Arabian Ranches - pros and cons | ExpatWoman.com
 

Arabian Ranches - pros and cons

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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:24

Apologies as I am sure that this has been discussed before but I did do a search and couldn't find the right info.

We will be moving in a couple of months and I am trying to narrow down the search area so it is less painful when the time comes! We are currently in an apartment in the Marina and would like to look at villas - we need 3 bedrooms so unfortunately JVT is ruled out.

So I am wondering about Arabian Ranches - it seems a little far away but maybe traffic is OK - we would be leaving for work between 7:30-8:30am and returning at 6:30-7pm, is it a nightmare during rush hour or OK? Would be coming from DIFC area.

Also are there are parts of Arabian Ranches that are particularly good/bad?

And how much would DEWA bills be on average for a 3 bed?

And gardener costs? Not something we have at the moment so I have no idea.

Any other useful info would be much appreciated - we want to find somewhere that we can be happy in for at least 2-3 years so want to get it right.

Budget would be 130k really and there do seem to be some advertised for less than this so hopefully they wouldn't be the bad ones!

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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 September 2012 - 11:05
I loved the ranches. We stayed in a townhouse in Alma. Very convenient for the golf club, shops and the main entrance. We were opposite the pool. The only reason we moved was because the LL wanted 170k for the second year after the 1st year was 130k. We moved to Layan where we have a bigger villa, huge garden, gym, shops, spa etc for 140k.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 September 2012 - 10:48
Couldn't agree more, we're also next to the lake and 2 minutes from the pool - we love our villa and have had a fantastic 2 years here but the landlord suddenly decided to sell so we have to move next month....we're heartbroken as it was so unexpected :-( oh I'm sorry to hear this :( Oddly, our landlord told us in August that he was selling and asked us to move. I started looking around the Ranches and also looked back at Springs to see what was available, only now he's told us he's decided not to sell after all. Feel very unsettled though. Our tenancy is up in Feb so I'm guessing he may well not let us renew! Hope you get sorted with something soon x <em>edited by LoopyLoo on 03/09/2012</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 September 2012 - 00:25
hi Moved to AR in Feb from Springs, absolutely love it. I leave the house at 6.50am and I'm straight out of the ranches. If I'm a bit later (say 7am) its a little backed up at the studio city roundabout but not terrible. I've never left later than 7 so i can't comment if it gets even worse. The standard of finish on our villa is excellent, much better than the equivalent we could afford in Springs. Our trade off was the fact its a 15-20min drive to the kids school but even thats not horrendous in the grand scheme of things. We have a large garden, but no grass, we have irrigation for the plants around the edges but our gardener charges us 150aed a month and comes 6 days a week. We back onto the lake (Al Reem) and walk around it most evenings. I can't comment on bills as we get it included in our package, but we are very happy with AR and our landlord is fantastic, so we hope to remain in this villa as long as we're still in Dubai (unknown yet how long we'll be here for!) Couldn't agree more, we're also next to the lake and 2 minutes from the pool - we love our villa and have had a fantastic 2 years here but the landlord suddenly decided to sell so we have to move next month....we're heartbroken as it was so unexpected :-(
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 June 2012 - 13:22
hi Moved to AR in Feb from Springs, absolutely love it. I leave the house at 6.50am and I'm straight out of the ranches. If I'm a bit later (say 7am) its a little backed up at the studio city roundabout but not terrible. I've never left later than 7 so i can't comment if it gets even worse. The standard of finish on our villa is excellent, much better than the equivalent we could afford in Springs. Our trade off was the fact its a 15-20min drive to the kids school but even thats not horrendous in the grand scheme of things. We have a large garden, but no grass, we have irrigation for the plants around the edges but our gardener charges us 150aed a month and comes 6 days a week. We back onto the lake (Al Reem) and walk around it most evenings. I can't comment on bills as we get it included in our package, but we are very happy with AR and our landlord is fantastic, so we hope to remain in this villa as long as we're still in Dubai (unknown yet how long we'll be here for!)
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 June 2012 - 09:21
