The time has come for Jeff and I to find a new place to live in Dubai. Yeah !!
Our contract is almost up at the Hotel Apartment were we have been living. It is time to leave this amazing cocoon of service and move into a more realistic, long term place. Good things cannot last forever. I will miss the staff at the hotel, they have spoiled me beyond my expectations, but it will be so nice to have a place that I can make our own.
This is exciting - there are so many options - hmmm, where should we move... to a big spacious villa, a high rise apartment, a studio apartment, one or two bedroom, a penthouse ? Okay, maybe not a penthouse, but a girl can dream and it was nice to imagine the possibility if, for only a few minutes. One thing is certain we would like a extra space for visitors.
Should we live by... the sea, the marina, out in the desert, in the middle of the city, down town Dubai, by the Burj Khalifa and the largest shopping mall in the world ? In Dubai, you live either live on the sea side or the desert side. The highway, Sheikh Zayed Road splits the city down the middle and it decides which side of the city you live in. Right now, we live on the sea side of the city and love it.
Our preference is the sea side and the closer I am to the white sandy beaches the better. Now that I live so close to the beach and have become thoroughly addicted, I need to keep feeding my beach addiction and stay close, at least within running or walking distance. I never knew that I was such a beach person until I moved to Dubai.
So many options ! Where do I start ?
I decided to start with Jumeriah Beach Residence and the Marina area first.These two areas are among our very favorite places in Dubai.
To see the vacant apartments you need an agent, there is no other way around it. I walked into the Better Homes and Garden office on Jumeriah Beach Residence and was quickly introduced to Imran Hussain Mazid. A fun young man, born in Bangladesh, but raised in London.
Not too bad and unrealistic - right !?
Imran said, "easy, I will keep in touch", took my short list of wants and went to work.
Oh Imran - I forgot to add two more things. What Jeff wants....a really good gym and a large pool. Take that into consideration when setting up appointments.
In the Marina and Jumeriah Beach Residence (they sit right next to one another ), the really popular one or two bedroom apartment usually start @ 100,000 - 170,000 DHS, yearly, which in US dollars is $26,000 - $42,500. Break that down it is about $2200 - $3600 a month.
The square footage is anywhere from @ 850 square feet to 2000 square feet. The apartments cost more than my mortgage in the states, even though my home in Utah is much bigger and has a yard.
We have decided against looking at villa's, they are too big and we would have to outfit the whole house, which usually includes all the appliances. You also need to consider the cost of water and electricity in Dubai, both are very expensive over here and an apartment would use a lot less of both. One thing I dont want or need - a yard ! Everyone I have met that that has lived or is living in a villa has horror stories about the cost of water to keep a few plants thriving and small sections of grass green. Not for me. We will have to buy furniture for the apartment but not as much as we would for a villa.
Living here this short time, Jeff and I have realized we don't need that big of a house anymore and really could live in a much smaller home very comfortably. And all the stuff we have in our home in the states - we could probably get rid of most of it and never miss it. We Americans... me, me,me... love stuff and want our homes big. It is nice to be able to look at things differently. It could be time to downsize.
Imran called - I have five appointments scheduled tomorrow.
Here we go.
My first day viewing apartments was hot, an absolute scorcher. Just going from the taxi to walking to the front door of the lobby, we were sweating profusely,it was running off my nose and down my neck.
Miserable but the heat could not keep my excitement down.
A friend, Heather, came along with me and as we exited the second taxi we looked at at each other and said , "what were we thinking ?" That particular day it was 113 degrees and 95 % humidity. The weather advisory said it felt like 136 degrees !
Imran hit a home run and showed me four beautiful apartments that had most of the items on my wish list. We are going again next week and will continue until we find the perfect "new" home. There are so many choices and options to pick from in Dubai, I do not want to jump on one of the first few I see, we want to take a look at a lot of options. We have a little time to make a decision and final selection, but it is so fun to look.
All I know is that it is fun living differently than we ever have before. Sometimes I still cannot believe we are over in Dubai, but what an awesome experience we are having.
Stay tuned .... more to come.
Off house hunting.
Our contract is almost up at the Hotel Apartment were we have been living. It is time to leave this amazing cocoon of service and move into a more realistic, long term place. Good things cannot last forever. I will miss the staff at the hotel, they have spoiled me beyond my expectations, but it will be so nice to have a place that I can make our own.
This is exciting - there are so many options - hmmm, where should we move... to a big spacious villa, a high rise apartment, a studio apartment, one or two bedroom, a penthouse ? Okay, maybe not a penthouse, but a girl can dream and it was nice to imagine the possibility if, for only a few minutes. One thing is certain we would like a extra space for visitors.
Should we live by... the sea, the marina, out in the desert, in the middle of the city, down town Dubai, by the Burj Khalifa and the largest shopping mall in the world ? In Dubai, you live either live on the sea side or the desert side. The highway, Sheikh Zayed Road splits the city down the middle and it decides which side of the city you live in. Right now, we live on the sea side of the city and love it.
