Looking for a villa + pool in Abu Dhabi -- best area to look?

I am currently doing the search around AD for future accommodation. We are currently in a nice compound in Al Nahayan but it is starting to have maintenance problems with a/c and swimming pool. I will be reluctant to leave it but unless things improve soon I will. Private house with private pool is probably going to be 6-8 bedrooms and up - a very big house for one couple with a few pets. There are some lovely compounds with good gardens around AD.The new compound next to Brighton College has lovely villas. Al Qurm - the older compound with the big villas on Salaam St (managed by First Gulf Properties) would be in your price range. There are good agents here who can assist you. Look on propertyfinder.ae Personally I wouldn't go out to Al Reef as I like having access to all the shopping malls and international hotels for socialising and it is a long way in a cab after a few bevvies to get home to Al Reef - 50 AED perhaps?

In my honest opinion if I had 300k to spend and didn't have any kids I really wouldn't be looking at Al Reef. It's a community that would remind you of a typical UK private housing estate and if you don't have kids, are looking for some privacy and a bit of peace and quiet there are better places to look. Al Raha Gardens would be a good spot for you, it's easy to travel to Saadiyat from there but it is off island, if your thinking was to live actually in the city when you first arrive, then compounds like Liwa Village might be worth a look. I do have a pdf document that was prepared last summer by another expat doing the compound trudge, the prices will be out of date but it will certainly give you some ideas of where to look and let you know what to expect. If you want to send me an email I can forward it on to you: CWatjunodotie. One major thing I would say is that alot of people don't realise how small Abu Dhabi is, the whole Island is only about 30km long, so actually living on the Island isn't as important as you might first think and you do get a lot more for your money and some great properties as you get further out of the actual city, most of the newer bars and hotels have opened up on Yas Island as well so the city bars etc are a bit quieter than they used to be. hehe corrie... liwa village big big houses big big money they were more than 300 dont know the price now. go and look at khalyida village.

In my honest opinion if I had 300k to spend and didn't have any kids I really wouldn't be looking at Al Reef. It's a community that would remind you of a typical UK private housing estate and if you don't have kids, are looking for some privacy and a bit of peace and quiet there are better places to look. Al Raha Gardens would be a good spot for you, it's easy to travel to Saadiyat from there but it is off island, if your thinking was to live actually in the city when you first arrive, then compounds like Liwa Village might be worth a look. I do have a pdf document that was prepared last summer by another expat doing the compound trudge, the prices will be out of date but it will certainly give you some ideas of where to look and let you know what to expect. If you want to send me an email I can forward it on to you: CWatjunodotie. One major thing I would say is that alot of people don't realise how small Abu Dhabi is, the whole Island is only about 30km long, so actually living on the Island isn't as important as you might first think and you do get a lot more for your money and some great properties as you get further out of the actual city, most of the newer bars and hotels have opened up on Yas Island as well so the city bars etc are a bit quieter than they used to be.

