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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 July 2014 - 09:59

Hi, I've been on Reem island for almost a year now and we like it a lot. So much that we are thinking of staying for another year when our contract comes up. The taxi situation is true, 8am is a trickier time to manage a taxi. But that is true anywhere in AD! Taxis are very cheap and for a while we only used taxis until we bought a car. I don't know which option is better (renting or cabbing) but it's easy enough to get a rental with very short notice. With the taxis being so cheap I've never used the buses, but I have seen people on other threads saying that they are quite reliable. I live in Marina Square and find that people are all very friendly and often see people out with pets. I myself have a house cat. I think that it depends on your landlord and what your contract says. It's a child friendly area with good facilities for little people. Well kept playgrounds, grassed areas and swimming pools. My son loves it. There are shops for groceries. Geant and Waitrose. Geant is in Marina Square itself and is relatively big (in comparison to the larger Carrefour and Lu-lu in town) and you can get pretty much everything you need there. The mall isn't open yet, but the shops around it seem to be close to completion. So there will be cafe's. Another community that is around your budget is Raha beach. We've been looking into it as well but aren't convinced. It's very similar to Reem Island but there isn't a supermarket within walking distance and it's very far from town. Where on Reem we are between 5 and 15 minutes away, Raha would be closer to a half hour drive. There are parts of Reem island (similarly on Raha) that are still being built. It will take many years for them to finish the entire project but oddly that doesn't seem to disrupt every day living (it can get a little dusty). I hope this helps. :)

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 15 June 2014 - 13:26

Hi, I too live in Marina Square and I love it. There are pros and cons whenever you move to a new place. I'm in one of the older buildings and find my apartment very spacious. If I had to put fault to it I would say that the lack of dishwasher space is a pain but the rest of the apartment was so awesome that we took a view on it not being essential. There are buildings on Reem Island that have the fitting though. You'll have to make your own decision on that. It's convenient to have the larger Geant within walking distance but if you prefer a larger store there is a Co-Op, Carrefour and Lu-Lu less than a half hour drive away. I do the bulk of my shopping in the Marina Mall Carrefour (25 minutes away) and generally go to Geant for little quick shops. If your husband travels a lot for work you are about a half hour from the airport. Being so close to AD city centre also means plenty of good restaurants, cafés, shopping centres to go to. I didn't realise that other fire alarms went off as well. Mine occasionally does and it's nothing. The first few times I wanted to run down the stairs, but now I've learned to check first. And like most people who live in apartments I'd love more storage, but it's not crippling with the amount that I have now and there are inbuilt wardrobes in both rooms. We have lovely views of the marina and the city and massive windows and I see many fury friends being taken out for walks around (although I suggest you mention to your state agent just in case). Ultimately in my view, Reem island is very convenient. Prices have gone up in the time we've been there, but when it comes to renewing our contract we are likely to either stay where we are or look for another flat on the island. I hope this helps. :)

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