Can anyone comment on the quality of the finish out in their AR villa? Can only comment on the Palmeras. Finish is very good. Far better than anything we saw in Springs.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 12 June 2012 - 08:43
Can anyone comment on the quality of the finish out in their AR villa?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 June 2012 - 08:40
We're in Al Reem 3 and we love it. Great community, we have 3 playgrounds, the pool and tennis court. The lakes which are great for going for a run (1.5 km around both lakes!). It takes less than 5 minutes to get to the community centre, Jess school and to the Emirates Rd entrance, and about 7 minutes to get to the Studio City roundabout. As for the person who said it is a bad place... well, not sure why? We actually have friends who live in Mirador who come to do their morning walks around the Reems lake... we must count ourselves lucky to have such a scenic lake ;) For you budget, I would have a look also at Alma, near the Golf Club. Alma has the same villa types and sizes as the Reems. Also, Palmera, although not sure you could get a 3 bd for 130 there. Although, keep in mind that some studies are large enough to turn into another bedroom. We have a Queensize bed in our "study" turned into guestroom. HTH.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 June 2012 - 07:03
I lived in Al Reem 1 for the last 2years. Loved our 3e that backed onto the dessert was our one little oasis round the corner from pool and park. Al Reem 1 is the furthest from community centre (3.7km to main gate) not a hassle at all. Yes the properties in al Reem are smaller than the rest of the ranches but they are well laid out family homes and have a great community feel. Our house only took a few weeks to sell and our neighbours was only on the rental market 1day before being taken. It's a popular area, but depends what you are looking for? If you want a free standing villa Al Reem is not for u. Hope you find something soon and the only way to make a decision is to come see for yourself. I'm sure you will love the ranches, we joke it's like living in the countryside.. Well the closest you will get in Dubai.
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 10 June 2012 - 15:22
Having chatted to a friend of a friend who lives in Arabian Ranches over the weekend she said that Al Reem is not a good part of the Ranches to be in - does anyone else have an opinion on this? They seem to be the only ones within budget - she said that it is the furthest away from the entrance and due to the road systems it ends up being a long distance and also Al Reem is generally not that great, not sure exactly what she meant by that though! It depends on what size apartment you are moving from, the chances are the villas in Al Reem will feel quite spacious, and the pools/tennis courts/play areas are really nice. If I were you I'd go and look at a few and make up my own mind!
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 10 June 2012 - 15:21
I think for your budget you will be looking at the villas in Al Reem which isnt too far from the exit onto Emirates Road. The only problem is the traffic at that exit in a morning during school term....not sure exactly what the peak times are as I try and leave before 7.15am and its easy to get out at that time. For a 3 bed villa we pay approx 1000 dhs per month for DEWA (this is an average for the year as it changes during summer/winter). We have a gardener come [b'>three times per week and he charges 300 dhs per month.[/b'>The Ranches is a great community to live in. crikey !! ours comes 6 days a week and we pay 200 !!
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 10 June 2012 - 15:19
Having chatted to a friend of a friend who lives in Arabian Ranches over the weekend she said that Al Reem is not a good part of the Ranches to be in - does anyone else have an opinion on this? They seem to be the only ones within budget - she said that it is the furthest away from the entrance and due to the road systems it ends up being a long distance and also Al Reem is generally not that great, not sure exactly what she meant by that though! LOL !! I believe the Al Reems get less spacious as you go down from 3 to 1 (outside rather than floor space of villa) and i do feel a bit cramped around Al Reem1 but i'm not sure what she means either !! It takes me about 8 - 10 minutes to get to the Motor City exit and about 5 to main gate (Emirates road exit) and retail centre..Personally i love the layout and the spacious feel which i don't get on some of the other communities..only way is to drive round them all and decide for yourself - everyone thinks their area is best (or they wouldn't be living there lol )
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 10 June 2012 - 15:15
