Sausage | ExpatWoman.com
 

Sausage

Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 May 2011 - 00:18
Maybe you can consider nursery for number 2 when he/she is about 2? IMO much nicer for kids to have a few mornings at nursery than be left with a maid for childcare. Then you get a bit of time off so to speak as you'll just have the one to look after. (I've got 3 children myself, and I know that when I've just got the baby it's a doddle!) And I have to say I've never had a problem finding night time babysitters either through school/nursery or maids in our compound.
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 May 2011 - 00:11
I want to bring my maid whom I sponsor back with me to the UK for July and part of August. She is Sri Lankan. Does anyone have any experience of doing that and what's involved in terms of visa's for the UK. My understanding she can't just enter on a tourist visa and she would need to enter as a foreign domestic worker which is more complex. Any advice appreciated. It's 'visas' not 'visa's'.
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 19 March 2011 - 01:19
My Life in UK (now) I live in the UK I am sitting in the garden on my laptop without a jacket, the snowdrops and daffodils are out the birds are singing, glorious blue skies and lovely fresh air. I’ve just done my Tesco shopping online (no schlepping to spinneys) I’m just about to get in my car to tale a leisurely (safe)drive through beautiful countryside to pick my children up from their fantastic schools. At school most of the parents will smile, wave or say hello. The kids will run out and tell me what amazing things they’ve done at school. I will go home cook my lovely fresh food I brought from the farm shop, DH will come home in time to have dinner with the kids then we will sit down to watch some great British entertainment on TV. At the weekend we are spoilt for choice we do something different every weekend, I think we are taking the kids to a spy centre, last weekend my children took part in a charity fashion show. My life in Dubai Wake up at unearthly hour to drive on a never-ending **** hole road (Emirates) to take the children to a school that took out any shred of confidence and uniqueness out of them. Nobody wanted to talk or say hello (unless they wanted something) came home sat on EW all day as there is only so many coffee mornings you can attend, spent most of the day indoors hiding from the sun (even in March) picked up the kids, ate **** imported food, put the kids to bed without them seeing their Dad (he was always working) sat on EW most nights as the TV was diabolical. Spent every weekend at the beach or in a mall again hiding from the sun. blimey !! well, if you felt like that then i'm sure Dubai WAS pergatory for you... your UK life - the only thing i can see is the Tesco delivery..everything else i have here lol.. i too can sit in the garden with my morning coffee watching all the different birds.. and you may feel your car journey is safer but how much more does it cost you ?? (not just the price of fuel but the general running costs of the vehicle).. at school everyone smiles at us and my son is always full of the activities - last week went to the theatre, they have been up the Burj, Safa park, had an author to visit and sign his book...all things we never had in the UK..not to mention the school's own swimming pool (how many uk schools have one ?).. no complaints about the food we buy and the fresh produce is fabulous - fruits from all sorts of places i've never seen before...and our tv is exactly what we watch at home (in fact, because we use a slingbox our tv IS from home lol) though i will admit to the time difference being a pain sometimes.. Weekends we go to Al Ain zoo, Abra across the creek and a walk through the souks, the wind tunnel to practice sky diving (in the uk it's several hours' drive away)...but more often than not we have a lazy time around the house, just going to the pool, playing in the garden, watching tv and doing homework... Dubai life ? yes i will admit getting up at 5.30 is just barbaric lol (but i AM home again before 8 :))..but i enjoy the drive to school and love driving my pajero which i would never have had at home.. plenty to do all day in the house or having fun locating another landmark.. don't bother with the malls unless i have to but i really can't understand anyone saying there isn't plenty to do here.. my husband's been to his first ever grand prix, rugby sevens, beer festival, skydiving championships, ben10 live show (lol),my teen went to Usher's gig,he's been camping in the desert with school, too many things to remember.. I'm sorry for anyone who doesn't enjoy their time here - if we ever weren't happy here then we would go home. And of course the people who have gone home are going to big it up - human nature, just the same as those still here are raving about it !! But can honestly say that apart from friends and family there isn't a single thing i miss...so far !!! lol how many summers have you survived?
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 19 March 2011 - 01:06
What kind of things do you want to know? There was another thread recently about the lack of pool and other facilities and whether the poster should give up on the school and move her children. I think that kind of sums up the downside of the school. There were promises made more than 2 years ago that have yet to be fulfilled. It's not a problem for the younger years, but as the school grows it's definitely more of an issue. And, whilst there are after school activities there really isn't the range that you get in more established schools. However, if you don't have a choice of schools then Star is okay.
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 March 2011 - 16:06
Nice classrooms and teachers but lack of areas for the bigger kids to play other than an uneven patch of grass in the middle.
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 March 2011 - 16:05
