While German carmakers are famous for the quality of their cars and the high level of service they provide in the West, I have to say: The quality of their service over here is pathetic to say the least. I first bought a Mercedes with the level of service back home in Europe in mind. I also own a Nissan now. Believe me: I never had any issue or problem whatsoever with the Nissan Service Center here in Dubai. Whereas the Mercedes Service Center not only charges much more for a “regular service” and for spare parts, they do not seem to take their customer’s issues seriously either. And the same is true for BMW and Volkswagen as far as I’ve heard.
There are other places too, but they are even more congested than the Meena Bazar area. My wife went shopping there a couple of times, but the variety is not that great and most of the time she didn’t like the designs on offer. Therefore she mostly gets her clothes made from Pakistan. Living in Dubai it’s not really difficult to “hop over” to Lahore for a weekend. 
That one would be very close to your office and your home (if you end up living in JLT). But I think Fitness First at Ibn Battuta Mall is bigger than the one in Media City. And that’s not too far away either.
Btw, JLT is a crap place to live in IMHO.
Agreed. We got most of our Household Electronics from there.
I’d rather go for DU Pay as You Go. The rates are the same, but it will end up being cheaper, because Etisalat charges for every minute and DU goes by seconds.
Go for an account at Emirates Islamic Bank (which happens to be a subsidiary of Emirates Bank). I found their Credit Cards to be the best in terms of value for money.