Job Discussion Forums

shibainu69 · Joined: 08 May 2010 Posts: 86

If you were going to live in the UAE for the first time, where would you chose to live? given what you know now?

mr.jones · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9

I know people who are happy in a lot of places, but Dubai probably suits most people.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Most of us know people who love or hate each choice.

Personally I would put Dubai at the bottom of the list... I didn't like it 20 years ago, and what I didn't like then has merely become worse. It is too much the disney version of the Middle East with the worst traffic EVER. But if one is 30 years old or under, it may be the best choice... if boozing and clubbing is a part of one's lifestyle.

My top three would be Abu Dhabi (a bit less plastic than Dubai), Al Ain for its lack of humidity, and Ras Al Khaima because it is smaller. That said, each place has a pretty much equal list of pros and cons. The better American school if one has kids is in Abu Dhabi - especially the upper grades.

If I had not retired, I would have ended up in Sharjah because AUS was the next place that I would have gone. (definitely make a try for AUSharjah... it is about the only real university IMHO and it is very competitive to get a job there)

It's all opinion... and in the end you don't get much choice because it depends on who hires you. Cool

VS

rdobbs98 · Joined: 08 Oct 2010 Posts: 236

I agree with VS, Dubai is the bottom and only good to visit on a day trip. To live there is difficult and expensive. The traffic becomes unbearable, more like Los Angeles, and is only getting worse.

My brother-in-law is in Sharjah and isn't a bad place to live if you work in Dubai. But I fell in love with Ras Al Khaima and like it because of being a smaller and less crazy place to live and enjoy. You can travel to Dubai when you need around 45 minutes, gas is cheap so that isn't an issue to live in RAK and travel to Dubai, but RAK would be probably too far to commute daily.

mr.jones · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9

Allow me to retort! As I said, arguments can be made for almost anywhere in the UAE. However, I've met very few people who live in Dubai who said they want to live in another emirate. RAK and Fujairah are quiet and have the beach; AlAin is pretty and bucolic; University City in Sharjah, where a lot of teachers live in AUS and UofS housing is supposed to be very nice--if you have a family. If you don't, then it's isolated. The rest of Sharjah is a congested dump. The only people I know who live in Sharjah have lived there for years and years and have grown roots at the Wanderer. AbuDhabi has a shortage of schools and is really a pale imitation of Dubai. Huge numbers of people live in Dubai and commute daily to AD. True, Dubai is expensive, particularly if you're paying rent out of your own pocket, but it is cosmopolitan, can be fun and, by far, has the best social infrastructure in the Gulf: a metro, very nice parks, schools, hospitals, entertainment and "things to do".

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Dubai is a bit too much like Disneyland for me.

plumpy nut · Joined: 12 Mar 2011 Posts: 1652

The Saudi kids love Dubai and generally go there to escape Riyadh, which a lot of them don't like. Wait a second what am I doing on this forum, I never come here.

syntaxed · Joined: 26 Nov 2012 Posts: 8 Location: USA

Mr Jones made some great points. I don't drink or club and I visited all the Emirates and lived in a few but my pick has to be Dubai, despite the traffic nightmare. I found that there are so many different neighborhoods in Dubai that you can usually find one that will fit with your tastes or needs. I wasn't into the whole expat, gotta live with westerners thing, nor am I a mall rat. If you get a choice of where to live, you can generally find nice digs closer to work and not have to commute thereby avoiding the daily nightmare of LA type traffic.
The AUS always appealed to me because the housing is so conveniently located to the lecture halls and the students are better than your average product of a state K-12 ed system.
If you decide on Dubai, ask about neighborhoods before you decide where to live. I wish I had done that the first time around, but live and learn... Smile

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

syntaxed · Joined: 26 Nov 2012 Posts: 8 Location: USA

Yes VS. I do realize AUS is considered as being in Sharjah although it is not in the city proper but in Uni City. I thought the original poster was asking about which emirate to live in. I would not live in Sharjah again unless it was in AUS. It sometimes takes 2 hourrs to drive between Sharjah and Dubai where I inevitably found my friends living and social/educational activities. However from AUS the commute was quite tolerable if one wished to visit Dubai.

Incedere · Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 58

I really could not live in any emirate other than Dubai. I've spent time in every emirate, and worked in a number of them, and when it comes to the needs of myself and my family, Dubai is the only place that has everything we need.

On the whole, traffic in Dubai is actually not that bad most of the time. When it is bad, it is usually because of commuters coming to or from Sharjah.

You can find good schools in Dubai that won't destroy your bank balance.

There is a much more diverse ethnic mix in Dubai.

I like the beautiful, well maintained parks. I regularly exercise at the Al Nahda Pond Park, and it's a great place to take my kids. Best of all, it is free of charge there. But even were I to head to a park that does charge, like at Zabeel Park or Safa Park, the fee is quite minimal. 5 dirhams, or something.

While you can find low priced food in all emirates, the safety and quality of these outlets is better, I have found, in Dubai.

The benefit of there being so many malls in Dubai is that you are not funnelled into one or two choices all the time. In Abu Dhabi, you have two options, really. Three if you count Raha. The same for Sharjah. But in Dubai, you have over two dozen malls to choose from.

I love DUCTAC, and the fact that I have such a wide variety of options for my children when it comes to extra-curricular activities. My daughter attended the Jam Jar art matters workshop this summer, and had a blast. Next up is swimming, then music.

I love Kinokuniya, Al Muttanaabi, Magrudy's, and BookMunch.

While my wife and I both have cars, the Metro has been a real boon for us when we don't feel like driving.

I like that during the DSF and DSS, we can take our kids to a ton of different places to see all kinds of different performances, for free.

I like that I can wear shorts.

I really like the fact that I don't have to make a one hour round trip for a tank of gas. In Abu Dhabi, I really have to be careful.

On so many everyday levels, Dubai comes out on top.