Hi I would suggest take a look on dubizzle, and also take advantage of open houses at al reef on a Saturday, we have lived there 2 yeArs and have had some maintenance issues but no more than our last place in the city. Not all gardens are the same size and some plots better than others so worth doing some investigating, although all same inside the right plot could make it much more attractive. You have space to park 2 cars in your driveway and visitors parking is also available in all streets. Al Reef is not perfect but has a nice community feel, but the distance into town can put people off. Personally I Wouldn't consider Khalifa City B, its also quite far out and unlike Al Reef is not a community, more a collectio of standalone villas, I have heard lots of stories from peope who really didnt enjoy living here as an expat, as there are not so many westerners here and were sometimes made to feel uncomfortable. There are other forums for an Abu Dhabi Woman you should have a google and see what you come up with yourself. Yes, its cheaper there, but not without reason. You have a good budget, have a look at Al Raha gardens, the finish there is better than Al Reef and there are shops on your doorstep. Good luck! so are you saying that kcb is as far out as al reef? also there is no community, these being they are all standalone villas? and what stories made to feel uncomfortable? well kcb is actually 10 mins shorter distance than al reef. community feel, kcb has compounds of 8 or 10 houses at a time, so not just 1 house. feeling uncomfortable i think you are mistaking it for baniyas which is across the main highway, there if you go to the local shops at nite time then perhaps as a white westerner you may see a difference, but baniyas is a local area, and i when i went there many times never at all found it "scary". kcb has pavements/street lights/drains which to me are more important than shops which means its better than kca for eg. yes there are no shops here apart from the little ones in the mosques etc, but you need to have a car for most of the areas out here, and the new baniyas mall is just 5 mins drive from kcb, the mafraq hospital is there and when they finish the new building its going to massive, there is an etislat main office, better than the one in etihad plaza, there is mafraq hotel for swimming if you require. also another thing which is better in kcb than kca is that the traffic is much much less, the traffic is a nitemare in the morning in kca as there are now too many people trying to get around, the roundabouts cannot cope, you can take 15 mins to get from the main road to the first roundabout, there are always crashes at the approach to kca off the main road, the petrol station in kca is usually a nitemare.... but thats IMO. now al reef is different again, its been nicknamed cornation street this because its all in lines, you are overlooked on all sides, obviously some of the ones at the end will have better plots but generally the houses are very small (more like uk standards) and so that is fine if you dont have a lot of stuff, we went into one that is only 6 months old and the smell of damp was horrible, some not all have major maintenance issues, and of course being that al reef is private owned you just dont know which nationality of the landord etc until you sign on the dotted line, most of the houses in al raha or kca or kcb will be local owned.

Hi I would suggest take a look on dubizzle, and also take advantage of open houses at al reef on a Saturday, we have lived there 2 yeArs and have had some maintenance issues but no more than our last place in the city. Not all gardens are the same size and some plots better than others so worth doing some investigating, although all same inside the right plot could make it much more attractive. You have space to park 2 cars in your driveway and visitors parking is also available in all streets. Al Reef is not perfect but has a nice community feel, but the distance into town can put people off. Personally I Wouldn't consider Khalifa City B, its also quite far out and unlike Al Reef is not a community, more a collectio of standalone villas, I have heard lots of stories from peope who really didnt enjoy living here as an expat, as there are not so many westerners here and were sometimes made to feel uncomfortable. There are other forums for an Abu Dhabi Woman you should have a google and see what you come up with yourself. Yes, its cheaper there, but not without reason. You have a good budget, have a look at Al Raha gardens, the finish there is better than Al Reef and there are shops on your doorstep. Good luck!

a couple of other areas to consider are Khalifa city A there are lots of small villa complexes usually with about 6 villas and quite often with pools,the other option is somewhere like Golf gardens next to abu dhabi golf club.Bothe areas have easy access to saadiyat

a couple of other areas to consider are Khalifa city A there are lots of small villa complexes usually with about 6 villas and quite often with pools,the other option is somewhere like Golf gardens next to abu dhabi golf club.Bothe areas have easy access to saadiyat

