Places to live

Clarion school location is in Al Quoz!

Hi Valgal Sorry took so long to reply! Been away for a while. Renting a 3 bed here is around 150,000 AED. Look at Fine and Country estate agents who have an office in Canal Residence West. Good value for money compared to other areas. There is still construction going on but it's definitely an upcoming area and is getting a lot of investment/attention at the moment. It's ideally situated between downtown Dubai and Abu Dhabi and Dubai World Central Airport. You can get anywhere in Dubai from here in around 30 minutes max because of its situation on the roads network. Driving to Business Bay is possible but if your not an experienced, happy driver you might find the driving becomes a bore. You can get there in around 20 minutes from here. Your best route is via Al Khail road and it will be the calmest (albeit busy) as it has a 100km/hr speed limit. SMBZ road is 120km/hr. People typically drive 20km over the limit in the fast lane. Business Bay itself might be an option itself. I looked at this area but I wasn't keen on living on a very high floor and getting 2 car parking spaces seemed an issue with our budget at the time. I think it's also more expensive.

Hi All, Looking to become a Dubai homeowner. We are a family of four with 2 young ones from NYC. Hence, we are also looking for something that has some life around that we can walk to (not drive to). Do not have the largest allowance and are looking at the following areas. Love people's thoughts on how they would rank the following areas: Sports City Motor City JVC JVT Thanks ValGal. Nothing is going to be anything like NYC here in Dubai. Certainly not Sports City or Motor City - there are shops you can walk to, sure, but nothing like entertainment or activities. You might actually look at Business Bay - they have apartments that are fairly affordable and it will be easier to get to school. 3 beds run about 180k. Everything in Dubai is made for driving - six months of the year, it is far, far too hot to walk anywhere with small children. Literally from about now until November, we can barely walk more than a couple blocks during the day with our children. Before you look into buying, I'd come and live her for at least six months. You might find that the property market in the US is a much better value.

Hi there, Sports and Motor City are really lovely communities. Very family oriented but my problem in Motor City is that the walls between apartments were super super thin and our family could hear our neighbours - loud and clear. This was in the apartment areas, the villas seem to be better. Lovely areas to walk in, swimming pools and gym and very safe, nice restaurants and supermarket access. The other area I really loved living in was Al Badia residences near Dubai Festival City, also very family oriented, the apartments were spacious, well built, large bathtubs, walk in wardrobes, good size balconies, lovely neighbours, Golf Club next door, close to the airport. Thanks to this site, I am going to check out Silicone Oasis and JVT as some people seem to have positive feedback on those areas which quite honestly surprised me and I can't wait to see whats out there. Good luck on your quest! I'd go for Silicon Oasis over JVT any day That's good to know, thank you!

Hi there, Sports and Motor City are really lovely communities. Very family oriented but my problem in Motor City is that the walls between apartments were super super thin and our family could hear our neighbours - loud and clear. This was in the apartment areas, the villas seem to be better. Lovely areas to walk in, swimming pools and gym and very safe, nice restaurants and supermarket access. The other area I really loved living in was Al Badia residences near Dubai Festival City, also very family oriented, the apartments were spacious, well built, large bathtubs, walk in wardrobes, good size balconies, lovely neighbours, Golf Club next door, close to the airport. Thanks to this site, I am going to check out Silicone Oasis and JVT as some people seem to have positive feedback on those areas which quite honestly surprised me and I can't wait to see whats out there. Good luck on your quest! I'd go for Silicon Oasis over JVT any day

Hi there, Sports and Motor City are really lovely communities. Very family oriented but my problem in Motor City is that the walls between apartments were super super thin and our family could hear our neighbours - loud and clear. This was in the apartment areas, the villas seem to be better. Lovely areas to walk in, swimming pools and gym and very safe, nice restaurants and supermarket access. The other area I really loved living in was Al Badia residences near Dubai Festival City, also very family oriented, the apartments were spacious, well built, large bathtubs, walk in wardrobes, good size balconies, lovely neighbours, Golf Club next door, close to the airport. Thanks to this site, I am going to check out Silicone Oasis and JVT as some people seem to have positive feedback on those areas which quite honestly surprised me and I can't wait to see whats out there. Good luck on your quest!

Thanks Whiskers and Silvstet for responding. Canal Residence West sounds lovely. Can you advise: a. What the rental cost of a 3 bedroom would be? b. Also, as we are moving the kids to the new Clarion School near Business Bay, would that be a tough traffic run for drop off and pickup? Thanks ValGal. My friend lives in European building which is opposite the canal. Her one bed is huge and if it wasn't for my work etc I would consider a move to Sports City The websites below may give you an idea of costs www.propertyfinder.com www.justrentals.com http://www.justrentals.com/search/dubai/apartments/sports-city/canal-residence/ct/1/lc/43/sl/2304/fr/4/cid/0/bd/3

They are all quite nice places; where are you going to work? The Dubai traffic isn't that nice, so I would pick a place that avoid traffic the most... Randomly picking one of the location if not considering traffic it would be JLT. The community is nice and lots of shops, restaurants and other services around the community, as well as being close to the Marina, beach and public transport. Edited to add; just saw JLT isn't one of the options LOL

Hi Valgal, We love Canal Residence West in Sports City. We moved here from a huge 5 bed villa as rents became far too expensive. In an attempt to stop having to move annually we looked for a 3 bed apartment. Best prices in Dubai for rent or ownership at the moment at CRW. Comparably good build quality for this part of the world and best apartment development in sports city. There are currently 3 finished buildings Mediterranean, European and Venetian. Two more are planned but will probably be a few years to completion. Apartments are studio, one bed, two bed and some great 3 beds. Most have balconies but with young kids we looked for rare ones with no balcony. Although you can fit safety catches on all windows and door s. Lots of shops and cafes have opened up downstairs and the promenade has great play areas for young children up to around age 10. There is a pharmacy and a supermarket which has a great stock. Soon to open is a Dr surgery. All handy with kids. The buildings have 2 swimming pools, plus 2 shaded kids pools and male/female gyms. They are unisex gyms but 9-12pm women only in one of them. Overlooks Victory Heights Primary and close to Wonder years nursery. There is basement parking plus a car park at Almaya supermarket. Across the road is Carrefour city. New City centre Mall Me 'Aisem is short drive away with large Carrefour which has much easier parking that Spinneys, Motorcity. There is an RTA bus service but unfortunately no air-con bus shelters Take the kids a stroll to the Els club in Victory Heights for restaurant or brunch ir across the road to the fabulous sports centre Fitrepublik has Olympic sized pool, gymnastics coaching, smash tennis, athletics - too many activities to List them all. Cuts down on driving to after school activities for kids.Nearby Motorcity and studio city has dance, music, drama classes etc some classes also available at Victory Heights primary school. Great road links Hessa Street, Al Khail, SMbZ, um Suquiem, Emirates Road makes it easy to get anywhere if you have a car for schools and the beach etc. We have found it a good place to access schools in al barsha like NordAnglia or down iUm Suquiem street Kings, Safa, or even as far away as Silicon oasis as straightforward drive for DESC and school buses service schools there. Good luck with your search!