Re: Moving to UAE...
^It is ridiculously expensive too i heard. My friend's dad..runs business there..was telling me that...more you earn easy it is so spend it all it once.
Re: Moving to UAE...
My parents have been in UAE for 30+ years now and I was born and brought up here. I've lived here for 23 years. I can honestly say it's a great place to live, it's safe and secure in terms of family and having children. Education is excellent, you can have your kids go to American schools, British schools, Pakistani schools..whatever curricular you are looking for. The population is so diverse, you'll find something of everything :)
However, schooling isn't free here, from KG to university, you're going to have to pay for everything.
Same applies to maids and house rents and cars etc.
If you're looking for nationality and equal rights, you're sadly mistaken. You'll always be on "residence visa".They don't give you nationality even if you live here for life and under special circumstances there have been cases known to have "partial" nationality but you still dont have the same rights as nationals. You can't "own" houses, your property will always be owned partially by a local national, the ratio goes 49%-51%. Same applies to business. The only time you can have your own business is in FREE ZONE areas, which is where my family personally practices business other wise you have to share that with a local as well. That being said, if you don't care about owning property or business, you're all set. Nothing to worry about.
UAE is as modern as it gets with a right touch of religiousness. I think the fact that the country is so modern yet carries religious values is something to admire. There's no brand that isn't in UAE, so your family won't miss out on anything.
Over all, feel free to ask around and ask important questions. Best of luck with your decision :)
Re: Moving to UAE...
My parents have been in UAE for 30+ years now and I was born and brought up here. I've lived here for 23 years. I can honestly say it's a great place to live, it's safe and secure in terms of family and having children. Education is excellent, you can have your kids go to American schools, British schools, Pakistani schools..whatever curricular you are looking for. The population is so diverse, you'll find something of everything :) However, schooling isn't free here, from KG to university, you're going to have to pay for everything. Same applies to maids and house rents and cars etc. If you're looking for nationality and equal rights, you're sadly mistaken. You'll always be on "residence visa".They don't give you nationality even if you live here for life and under special circumstances there have been cases known to have "partial" nationality but you still dont have the same rights as nationals. You can't "own" houses, your property will always be owned partially by a local national, the ratio goes 49%-51%. Same applies to business. The only time you can have your own business is in FREE ZONE areas, which is where my family personally practices business other wise you have to share that with a local as well. That being said, if you don't care about owning property or business, you're all set. Nothing to worry about.
UAE is as modern as it gets with a right touch of religiousness. I think the fact that the country is so modern yet carries religious values is something to admire. There's no brand that isn't in UAE, so your family won't miss out on anything.
Over all, feel free to ask around and ask important questions. Best of luck with your decision :)
Nicely written, no non-sense post!
Re: Moving to UAE...
Htm, do you get nationality easily if you marry a UAE national? And is marriage restricted when it comes to matches with 'foreigners' as it can be for Saudi nationals?
Re: Moving to UAE...
Nicely written, no non-sense post!
Why thank you. He's about to make a pretty big decision and in times like this, people need straight forward answers and no beating about the bush, or perhaps that's just me :)
Re: Moving to UAE...
Htm, do you get nationality easily if you marry a UAE national? And is marriage restricted when it comes to matches with 'foreigners' as it can be for Saudi nationals?
Only women can get nationality through marriage, they're pretty backwards, local women can't pass citizenship to their husbands or children
Re: Moving to UAE...
My parents have been in UAE for 30+ years now and I was born and brought up here. I've lived here for 23 years. I can honestly say it's a great place to live, it's safe and secure in terms of family and having children. Education is excellent, you can have your kids go to American schools, British schools, Pakistani schools..whatever curricular you are looking for. The population is so diverse, you'll find something of everything :) However, schooling isn't free here, from KG to university, you're going to have to pay for everything. Same applies to maids and house rents and cars etc. If you're looking for nationality and equal rights, you're sadly mistaken. You'll always be on "residence visa".They don't give you nationality even if you live here for life and under special circumstances there have been cases known to have "partial" nationality but you still dont have the same rights as nationals. You can't "own" houses, your property will always be owned partially by a local national, the ratio goes 49%-51%. Same applies to business. The only time you can have your own business is in FREE ZONE areas, which is where my family personally practices business other wise you have to share that with a local as well. That being said, if you don't care about owning property or business, you're all set. Nothing to worry about.
UAE is as modern as it gets with a right touch of religiousness. I think the fact that the country is so modern yet carries religious values is something to admire. There's no brand that isn't in UAE, so your family won't miss out on anything.