Ok, so I've been in a similiar experience and here is what I think or here is my research. For FS1 there are some fantastic FS1 nurseries. My son is going to Cocoon (fS1 nursery) in September its in Jumeriah 3. I also heard about Childs Play & The childrens Garden. They will get just as good FS1 as putting them in actual school and in nursery the classes tend to be slightly smaller and focused. Then you will have to apply NOW for FS2 next year. The new schools such as GEMS in silicon oasis and JBS (IB) in Jumeirah 1 all have places. The British Curriculum schools you could try that still accept places for next year FS2 2012/13: Horizon, Safa School, JAPS, DBS, WPS, WIS. Its a big gamble, but most people put there kids down in 3 or 4 schools, so as it gets closer to September, you will see more spaces become available as the mass gets sorted out, but that means you have to wait right until the end of August first week of September but usually 2 or 3 spaces become available or that is what I was told. I would focus on FS1 nursery for now and at the sametime put your childs name down for next year FS2. But the problem is that if you do FS1 at a nursery (unless that's really your only option) then you're competing for far fewer places in FS2. Consider also that siblings get priority so you really have to be high on the waitlist to get in for FS2.
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 March 2011 - 00:26
They're different. One is well established, one isn't. One has facilities which are possibly a bit old, one has limited facilities. Rather than focusing on two schools you should make a list of schools and work out what is important to you - e.g. location, sport or other facilities, class sizes, nationalities. There are probably better schools than the two you've mentioned but that all depends on what is important to you.
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 February 2011 - 22:46
I know which school you're referring to and I find it a bit funny because I am sure the OP is one who has been harping on about the school and how great it is (sorry if I'm wrong). We used to be at the school but moved awhile ago when we got into our school of choice. The classrooms and teachers at the school you're referring to are great, but it is so much better as your kids get older to have a proper playground, tennis courts, pool etc. Did you not notice when you looked around that there was one tiny play area outside for the little kids, and just one big patch of uneven grass for the rest? I hate to think what will happen as the school gets bigger. There were that many excuses when we were there about the pool that we left. I should add that my kids are into their sports so we were very keen for proper sports facilities. We plan on staying in Dubai long enough to warrant the upheaval of moving schools so that would definitely be something to consider.
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 January 2011 - 23:56
When I read the first few posts by the OP I thought this was about how she was upset with herself at being rude to people in lower paid jobs (for want of a better description). Then somehow the lower paid job people were the topic and how annoying they are. Very confusing..... I have met a lot of people in Dubai who speak to waiters and shop assistants like they're worthless and I'm always amazed at the rudeness.
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 06 January 2011 - 01:01
We would still stay here, simply because the lifestyle here is better than what we had in the London. We would be crammed in a tiny 2 bed apartment with cold, gloomy,dam weather and ill, miserable children (who are locked home coz it's raining almost everyday) for most of the year. Apologies to the brits out here, DH is british but London is just not my cuppa tea... But BUT if DH ever agreed to go back to Sydney, I would go right now..even though money will be much less there, lifestyle is amazing compared to Dubai. I never know what exactly people mean by 'lifestyle' in this context - maybe it's too personal to each individual for it to make much general sense. I'm not British by nationality, but I left a luxurious Dubai apartment in the Marina last summer to come back to one of those tiny 2-bed London flats for a spectacularly chilly winter during which we both got flu. We are struggling financially, but I've not regretted leaving Dubai for one second. We were saving money in Dubai, but money or living space mean absolutely nothing to either of us compared to the benefits of living in London, in terms of the wealth of music and art and theatre on offer. I've been to two (free) classical concerts and two RSC plays in the past week, and spent Sunday afternoon walking on Hampstead Heath with friends, which was exactly the kind of thing we missed in Dubai. In practice, we both discovered money doesn't make up for the absence of everything we enjoy about life. Yes, it would be nice to have more money and space, but our mounting bank balance in Dubai turned out not to mean a great deal when it came down to it.... Very well said. I miss all the normal things you can do on weekends, that don't cost a fortune and don't involve eating and drinking.
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 January 2011 - 20:07
I'd stay for awhile if we weren't saving money because we're here for the experience. We're saving quite a lot but that won't influence our decision to stay or go. We're just about ready to leave as been here a couple of years and for us I know that home is a much nicer place to be which we've come to appreciate after living here. Also, we love the outdoors but that's what I miss being in Dubai. I feel like we're stuck inside (or worse, stuck in shopping malls) for at least 6 months of the year. <em>edited by Sausage on 05/01/2011</em>
Sausage
12
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 January 2011 - 18:47
A lot of people seem to have a large 4x4 for mum and kids, and a smaller car for hubby. I think the driving in Dubai is terrible. - not quite sure how the below posters can think it's okay! I'd just say that the longer you're in Dubai the more you get used to the lack of road rules and commonsense on the roads.
 
 
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