at all, heavy rainfall? schools close

If you let me know the area you live in I can find a mover who specialises in Dubai if you wish ?