Moving to AD from Sydney | ExpatWoman.com
 

Moving to AD from Sydney

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Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 06 October 2016 - 01:50

Hi all,

We are moving to Abu Dhabi in the next few months and obviously have a lot of questions! The big one being where do we live :)

My husband is likely to arrive before my daughter (2 years) and I while I finish up my contract and hubby can settle into his new role. We have been looking at Al Muneera and Al Zeina but rent is so high even compared to Sydney! I've read a few threads with aircraft noise being mentioned over Al Zeina, does anyone have any detail on whether this is still a problem as I saw threads mentioning that they may have been changing the direction planes leave in and a new runway being built. Which side of Al Zeina gets more noise, we were looking at the villas and townhouses but not sure what spot they are in. Any advice on peoples preference between Al Zeina and Al Muneera would be very welcome. I will not be working initially so would like to have easy walking access to things with my daughter, also I did look at Al Raha Gardens what are peoples thoughts on that area?

Thanks in advance for any tips and maybe see some of you early next year :)

2
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 February 2017 - 16:53
Hi have lived in both Al Muneera and Al Zeina. There are pros and cons for each. Al Zeina will always be under the flight path and it is noisy. That said the apartments tend to be larger and the beach is bigger. With a child there are large open spaces to walk around so I think the feeling of space is great. Your budget should get you something decent there, as prices on the larger villas and apartments are coming down. Avoid any apartments with a pool on top. At Al Muneera you don't get the flight noise the units have more inclusions e.g fridge washer and dishwasher. try for on the island not off as there would be more road noise. Al Muneera is a smaller mass but you can walk around the island.Smaller beach. Al Raha offers a bit for the money if you want an outdoor yard, but no beach and facilities may be some way from your villa. Hope this helps.:)
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 16 January 2017 - 07:37
My husband is there already and we're following next month. Ideally we'd like a villa/townhouse for the space and budget is up to 250k. I've read that in regards to utilities these can be much cheaper in apartments due to central cooling of the building itself, is that correct? If so how significant can the savings be and does anyone know if the Zeina townhouses have central cooling with their design? Thanks
12
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 January 2017 - 19:22
I am not sure if you have moved yet but if you have not, I would start with looking at your husband's work place and work back from there. If he's prepared to drive for 20 minutes for example, work back from his workplace for 20 minutes. Then it depends if you want a villa or an apartment and also your budget. Everyone is different so its best to decide on your priorities first. You will find somewhere you love but it takes some time. Good luck.