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Where to live? Info on- Mirdif, Al Furjan and Barsha please please please

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277

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 29 March 2013 - 11:00

Hi Hassina, As your husbund work is near airoport , i will recomend Mirdif, Al Warqa Garhood within your budged 120K . A vey nice area to live in and close to airoport it will be Al Badia if you will have a budget of +200K http://www.dubaifestivalcity.com/cntn.aspx?id=24 You may find stand alone villas withn your budget in Al warqa with private swiming pool (5-10 min from Mirdif) but you must drive around and look for proprieties advertisted as ''from landlord '' instead of agents... Mirdif it's very good and nice as well with 2 parks ,few shopping malls in vecinity. For schools close to those areas please check this link http://www.bayut.com/uae_directory/dubai_schools_directory/mirdif_schools-1-5603-1.html Have a look in dubizzle to have an ideea of propieties prices http://dubai.dubizzle.com/property-for-rent/residential/?price__gte=&price__lte=&bedrooms__gte=0&bedrooms__lte=12&places__id__in=Start+typing+here&places__id__in=&building__in=Start+typing+here&keywords=&is_basic_search_widget=1&is_search=1

79

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 29 March 2013 - 01:50

Thank you Poppy82 that was really helpful and informative. What do parents do if they can't get their child in to FS1 or FS2? And is nursery cheaper or the same price as FS1? I'm weighing up options now and will hunt about when I get there. Thanks for your advice!

121

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 27 March 2013 - 22:00

Hi Hasina by your posts today it sounds as if you a bit stressed. Hope this helps regarding schools: You start FS1 in September in the year you turn 3, FS2 starts in September after you turn 4. I think Fs2 is same as UK 'Reception'. schools are a minefield!! Il try to explain cos there's a few things to consider: FS1 is not compulsory, FS 2 is. Yes most nurseries offer FS1 but getting a place for Fs2 is then very very hard. Some schools like GEMS do have feeder nurseries who get preferance on their wait lists. So that might be one option. Most schools start at Fs1, only a few like DESS and JAPS start at FS2. But JAPS have already completed their assessments for FS2 2014. I think a lot of people don't like the idea of sending their kids to school at the age of just over 3, but end up doing so merely to ensure they have a place and to avoid the nightmare of looking for an FS2 place. I spoke to Wellington international today because I thought I have a realistic chance of applying for FS2 2014, wait list will open this September. But they told me I will be competing against siblings, GEMS feeder nurseries, debentures, overflow from FS1 candidates who weren't offered FS1 places...that really got me worried. I'm not familiar with the schools in the mirdif area at all, sorry. There are quite a few new schools opening this September but apart from Victory Heights Primary, the others' school fees are astronomical! fore mark Hall something like 90k per year and GEMS al khaki road 65k. The average for FS1 should be about 35k! Try to find out if your husband will get a school allowance in his package as this is not always a given. Also, some companies will fund Fs1 at a school but not at a nursery for some reason! If this becomes an issue, perhaps talk to the nurseries to find out if there's a way around it. Hope this helps. Feel free if you have more questions.

79

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 27 March 2013 - 21:35

Does anyone know the difference between FS1 and nursery? (My daughter is 3; am I right in thinking the two overlap?) <em>edited by Hasina on 27/03/2013</em>

79

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 27 March 2013 - 20:22

Children start school at 3 years old? Oh dear...I will need to start a whole new thread on schools! I thought she would be in preschool like she is now- is that a legal requirement or choice? Here she does 15 hours of preschool so is it the same there? Does anybody know of good schools (for a three year old) in Mirdif?

1370

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 27 March 2013 - 19:39

correction..the 3 bed villas in Shorooq have gone from AED135k to AED175k per annum.

56

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 27 March 2013 - 18:48

I live in Al Furjan and quite nice but way to far from airport. Without traffic it is about 45-60 minutes away...so i would definitely not suggest such a far commute. I would suggest either mirdif or even Garhoud. Also, school starts at 3 years old here so maybe see what school you want (or get into...as most have waiting lists). Ideally you move close to school (or between work and school).

9

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 27 March 2013 - 18:42

Mirdif is fantastic for family living, you have good chances of finding great 3 bedrooms for a reasonable price below your budget, i recently went house hunting myself and came across many potential homes! Also, its great for your children to grow up in, there's family parks and pre-schools around as well. Good neighbourhoods too!

everythingnice45485

568

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 27 March 2013 - 18:39

Mirdif I think is your best bet. Good sense of family community and villas are cheaper than Barsha.

96

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 27 March 2013 - 18:27

You could also have a look at Motor City,close to Arabian ranches but not so close to the airport.However I think you might be able to get a three bedroom apartment for around your budget and it has a very good community feel with shops,restaurants,community pools etc.I think it's a popular place for young families and might suit you well.A bit of a wild card but there is also Jumeirah Village Circle.It's still very much a work in progress and is really the wrong end of Dubai for you but I mention it because you can still get a large (over 3000 sq ft) townhouse villa for 120 or less.

79

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 27 March 2013 - 17:49

Thank you Feefmick that is really helpful info. Does anyone else have anything to add? Maybe now things are picking up out there, so are the rental prices...unfortunately for me! I'm still hoping some places are still empty and landlords are desperate! Do you know anything about Al Furjan? Oh and I should mention I'd rather not live in a compound...does this make any difference to prices?

1370

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 27 March 2013 - 17:38

Just a quickie. Mirdiff is handy for the airport. The areas away from the fligt path are mmore expensive.Barsha is great but a lot further from the airport. You will get a shock at house prices..they're rising fast!! We paid AED80k a year for an apartment MILES out of town in Aug 2012 but the agents have raised the price for new tenants to AED120k!! We looked at a lot of villas in Mirdiff trying to get one for less than AED100k but nothing suitable (although they were out there.) Prices have risen now a LOT - for eg Shorooq (google it - it's owned byDubai properties)which is a HUGE compound in Mirdiff has increased the price of their 3 beds to AED135k(there is no pool in this compound).There is another lady who posts here who lives in a compound in Mirdiff where i think the 3 beds were AED120k but I would not be surprised if they rise a lot this year. I may be wrong (and others may correct me) but I don't think you'll get a place with private pool for under about AED170k(and even that would be lucky). If you have your own pool your DEWA (water and utilities will increase dramatically) ie we pay AED600 a month for DEWA but my friend with her own pool averages AED4k a month. There are a lot of activities available but many are expensive. We're on a very tight budget and have sourced cheap/free activities which are available but you have to look a bit harder.Sft play etc is prob double the price it is in UK. You will also need to consder which school you want to send your child to and te location. School fees are a HUGE expensive - we;re paying AED34k a year for primary and AED62k for secondary and this is NOT the most expensive school.Getting your first choice school may not happen either. Apartments tend to have communual pools. Our compound have a ladies only slot at the gym but not at the swim pool. Hoope this helps. <em>edited by Feefmick on 27/03/2013</em>

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