Having chatted to a friend of a friend who lives in Arabian Ranches over the weekend she said that Al Reem is not a good part of the Ranches to be in - does anyone else have an opinion on this? They seem to be the only ones within budget - she said that it is the furthest away from the entrance and due to the road systems it ends up being a long distance and also Al Reem is generally not that great, not sure exactly what she meant by that though! my friend bought a villa there years ago and loves it. I have visited many times and it is nice :-)
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 10 June 2012 - 15:13
Having chatted to a friend of a friend who lives in Arabian Ranches over the weekend she said that Al Reem is not a good part of the Ranches to be in - does anyone else have an opinion on this? They seem to be the only ones within budget - she said that it is the furthest away from the entrance and due to the road systems it ends up being a long distance and also Al Reem is generally not that great, not sure exactly what she meant by that though!
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 18:26
I am so glad I came across this. I am moving soon from JVT and have been considering Arabian Ranches. I love my garden but am sick of living on a building site. No shop, taxi's on a Thursday night, just forget it. We have also decided we want a 3 bed but there are none. The Ranches sounds ideal to me.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 17:50
Thanks so much for all of the replies! :)
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 16:56
I am sure there are some 3 and 4 bedroom villas in JVC/JVT. I have a friend who had looked at some. There are definitely some in JVC but it just seems to be getting a bit too far away - even though next to JVT it is across Al Khail Road - if there are 3 beds in JVT that would be great, I will keep looking. It is a shame about JVT because the villas are huge and they could definitely have made them into 3 beds instead of 2! Is there nowhere you could put up a temporary wall to turn them into a 3 bedroom? I wish - JVT houses are so lovely with amazing gardens, but we have guests for 6 months a year and if we couldn't put them up we would have to return to the rain more often ;)
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:44
Ranches is lovely, we lived there for two years when we arrived in Al Reem 3. It's a beautiful place to live, lovely manicured surroundings and lovely clean pools. Handy shops, now there is a Shakesperes for yummy coffee and food, food delivery and taxis are plentiful. Lovely walks around the lake in Al Reem 1, 2 and 3. Rents are in your budget - a year ago our 3M was 135,000 (originally we paid 150,000). Make sure you get a maintenance contract though, which your LL should supply. We moved to a bigger property for the same money at The Villa, as there are 3 of us and we have lots of visitors and wanted our own pool and 4 bedrooms (+maid and study now paying 135,000). Gardeners you can negotiate with from 150-250 ish per month , our DEWA bills were pretty good about 700-1300aed roughly per month (edited to add we didn't pay a housing fee then which they have introduced). I can't comment on your commute as I used to do the school run to Academic city which took about 15-20 mins each way and DH went south. Personally I think Ranches wins hands down over JVC/JVT and your journey time will be longer plus less facilities. Not sure if it's in your budget but Silicon Oasis is a good option and a good commute I think to DIFC. Good luck.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:43
I think for your budget you will be looking at the villas in Al Reem which isnt too far from the exit onto Emirates Road. The only problem is the traffic at that exit in a morning during school term....not sure exactly what the peak times are as I try and leave before 7.15am and its easy to get out at that time. For a 3 bed villa we pay approx 1000 dhs per month for DEWA (this is an average for the year as it changes during summer/winter). We have a gardener come three times per week and he charges 300 dhs per month. The Ranches is a great community to live in.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:41
Ranches is lovely, we lived there for two years when we arrived in Al Reem 3. It's a beautiful place to live, lovely manicured surroundings and lovely clean pools. Handy shops, now there is a Shakesperes for yummy coffee and food, food delivery and taxis are plentiful. Lovely walks around the lake in Al Reem 1, 2 and 3. Rents are in your budget - a year ago our 3M was 135,000 (originally we paid 150,000). Make sure you get a maintenance contract though, which your LL should supply. We moved to a bigger property for the same money at The Villa, as there are 3 of us and we have lots of visitors and wanted our own pool and 4 bedrooms (+maid and study now paying 135,000). Gardeners you can negotiate with from 150-250 ish per month, our DEWA bills were pretty good about 700-1300aed roughly per month. I can't comment on your commute as I used to do the school run to Academic city which took about 15-20 mins each way and DH went south. Personally I think Ranches wins hands down over JVC/JVT and your journey time will be longer plus less facilities. Not sure if it's in your budget but Silicon Oasis is a good option and a good commute I think to DIFC. Good luck.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:39
