GinaBean

Hi there,

DH has a final interview in a couple of weeks in Sharjah, and although initially we thought about living there, the chap he'll possibly be working with says he lives in Dubai and commutes - as long as you're going that way you're against the flow of traffic.

Any recommendations? What areas in Dubai would be good for me (mum at home, 3 kids, 5, 3 and 9 months), good school nearby, and reasonable commute for him? Or do we look at Sharjah, and if so, what are the areas there?

I'm hoping to come out to visit once he's had interview, and I'd like to organise some trips around with agents, and also to view schools, but I have to use time wisely and not miss out on anything or go somewhere that isn't worth it, so any advice welcomed! Especially as we're hoping to leave two kids behind so we can crack this!

Thanks

Gina

Superdarts

Hi,

I have recently (3 weeks ago) moved to Dubai with my wife and we are both working in Sharjah (Al Khan Road and Hamriyah Free zone). Your situation differs from ours as we don’t have any kids, so no school considerations.

We looked at -

Mirdif – nice area, nice shopping complex with coffee shops etc, large supermarket. Very close to the Emirates Road which would be good for the commute to Sharjah going against the traffic. We have guys in my office who commute from Mirdif to the free zone (the opposite site of Sharjah) in 35minutes. However the noise from the airport is bad, everybody told us that we would get used to it in no time but I couldn’t see that happening. 3 bedrrom villa with a pool for around the 220-250AED.


Arabian Ranches - about 15-20 minutes further along the Emirates road, commute to our office is 45 minutes to 1hr. really nice estate, lots of play areas and pools etc for the kids
Really nice villas, and I believe there is a school on the complex. 3 bedroom villa will be more expensive than Mirdif by approx 30 to 50 k AED.

We settled on a 2 bedroom apartment in Downtown Bur Dubai beside the Burj tower called South Ridge. We are paying 190AED. Really nice complex of 6 towers with lots of facilities and very central for all the local attractions, restaurants etc. wifes commute to Al Khan road is approx 30 minutes, I take 45 – 1 hr, although that’s with Ramadan traffic (less traffic I believe) might be worse next week, although my wifes boss stays in the same area and assures us it wont be any worse as all the traffic is in the other direction, which does seem to be the case.

Other areas we looked at – Diera, Ajman, Sharjah (half the price), but we preferred the Dubai option.

All the best

GinaBean

Thanks for that, I'll have a look into it. I've been in touch with a company called Sharjah Relocation Services, who seem to be quite helpful as well.

G