Jannsie

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 29 May 2018 - 15:17

Hi Jannsie, I was reading your posts and hoping you could help. We are also a Canadian family potentially moving to Abu Dhabi this year. My kids are a bit younger (6 and 8) and i'm wondering if you...

HI! Sorry to respond so late, the expat email went to my junk so I didn't see your post! We have been here now for 9 months and have learned a lot!! When you come, the first thing you'll learn is that everything is done at a different pace than in Canada, patience is key. Reach out and ask for help from all people you meet, as most of us are expats and are happy to help out! Facebook is huge here with several groups to, sign into....ex: AbuDhabi Q & A has loads of stuff! Overall, I'm enjoy the experience, even with the transition! Our kids are really enjoying an American school. They love it and are finding it really easy to make friends, which was a huge relief, and the school itself offers them everything they want. If your still looking for a school get your applications in ASAP, they all seem to fill up fast and your kids will need to do pre-testing to see where they are at. You will need a transcript from the kids current school for their grades. (we did for high school at least) I'm not to knowledgable on the British schools. You can easily switch schools down the road if your not happy wherever you end up as there aren't any districts/boundaries. Housing is pretty straight forward, but yes, living close to school and work, just makes life easier as traffic can be a headache at rush hour. If you have an agent looking for your home, know that they can try and deal on the price, as theres lots available and they have come down since we got here. Our agent didn't even try and also told us we couldn't get a place by the water. (Insert eye roll....ugh!) We live in Khalifa City and find it really easy to get anywhere in Abu in 15-20 min. The bigger the home, the more power your using and its not the cheap. I really enjoy it here but I do wish we got water front or had a pool of our own. We ended up with a villa style home, lots of room and very small yards. House or apartment is up to you of course.....but there are huge 2 floor apartments so you can still have lots of space. Theres probably a lot of information I could share with you.......when are you planning to move here? Shoot me your email and we can chat a bit more in depth about the details! There are certain foods that you just can't find here or they cost a small fortune so you may want to pack extra when you come. Ummm....what else can I think of.....Canadian drivers licenses make it easy to get a UAE as they are considered equal. You just need to know where to go and what to bring. We just got back into Abu and I've got a bad head cold, so I'm not on top of my game yet between that and jet lag! lol! I'll check back soon to see if you still need a hand!! Jan

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Jannsie

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 03 May 2017 - 05:24

Hi, We are moving over in about 3 months and I have been on line searching for places to rent. I am asking for advice on what people prefer.... apartment living in the towers, townhouse/ villas or compounds? Kids are 16 and 14 so we will need to be close to American based schools. As far as the hubby and I, we want to be able to make some friends in the community and get out on the weekends. So having some fun amenities or places to go important...pubs, restaurants etc! Can't wait to use the beaches!! We are bringing our dog with us so we have to have decent sized patio/deck, or just places to take her for a walk. ANY other suggestions or ideas, feel free to let me know!! :) ps... I may be posting more questions as I think of them!! lol!

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