Autonomy

I resemble one of the posters that live in that area... in terms of cabs it is generally good. The roadworks have not helped recently though they *should* be temporary.

In some ways it's a little out of the way - 10-15 mins walk to the metro, but even in summer you can walk it round the marina then duck into the marina walk by Spinneys to be cool for a bit. The food shops are good - Spinneys, Carrefour, the best fish and cheese shop Market and Platters etc plus dry cleaners etc. Decent restaurants and coffee shops (some with wifi) in the Marina Walk section.

I've never lived in JBR but I can imagine the convenience for amenities is great (except groceries) but holy crap - getting a taxi at rush hour, morning or night, I can imagine is hard.

JLT depends a bit on which sector you are looking at and how the one way system works - again - work in progress.

The apartments are good in The Torch, Sulafa Tower and Emirates Crown. Not seen Princess Tower but hear they are small.

Also where you work (I can't remember) will make a difference.

As Meow mentioned - keep looking for a bit - TECOM and Greens area could be good - the towers by the Greens are nice, The Fairways etc.

Autonomy

I really like the metro too -really convenient for loads of places. A proud owner of a NOL card.... Even as a car owner quite often I'll take the metro instead as easier compared to parking or getting a cab in certain areas...

Greenways

Welcome saff
We live at that end of the marina, just across the bridge next to grosvenor, and feel pretty central to everything, easy walking distance to cafes, restaurants and bars and easy to pick up a taxi - if we can't get one immediately we just stroll round to the hotel. Next to the marriott is probably better located for food shopping than we are. Only mild issue for us is the valet parking for the restaurants at the foot of our apartment building and the bus picks ups for staff - traffic can be mayhem at times, although when my husband viewed it he thought it was a quiet cul-de-sac so if you can check out apartments/areas at different times of the day.

Re metro - I work up at waafi area so have a car but do take taxis and metros occasionally, there are connecting buses to the metro stations that travel round the marina. The metro takes too long for me as I have to change stations.

Good luck with your accommodation hunt.

Greenways

Myusernamewastaken

Millhouse, you're ok?

scrubbedexpat141

Sounds like a decent location, glad you arrived safely!

When do you start work?

Saff_Parker

Cheers Scamp. I start on the 13th My employer (now my ex employer) was kind enough to let me leave before the end of my 1 month notice so that I could have an extra week in Dubai before work to get to know the city and settle in a bit

Saff

Saff_Parker

Ah yes I was in Emirates Crown yesterday and really liked the apartment I saw. The master bedroom's bathroom was huge!

The roadworks around and about the area is a bummer though. The landlord who was showing me around assured me that it'd all be gone in the next two days but I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. It looked pretty chaotic to me? Or does construction work in the Middle East tend to wrap up pretty quickly?

Saff

Meow

Next two days?

No chance. It'll be ages,

mentalist

I think he meant the next two years. It's presumably linked to the tram system under construction.

Saff_Parker

Yesterday I rang someone on Dubizzle, 'Mr Landlord', because he had an advert for a girls only flatshare. When I rang him he said it had *just* gone but he could show me a masterbed+ensuite in a mixed flatshare in the Marina, which turned out to be lovely. He told me I would be hard pressed to find a girls only apartment and that he has none to offer at the moment.
Today I went on Dubizzle and found an advert posted just last night for a masterbed+ensuite in a girls only apt in the same tower, when I rang the number, it was the same landlord! I didn't realise until the very end when I asked for his name and then we hung up, but he must have had my number saved on his phone and knew it was me. Awkward! And what a fibber

Meow

No, not awkward. He's just the usual shady, truth-dodging LL that you'll find in Dubai.

Saff_Parker

Why would he fib about not having a female only flatshare available? What am I missing here...

Blue Cat

I wouldn't go down this route if I was you, it sounds a bit dodgy. Try supermarket notice boards etc or speak to tenants who are renting a room not a LL looking for tenants, sounds rather prostituty to me?

auzdafluff

It'll be there for another 18 months or so. Emirates Crown end isn't so bad though. You're quite far away from the bulk of the road works, so noise shouldn't be an issue.

Myusernamewastaken

Did he tell you the same thing the second time you called him? In that case maybe he is telling the truth about not having a female only flatshare but advertises something that can't be offered as a way to get phone calls to have people to look at other apartments.