Plum, when are they doing this? I have heard this as well but initially they said they would close the roundabout at the end of April?? I'm not looking forward to that as we live in Saheel 1, so close to the roundabout they will close :(
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EW GURU
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:38
Sorry, that's what I meant I forgot what it's called. I think it's 5% of your yearly rent devided by 12 months. :) So if you pay 130000 a year in rent it's about 550 a month.
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:37
We (at AR) have received notices that they will be closing the access to the roundabout opposite Motor City to work on the road. I think this will have huge implications as there will be an awful lot of traffic forced to exit from the next roundabout down opposite Studio City. It will be fine if you will be exiting onto Emirates Rd but not good for Umm Suqeim Rd.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:36
Dewa is expensive as you need to add the villa surcharge to your bill. We no longer have any grass and that made our bills drop drastically. Gardeners vary in price and in quality. I think the average is about 300 a month?? We really love living here! Thanks for the info! What is a villa surcharge for DEWA? Have heard of housing fees but not this.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:34
I am sure there are some 3 and 4 bedroom villas in JVC/JVT. I have a friend who had looked at some. There are definitely some in JVC but it just seems to be getting a bit too far away - even though next to JVT it is across Al Khail Road - if there are 3 beds in JVT that would be great, I will keep looking. It is a shame about JVT because the villas are huge and they could definitely have made them into 3 beds instead of 2! Is there nowhere you could put up a temporary wall to turn them into a 3 bedroom? No unfortunately not because the bit that I think would have made a great third bedroom is actually an outdoor upstairs terrace which is a bit of a pointless space when they have such enormous gardens :(
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EW GURU
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:34
I think the location of the Ranches is very convenient. To get to the DIFC would take no longer then from the Marina. I would take Emirates road and then get on to Al Ain road. The only thing that can be a little busy in the morning is to get out of the Ranches, but nothing serious. In terms or area's, I don't think that any of the area's in the Ranches are bad. It's all nice as far as I'm concerned. The only thing I would look out of is noise from Emirates road. Some of the houses are quite close to it and if you like sitting outside in the evening then it could be a little bothersome. Dewa is expensive as you need to add the villa surcharge to your bill. We no longer have any grass and that made our bills drop drastically. Gardeners vary in price and in quality. I think the average is about 300 a month?? We really love living here!
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:33
I am sure there are some 3 and 4 bedroom villas in JVC/JVT. I have a friend who had looked at some. There are definitely some in JVC but it just seems to be getting a bit too far away - even though next to JVT it is across Al Khail Road - if there are 3 beds in JVT that would be great, I will keep looking. It is a shame about JVT because the villas are huge and they could definitely have made them into 3 beds instead of 2! Is there nowhere you could put up a temporary wall to turn them into a 3 bedroom?
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:31
to begin with, there are no bad ares, it's not like a city with ghetto parts ;) Haha good to know! :) I guess what I meant was are there any that have any particular issues with traffic getting in and out or anything like that.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:29
I am sure there are some 3 and 4 bedroom villas in JVC/JVT. I have a friend who had looked at some. There are definitely some in JVC but it just seems to be getting a bit too far away - even though next to JVT it is across Al Khail Road - if there are 3 beds in JVT that would be great, I will keep looking. It is a shame about JVT because the villas are huge and they could definitely have made them into 3 beds instead of 2!
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:29
to begin with, there are no bad ares, it's not like a city with ghetto parts ;) I love living in the ranches, it is clean and pretty and the communal areas are great :)
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 07 June 2012 - 15:27
I am sure there are some 3 and 4 bedroom villas in JVC/JVT. I have a friend who had looked at some.
 
 

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