Over all, feel free to ask around and ask important questions. Best of luck with your decision :)
Its all artificial, their laws are even more regressive than Pakistans, they only give this impression cause of all the wealth they have as well as a small homogenous population
Re: Moving to UAE...
Htm, do you get nationality easily if you marry a UAE national? And is marriage restricted when it comes to matches with 'foreigners' as it can be for Saudi nationals?
Yes, marriage is one of the sure shot ways of getting nationality here. I know a few girls here who got married to Emirati men and now they have local passports and same rights, ownership etc. As far as i know, it isn't restricted. The girls i knew were Pakistani, from peshawar and Balochistan to be specific. I know a few Philipina's who also have nationality via marriage.
Re: Moving to UAE...
Its all artificial, their laws are even more regressive than Pakistans, they only give this impression cause of all the wealth they have as well as a small homogenous population
I wouldn't say it's artificial. There are definitely some laws they could do about but in terms of being more regressive than Pakistan, you're quite far from the mark. I could walk out here at 10 at night without a male companion and not have any fear in my mind. They pass out laws that only benefit us as a community. Sure there are some laws that only benefit locals but they also work daily to make our lives easier. For example, just a couple of weeks ago, they passed out a law where anyone who breaks traffic laws like illegal turns or breaking the signal gets an AED 500 charge. Anyone litters on the street straight up AED 500. That's not a small amount of money for an average person. They pass these laws and now you go out on the street and you won't find any crap out there. People think twice before breaking street laws. It all works.
I do agree that quite a bit of their stuff is for show/ artificial. The economic crisis a couple of years ago was for real, property took a severe beating. They keep making all these giant ass sky scrapers and everything keeps getting more and more expensive but they've also managed to bring in a hell lot of tourists AND business. For those of us who make our own living, that's just priceless to us. There are advantages and disadvantages of living anywhere in the world. I quite like the fact that i can be a modern woman, have job, enjoy my life with my parents, hear the azaan from beautiful mosque's 5 times a day and yet feel secure enough to go out on my own. I focus on the advantages ;) Besides, i was born here, this is my home town, I'll always be slightly partial towards it :)
Re: Moving to UAE...
Anybody know what's the best off-plan property to buy in Dubai. I am really interested in buying a flat there.
Following this thread closely as iv just been offered a job in the uae with a pretty decent relocation package
Dubai to be specific. Can anyone tell me what the renting market is like there?
Re: Moving to UAE...
Depends based in a lot of things, I'm going to ask you a few questions and can suggest best suited locations:
- You are a family of how many members?
- Any elderly in the family that will be staying with you (mom, dad etc)
- Do you know the location of your potential office (this is extremely important to know alternatively you can let me know the name in confidence and I can google it up for you)
- Do you prefer an apartment or villa/house?
- Which would you prefer more a) living in a community with access to the train, mall, cabs, shops etc around but paying a higher rent b) living in a community a bit secluded from the city life yet within 10mins drive from metros, shops, malls etc with rents being nominal (This mainly applies for areas that are in new Dubai side and are still developing)
- Do you have an international driving license?
- Would you have an office job or sales related job?
Few things to note:
- Dubai is split between two parts:
a) Old Dubai (deira, Burdubai, qusais, abuhail, Oud Mehta, garhoud etc)
b) New Dubai (downtown, sheikh zayed road, internet city, media city, studio city, JLT, JVC, Marina, JBR, silicon oasis and manyyy more)
There are more western expats living in the new Dubai area
Traffic is HORRIBLE throughout Dubai
If you could kindly answer the above questions I would be able to give you a better idea regarding the area you should consider and approx rents etc
Hope it helps!
Re: Moving to UAE...
There are loads in the pipeline but I would bet my money on Mohammed bin Rashid city, mainly due to the following reasons:
- Location, location, location
- Big Sheikhs and big names have their hands in this project (the ruler himself and names like Al Tayer & Meydan) therefore the risk involved of it halting at any point is less (which BTW happened a lot when recession hit)
- The City is scheduled to be completed in 2018-2019
- The city will feature 600 hectares of open and green space of city parkland, waterways, woodlands, water park and the largest crystal lagoon body of water in the world with 7km of stunning lagoons and 14km man-made beaches and luxury 4-8 bedroom villas
Obviously the above is the best of the best investment opportunity but since ur question was quite broad I thought I'd start by suggesting the best and one with the least risk involved otherwise it completely depends on the purpose of investment & on the amount you are willing to invest.
My dad is into property and updates me regarding the projects happening here. He has been in Dubai for over 35 years so knows the pulse of the city MashAllah and I was born here myself. If you need any advice please let me know and I can ask him on your behalf.
Hope that helps!
Anybody know what's the best off-plan property to buy in Dubai. I am really interested in buying a flat there.