I dont know about other areas much, but want to tell about Al Reef, because i live there & know a bit about all bad & good sides. Busybee is right, short drive to Saadiyat, no traffic.... But villas are having lots of problems & we`r struggling to solve it with our servicing company!!! I`d consider this villas if you`r looking for something quite cheap, but as i see your budged will allow you better place. Swimming pool is not big here, garden isnt huge. You have your fenced area, but you`r wall to wall with neighbor, you`ll go out & form the balcony you can see 2-3 gardens on both sides, so not very private. People are putting trees & shades. Its next to the airport (sometimes its perfect, 10- min drive & you`r there), but airplanes are not flying over our villas. Big supermarkets quite far, next to us only Ikea & Ace hardware. But i love that weather in here is better than in the city, less humid & couple of degrees cooler. What else... we`r next to a desert, so some people see snakes in some places, spiders... Well, i`m not trying to say its completely bad place, i like it in here, just to let you know about it. Still i`d suggest to come & see it yourself , we have open days on Saturdays, you can just check with agencies. Hope you`ll find your perfect place in our lovely city :) al reef has been nicknamed "coronation st" because its all in lines. the parking can be a bit tight, and yes the build quality is far from good, even by abu dhabi standards. we went in one the other day, and it wasnt even in the first phase so only 6 months old or so and it was damp, we could smell and my hubs being an engineer he knew what it was as soon as he walked in. the airport runway is right next door, and most people do not hear any plane noise as its parallel, but when they open up their extensions that may well change, the only time people complained about the noise of the planes was when they changed the flight path which they do when the weather gets bad etc. i have heard a lot of people who have had problems with maintenance,but then again, thats quite normal for abu dhabi (compared to anywhere else in the world) but its how the landlords/companies deal with the issues which is important. al reef certainly isnt private, but then again some of the places in town arent private. if you want more private with a private pool i would look at kca, you can get a attached villa with pool for 200 upwards and then you just need to head up the main road 1 junction to get on to the saadiyat road, again would be 20 mins or so drive to saadiyat. when yas island opens up its mall then it will be closer to shops, al reef at the moment the closest shops are at kca or emirates general market in shawamek some 10 mins or so away. and driving long distances in london is nothing like driving around abu dhabi, driving in london will prepare you a little for the driving here, but its defo not the same and all will become apparent when you see how it is. the areas i would look at is kca or kcb (again very easy to get from and to saadiyat) and al reef, otherwise on the island it would be al mina unless you are looking at apartments.

I dont know about other areas much, but want to tell about Al Reef, because i live there & know a bit about all bad & good sides. Busybee is right, short drive to Saadiyat, no traffic.... But villas are having lots of problems & we`r struggling to solve it with our servicing company!!! I`d consider this villas if you`r looking for something quite cheap, but as i see your budged will allow you better place. Swimming pool is not big here, garden isnt huge. You have your fenced area, but you`r wall to wall with neighbor, you`ll go out & form the balcony you can see 2-3 gardens on both sides, so not very private. People are putting trees & shades. Its next to the airport (sometimes its perfect, 10- min drive & you`r there), but airplanes are not flying over our villas. Big supermarkets quite far, next to us only Ikea & Ace hardware. But i love that weather in here is better than in the city, less humid & couple of degrees cooler. What else... we`r next to a desert, so some people see snakes in some places, spiders... Well, i`m not trying to say its completely bad place, i like it in here, just to let you know about it. Still i`d suggest to come & see it yourself , we have open days on Saturdays, you can just check with agencies. Hope you`ll find your perfect place in our lovely city :)

Good morning, EW We are a UK couple, no children, looking for a self-contained villa in Abu Dhabi and would like to know the nicest places to look? Are there areas which are better than others? We don't want to live in a compound and would prefer a villa with its own garden and preferably private pool. My husband is being transferred to a company there on Saadiyat and we have been told we have to live in Abu Dhabi, not Dubai, because it is a government entity. Our budget is 300K or thereabouts. We don't necessarily need maid/driver quarters and hope to hire someone to help out rather than as a live-in. We have looked at some real estate websites but they don't tell us which area is nice or not! We obviously don't need to be near schools and we both drive so do not need public transport. Most important is having a villa which is by itself with fencing/walls with some degree of garden and if possible, a pool. Thank you for your help. that is a very good amount for rent, but you may well still struggle to find something with private pool, most will be in bigger properties and so be bigger rent, if you want to stay on island, if you are working at saadiyat then your best bet will be al reef a 5 bed with a pool (the smaller ones do not have private pool) go for 150 at the mo. to get to saadiayat from al reef is very easy, you go down the new nice road, it will be like 15/20 mins drive very easy, no traffic probs at all. thats where i would go, if you want to look at the other end of saadiyat then look at al mina, but the properties there are old and you wont find a private villa with pool, perhaps in a small compound etc.