Our preference is the sea side and the closer I am to the white sandy beaches the better. Now that I live so close to the beach and have become thoroughly addicted, I need to keep feeding my beach addiction and stay close, at least within running or walking distance. I never knew that I was such a beach person until I moved to Dubai.
So many options ! Where do I start ?
I decided to start with Jumeriah Beach Residence and the Marina area first.These two areas are among our very favorite places in Dubai.
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| Jeff on Marina walk - gorgeous ! |
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| Notice the twisting skyscraper to the left of the picture. So cool. |
The Marina and Jumeriah Beach Residence is stunning. It reminds me of a little Hong Kong or Singapore. It is a city within a city. There are shops galore, grocery stores, restaurants and entertainment in abundance on the ground level of the apartments. The night life is fun and alive. Expat's (I am one) love to live in this area and I can see why. The beach and marina are close to all of the apartments - within walking distance. There is even a hotel that keeps camels,bikes and paddles boards on the beach to rent and ride. What a choice - should I ride a camel, a bike or a board ? I guess it all depends on how you are feeling that day.
You can get a little of everything you need or want in the Marina or Jumeriah Beach Residence.
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| View of beach and shops along Jumeriah Beach Residence |
All the long term residences are high rise apartments with a a few villa's mixed in here and there. A little pricey, which is due to the close proximity of the beach or marina. The desert side is a lot more inexpensive,but for us, it is too far away from everything and doesn't seem as exciting. Besides I currently own and have lived in a home in the states, why not be different.
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| Some of the Jumeriah Beach Residence Apartments |
Imran has been working himself in a frenzy trying to find us a place to live. He asked, "do you have a wish list ? " Of course, only a few things... let me tell you ....OK, Imran, you better write it down.
I want:
- Lots of glass in the apartment
- Floor to ceiling windows in most of the rooms
- En suite bathrooms
- Preference is the apartment be situated on a high floor in the building
- A balcony or two
- One private parking stall (underground)
- Totally outfitted kitchen, which also includes a washer and dryer
- If possible, a study or maid's room included
- A corner apartment is a also preferred because we would get more space.
Last request and I know this is quirky, but the apartment building must also have an nice, modern, well kept lobby. If the lobby is not acceptable, I don't view the apartment. I figure if the owners don't keep the lobbies nice, they also don't provide good maintenance to the apartments.
Not too bad and unrealistic - right !?
Imran said, "easy, I will keep in touch", took my short list of wants and went to work.
Oh Imran - I forgot to add two more things. What Jeff wants....a really good gym and a large pool. Take that into consideration when setting up appointments.
In the Marina and Jumeriah Beach Residence (they sit right next to one another ), the really popular one or two bedroom apartment usually start @ 100,000 - 170,000 DHS, yearly, which in US dollars is $26,000 - $42,500. Break that down it is about $2200 - $3600 a month.
The square footage is anywhere from @ 850 square feet to 2000 square feet. The apartments cost more than my mortgage in the states, even though my home in Utah is much bigger and has a yard.
We have decided against looking at villa's, they are too big and we would have to outfit the whole house, which usually includes all the appliances. You also need to consider the cost of water and electricity in Dubai, both are very expensive over here and an apartment would use a lot less of both. One thing I dont want or need - a yard ! Everyone I have met that that has lived or is living in a villa has horror stories about the cost of water to keep a few plants thriving and small sections of grass green. Not for me. We will have to buy furniture for the apartment but not as much as we would for a villa.
Living here this short time, Jeff and I have realized we don't need that big of a house anymore and really could live in a much smaller home very comfortably. And all the stuff we have in our home in the states - we could probably get rid of most of it and never miss it. We Americans... me, me,me... love stuff and want our homes big. It is nice to be able to look at things differently. It could be time to downsize.
Imran called - I have five appointments scheduled tomorrow.
Here we go.
My first day viewing apartments was hot, an absolute scorcher. Just going from the taxi to walking to the front door of the lobby, we were sweating profusely,it was running off my nose and down my neck.
Miserable but the heat could not keep my excitement down.
A friend, Heather, came along with me and as we exited the second taxi we looked at at each other and said , "what were we thinking ?" That particular day it was 113 degrees and 95 % humidity. The weather advisory said it felt like 136 degrees !
Imran hit a home run and showed me four beautiful apartments that had most of the items on my wish list. We are going again next week and will continue until we find the perfect "new" home. There are so many choices and options to pick from in Dubai, I do not want to jump on one of the first few I see, we want to take a look at a lot of options. We have a little time to make a decision and final selection, but it is so fun to look.
All I know is that it is fun living differently than we ever have before. Sometimes I still cannot believe we are over in Dubai, but what an awesome experience we are having.
Stay tuned .... more to come.
Off house hunting.
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