I am moving to Abu Dhabi in August 2015!
I am 24 years old and moving by myself, is there anybody else moving over this summer?

Hi all,

I am new to the group and will be moving to the abu dhabi in 2 weeks to work for one of their financial organisations.

I have been to dubai before, 5 times to be exact but once to abu dhabi. I prefer dubai to abu dhabi if I am honest. My question Is to the regular commuters. If I have to be in for work at 8 am, what is the commute like from dubai? Any traffic congestions to be aware about? I live in the outskirts of London. Travel to and from work (overground and tube) takes 90 min each way. Is it similar or diff with the drive?

Living in dubai would mean I stay around jebel ali area or marina. Any advice which are good access into the abu dhabi highway?

I was a bit worried about my offer of 60k all in but after reading some posts I think I should be ok considering I am coming alone.

Where exactly is the office in Abu Dhabi? I know people who commute from Dubai for an 8am start - it's not fun, but it suits them. But if your office is located in a busy part of AD, then the last few kilometers might be a lot of extra travel-time.

There are plenty of families who'd be delighted to get a offer of 60k, so you should have no problems on your own.

Hi Archie thanks for the response. Is the corniche area busy? It's around Zayed the first street.

I have 1 month in abu dhabi for when I get there so I suppose I can get a feel of it

I do the commute from Dubai. I also work on the Corniche, so I take the Yas Island route.

The drive from Dubai Marina/JLT is a solid 1.15 to 1.20 hours each way.

This is how it works for me:

I work in the AD office from 9 AM to 5 PM. I work through lunch.

I work from Dubai on Thursday in the comforts of my flat.

I am in Qatar 2/3 days out of every 15 working days.

In a normal week I am in AD four days, and I carpool, meaning I drive two of the days and my office mate drives the other two days. The days I'm not driving I nap or read in the car.

So it works for me. And it's not bad. I far prefer living in Dubai than AD. I'm back in Dubai by 6:30 PM each night. But I'm lucky in terms of my hours and flexible working schedule.

A few pointers:

Do not live anywhere north of JLT/Marina. The traffic in Dubai in the afternoon gets very congested quickly once you drive north of the Marina. AD to Dubai is pretty easy in the afternoons, lots of cars but rarely congested. Of the Marina/JLT, JLT is better because of much quicker access to/from Sheikh Zayed due to the heavy traffic and construction within the Marina.

Make sure you get an allocated parking space close to your office. AD has piss-poor parking available.

The driving on Sheikh Zayed isn't as bad as some people might make it out to be. There are nutters, yes, but keep your wits about you, if a car flashes, move over as it's not worth getting into a road fight, and it's easy enough to maintain a steady 130-135km pace the entire way.

Still, do the drive for a month and see how you cope.

Good morning ,
If you need my opinion better to stay in Abu dhabi , you will save your time & effort .
many days you will find fogy/rain/sun......

Rain? Maybe 5-7 times a year at best.
Foggy? Maybe 10 days a year.

They aren't the concern, it's the idiots on the road that make it a painful drive.

You'd be surprised how foggy it gets at Ghantoot during AM commute time. I would wager it's closer to 100days per year than 10. However as you point out, it's the other dicks on the road that cause most of the problems.

Abu dhabi is a Capital everything is there , why drive everyday for about 180 minute ??!!
if new UAE arrival better to live near your office .
its just an advice and I appreciate other opinions

I don't do it daily so I'll take your word for it.

I find the biggest problem is the second fastest lane is generally dominated by people doing 100-120kph with no intention of ever moving right, even when the lanes are empty.

you are right , and if you travel every now and then its ok also no issue
anyway take care

Abu Dhabi is a sleepy provincial town. Despite the fancy new buildings on Reem, I doubt much has really changed since 1985.

100 days a year? Are you daft? That's one day out of every four.

Scamp is closer to the reality. There's between 10-20 days a year when the fog is bad enough that you need to drive more carefully, though it may vary on what time you're doing the commute. Early morning is more likely to see more fogs than people driving to be in AD by 9.

Archie,

Can you send me a private message wanted to ask you a few questions.

Thanks

Cristian

Where do you live if you don't mind me asking? I am staying in abu dhabi for a month so in that time will get to know who commutes and make decision on Car pools

Thanks