Moving to Dubai - questions! | ExpatWoman.com
 

Moving to Dubai - questions!

6
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 20 July 2017 - 13:23

Hi everyone,

This is my first post so apologies if I’m covering anything that is common knowledge/has already been discussed.

I am moving to Dubai from Scotland in August with my husband and Daughter who is 20 months and have a couple of questions that I’m hoping you ladies could help me out with!

1. Is it ok to wear swimwear in my garden if there is a chance neighbours/passers by could see me?
2. Does the dress code for women i.e. covering shoulders and knees apply to children also?
3. During Ramadan, is my daughter allowed to eat/drink in public or do the rules also apply to children?
4. Does anyone from the UK manage to access Sky TV in Dubai? If so can you advise how you do it?
5. I’ve heard that it may be quite difficult for me to open a bank account, can anyone shed any light on this?
6. Finally, I see that a lot of properties come with maids rooms or study – do these tend to be decent sized rooms? We need 4 bedrooms however I’m wondering if a 3 bedroom with maids room or study would be sufficient.

Thank you so much in advance!

6
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 July 2017 - 15:32
Dubai_Lover – Thanks so much for your helpful response. With regards to the eating/drinking in public during Ramadan for my daughter, it was more to find out if she could drink/have a snack in her buggy when we are out and about. Will have a look at Mirdif, we have mainly been looking at Arabian Ranches/The Springs/Sustainable City at around 180K so hopefully we will find something suitable ScotSana – Exciting to hear from someone else who is doing the same! Obviously its a lot different for you with 3 children but I would be keen to swap details and keep in touch!
1
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 22 July 2017 - 12:06
Hi everyone, This is my first post so apologies if I’m covering anything that is common knowledge/has already been discussed. I am moving to Dubai from Scotland in August with my husband and Daughter who is 20 months and have a couple of questions that I’m hoping you ladies could help me out with! 1. Is it ok to wear swimwear in my garden if there is a chance neighbours/passers by could see me? 2. Does the dress code for women i.e. covering shoulders and knees apply to children also? 3. During Ramadan, is my daughter allowed to eat/drink in public or do the rules also apply to children? 4. Does anyone from the UK manage to access Sky TV in Dubai? If so can you advise how you do it? 5. I’ve heard that it may be quite difficult for me to open a bank account, can anyone shed any light on this? 6. Finally, I see that a lot of properties come with maids rooms or study – do these tend to be decent sized rooms? We need 4 bedrooms however I’m wondering if a 3 bedroom with maids room or study would be sufficient. Thank you so much in advance! Hi there I am also moving from Scotland and we are aiming for beginning of September. It's all so overwhelming I'm currently trying to find schools for two of my kids and I also have a six month old! It will be good to chat to someone who is going through the same things once I'm there!
107
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 July 2017 - 16:37
2. Does the dress code for women i.e. covering shoulders and knees apply to children also? No it doesn't apply to children. My daughter is almost 10 and she wears short and sleeveless clothes. 3. During Ramadan, is my daughter allowed to eat/drink in public or do the rules also apply to children? I am not sure if the rules apply to children. But where do u mean they will eat in public? because it so hot in Ramadan so I don't think you'r kids will be anyway outdoors and if you mean in malls, the restaurants are either closed during the day in ramadan and open by 6-7 pm or they are open but they have caravans so people are eating inside. 4. Does anyone from the UK manage to access Sky TV in Dubai? If so can you advise how you do it? No idea 5. I’ve heard that it may be quite difficult for me to open a bank account, can anyone shed any light on this? No it wasn't for me, but I had my residence card. 6. Finally, I see that a lot of properties come with maids rooms or study – do these tend to be decent sized rooms? We need 4 bedrooms however I’m wondering if a 3 bedroom with maids room or study would be sufficient. Some maid rooms are very small and in a disconnected part of the house and some are acceptable in size. If you think about taking a house in Mirdif I think you maybe able to afford a 4 BD villa because the rents are going down at the moment. 3 BD villas with a maid room is for around 120K. Mirdif is a very nice and kids friendly area. I highly recommend you look to it since the rent price is good there.
107
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 July 2017 - 16:30
hi I opened a bank account here it wasn't really hard. I had my residence though.
6
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 20 July 2017 - 14:26
Thanks for your reply pinks! I'll get on the search function right away, but really appreciate you taking the time to reply...! haha you are right - I don't know why I'm concerning myself with Ramadan etc right now but I'm a bit of a planner, like to get everything straight in my head! The heat is my biggest concern, especially having a toddler, but it wont be too long until it starts cooling down I guess, so I'm focusing on that for now. And then come next summer we will be settled and I will hopefully be able to prepare a little better.....wishful thinking?! Thank you again for your help :-)
714
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 20 July 2017 - 14:10
Hi Leanne If you use the search function above, you'll find there's a [b'>huge [/b'>amount of information posted about arriving in Dubai - the forum's a bit quiet at the moment as lots of people take off for the summer if they are not working and stuck here like the rest of us! Don't worry about the rules of Ramadan right now - you've got another 10 months before the next one, and plenty of time to research the culture out here. For dress, you do see some shocking sights here (I do wonder if I've just become a bit of a prude having been here for so long, but I don't think so...), but if you dress respectively in malls, much more conservatively in government offices (which you might have to be in a lot when you arrive in order to sort out all the paperwork), you should be ok. I still take a wrap with me to cover shoulders when I'm going out for brunch/dinner (for the journey itself, especially if I'm in a cab), but in hotels you're fine. Your garden? Will very much depend on your neighbourhood, your neighbours and the walls, but generally yes! Bank accounts - Emirates NBD will definitely open you a 'savings' account with an ATM card until you've got your residence visa - again use the search function for others' experiences. Maid's rooms - I've seen some shockingly small ones that don't even take a full size single bed, and some "study" rooms have limited a/c compared to normal bedrooms - you'll just have to take each property as you see it. Sky - can't help you there, but again, look on the search function with references to a three letter acronym.... (any more details and I'll be shot!) Good luck with the move - nothing will prepare you for the heat if you haven't lived out here before - just look forward to November when you can turn your a/c off :lol:
 
 

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