Re: Moving to UAE...
UAE is as modern as it gets with a right touch of religiousness. I think the fact that the country is so modern yet carries religious values is something to admire. There's no brand that isn't in UAE, so your family won't miss out on anything.
Over all, feel free to ask around and ask important questions. Best of luck with your decision :)
Thank you so much for posting. This is exactly what attracts me most. I grew up in middle east as well. So i can imagine it would be nice. Other thing is, Makkah and Medina is close by too.
Re: Moving to UAE...
Depends based in a lot of things, I'm going to ask you a few questions and can suggest best suited locations:
- You are a family of how many members?
Just me, myself and I.
[quote]
- Any elderly in the family that will be staying with you (mom, dad etc)
[/quote]
Nope..they will be staying back home in Canada
[quote]
- Do you know the location of your potential office (this is extremely important to know alternatively you can let me know the name in confidence and I can google it up for you)
[/quote]
I gota keep this private for now..
[quote]
- Do you prefer an apartment or villa/house?
[/quote]
Well..i was hoping for villa. not sure how much it would cost me.
[quote]
- Which would you prefer more a) living in a community with access to the train, mall, cabs, shops etc around but paying a higher rent b) living in a community a bit secluded from the city life yet within 10mins drive from metros, shops, malls etc with rents being nominal (This mainly applies for areas that are in new Dubai side and are still developing)
[/quote]
I would prefer to be surburb. I would say 15 to 20 mins drive away from downtown.
[quote]
- Do you have an international driving license?
[/quote]
I have Canadian one..i can definitely get international for sure.
[quote]
- Would you have an office job or sales related job?
[/quote]
It is project management and analyst related job.
Few things to note:
[quote]
- There are more western expats living in the new Dubai area
[/quote]
Please give me detail about new Dubai area.
Re: Moving to UAE…
Based on the info you gave me getting a villa would be pretty useless if its just you, maintainance will be a hassle (cleaning etc) I would rather suggest a 1bdr in a good community about 15 mins drive from the new Dubai area. Following are my suggestions:
Silicon oasis or sky courts (if your work is near downtown or the beginning of sheikh zayed road)
This is a sample listing:
Dubizzle.com Mobile
Remraam (if your work is near Dubai internet city or media city)
Dubizzle.com Mobile
Discovery gardens (if your work in or after jabel Ali)
Dubizzle.com Mobile
These are the names of just some of the communities. Although most western expats here prefer staying in the heart of the city as its where all the glitz and glamour of Dubai is (bars, tall glass buildings, brilliant views, best restaurants, malls etc..)
Check Marina, JLT, JBR if you change ur mind & plan on staying in the heart of the city.
Also dubizzle.com is ur go to place to check & compare prices!
Hope that helps
Re: Moving to UAE...
Depends based in a lot of things, I'm going to ask you a few questions and can suggest best suited locations:
- You are a family of how many members?
- Any elderly in the family that will be staying with you (mom, dad etc)
- Do you know the location of your potential office (this is extremely important to know alternatively you can let me know the name in confidence and I can google it up for you)
- Do you prefer an apartment or villa/house?
- Which would you prefer more a) living in a community with access to the train, mall, cabs, shops etc around but paying a higher rent b) living in a community a bit secluded from the city life yet within 10mins drive from metros, shops, malls etc with rents being nominal (This mainly applies for areas that are in new Dubai side and are still developing)
- Do you have an international driving license?
- Would you have an office job or sales related job?
Few things to note:
- Dubai is split between two parts:
a) Old Dubai (deira, Burdubai, qusais, abuhail, Oud Mehta, garhoud etc) b) New Dubai (downtown, sheikh zayed road, internet city, media city, studio city, JLT, JVC, Marina, JBR, silicon oasis and manyyy more)
There are more western expats living in the new Dubai area
Traffic is HORRIBLE throughout Dubai
If you could kindly answer the above questions I would be able to give you a better idea regarding the area you should consider and approx rents etc
Hope it helps!
- I will be on my own
- Nope but they will probably visit frequently
- Sheikh zayed road
- Im flexible
- I prefer the former and dont mind paying a bit extra for it. I have built up reasonably good savings.
- A British Driving licence but could apply for an international one with relative ease
- Office Job that would require me to travel every now and again @ShimmerV Cheers!
Re: Moving to UAE…
No, actually the post was meant for u @Midnight_express_91 but since Xtron replied I thought of assisting him with his query as well. You can send me the answers to the same questions as listed above & I shall get back to u with my recommendation 
Re: Moving to UAE...
UAE is the ideal for living not only living but also the best place for business and entertainment.