Move to Dubai from SF

[SFDubai]

Hi Guys, I've been following the forum for awhile, but decided to go ahead and post my first message. Been offered a position with a consulting firm in Dubai. We did our house hunting trip and spent some time in Dubai this past Dec. I must say we liked it and have decided to make that big move.

We are expected to move some time around late March. Married with a 14 month old baby. We are moving from San Francisco for a 3 year assignment with my existing firm (just moving to the Dubai office for 3 years). I will be working close to the Burj Khalifa (I believe in the Emaar square buildings close by).

Couple of questions :

Good neighborhood to live in : When we were in Dubai in Dec, the agents showed us Arabian Ranches, the Meadows and Maisonette or something like that close to Emirates Hills. The Arabian ranches seem to be quite far out of the city. We kinda liked the Meadows and are thinking about settling for a 3/4 bdrm Villa, but I was surprised to see the state of these houses. The finishing material used for these houses were quite rank, but I hear that's how things are generally, especially for rentals etc. Any thoughts ?

What would you think is a good neighborhood for a family of 3 to live in ? We are not looking to stay in an apartment. Probably a Villa/townhouse may make sense.

Things to bring : We are thinking of shipping our SUV from the US. We just bought a new vehicle (due to the new addition) and therefore, don't want to sell it or leave it behind. Made a few calls to Audi and they claim the vehicle should be fine and can be used in Dubai especially since these cars are made for the US market and are used all over the US (Vegas, Palm Dessert etc). I'm guessing this shouldn't be an issue, however, please let us know if you think otherwise.
Also, do you know if the car can be shipped in the same container as your household goods or should it be shipped separately.

I called Crown relocation and they mentioned that it would take 5 wks for the shipment. Any feedback on Crown or other shippers ?

Electronics - After reading this forum, came to the conclusion that none of the TV's we have at home will work in Dubai. That's quite sad cos, I was really hoping to use the TV's we have.

In terms of other electronics (home theatre system) and kitchen appliances, would you guys suggest we use a transformer or is it not worth bringing it down ? Based on the other posts, it seems that these appliances may work if you get a transformer. Any thoughts ?

My firm will be paying for shipping our goods, so am thinking its not a big issue to ship all our household stuff, however, don't want to bring unwanted stuff and store it in the garage. What about the coffee makers, cuisine art and all the other lil stuff that you have lying around ?

We are pretty excited about the move, however, just kinda getting a lil worried about the Unknowns...

Thanks for your help guys

[BedouGirl]

Why not look at living in Jumeirah or Umm Sequeim? Not far from Burj Khalifa and near the sea. At least go and look at some of the villas in these areas before you move into one of the new communities,

[Jumeirah Jim]

What BG said. Jumeirah or Umm Seq would be the best of both worlds: a villa and close to work/the action whilst being lovely beachside suburbs. Villa quality varies hugely but if you shop around you should be happy.

[anneoc]

Hi SF,
You have the same questions every expat moving to Dubai has /removed

The Springs and Meadows are definitely popular for families. Did your relocation company show you anything in Jumeirah, Umm Sequiem or maybe Barsha? I'm assuming you want to be close to schools. So many of the expat schools are in the south end of the city now. We lived in Al Sufouh and were right next door to Dubai College and just over the highway from both Dubai American Academy and the American School of Dubai and right across the road was Wellington School.

As for your electronics, we brought a lot of ours from North America but did have to buy converters and transponders. It depends on what voltage each piece of equipment will take but it's better to be safe than sorry. We did sell all our entertainment electronics and bought new when we got there.

Good luck with your move! And, enjoy Dubai.
Anne

[anneoc]

I see that 2 comments before me recommended Um Sequiem and Jumeirah too!

[TallyHo]

First of all, never expect much in terms of build quality in apartments or villas in Dubai. You will rarely find anything comparable to a high quality US (or European) house. Kitchens are basic, bathrooms always standard and in villas on the masterplanned communities, the rooms poky and small by American standards. Even the la de dah villas on the Palm Jumeirah have pretty basic interiors. With a huge expat culture that predominately rents for a few years before moving onwards, people rarely invest too much money into villas and apartments beyond the superficial appearances.

If quality is especially important then you are better off in a high spec apartment. Al Majara and Park Island in the Marina are fairly nice as are the Burj Residences in Downtown.

I second Umm Suqeim. I lived in US in my first two years in Dubai and the proximity to the beaches, convenience to just about anything in Dubai and that it has a more of "wow, I'm an expat living in a foreign country" feel is what makes the place special, as opposed to the large gated American style communities where you might as well be living in a Phoenix or Las Vegas suburb. But I do have to acknowledge that the Ranches and Meadows are perennially popular with families as they're crawling with young children.

FYI, there are three Jumerias followed by two Umm Suqeims to create five adjoining neighbourhoods strung along the Dubai coastline. Jumeira 3 and US 1 are probably the "nicest" although the housing stock is mixed throughout, with large Arabic villas side by side smaller expat compound villas. I'd avoid Jumeira 1 as not only does it have the oldest villas, the traffic in/out via Al Wasl and the Defence Roundabout can be congested so despite the proximity to Emaar Square/DIFC, it's actually quicker to get from these places to Jumeira 3 or Umm Suqeim as the exits off Sheikh Zayed are rarely blocked with traffic.

Ship everything you can except possibly your tv. Replacements for home entertainment centres are easy to come by in Dubai and the malls are very well stocked for most American products at a 20-30% mark-up over US prices. Just remember that US DVDs is categorised as Region 1 while most DVD players in Dubai (and the rest of the world) are for Region 2 DVDs. If you bring DVDs make sure your new DVD player can switch back and forth between the two regions.

[Mr Rossi]

Echo the plus points what everyone says about Jumeriah/Um Suqeim. One to remember is that houses here rarely get cleaned up for viewings and you'll get shown some of the worst stock first. Try to keep an open mind and decide whether it's an abandoned barn you're being shown or if it can actually be cleaned up.

I wouldn't bring the Audi here, nothing to do with the car but certain brands do not have the same aftersales support as the Japanese brands. Personally I think it's a bit of a myth half the time, as you see plenty of Mercs and BMW's around. But Audi's are a niche vehicle here and I would guess the cliche probably applies.

[TallyHo]

Not if he's taking the Audi back to the US afterwards.

Bringing a one year old Audi to DXB, keeping it here for three years and then shipping it back is more economically sensible than selling the car, buying a new one and reselling it three years down the road, especially if his company is paying for the shipping.

The outstanding question is if his warranty is transferrable to the Audi dealership in Dubai. Al Naboodah (the Audi dealership) also gives you free servicing and maintenance for up to five years and I doubt he'd be able to claim that.

[Mr Rossi]

Is this a 5 minute arguement or the full half hour?

[Saint Ari]

Hey SF,

Like everyone had mentioned, Jumeirah and Umm Suq would be your best bet.

Gotta leave the TV's ... UNLESS you're like me ... I pretty much download / stream the shows that I watch since the cable service here is horrible!

If your kitchen applicances / home theatre are auto-volt systems (110-240V) .. then by all means take it with you. The quality of home appliances here wouldnt be that of your cuisanart nor kitchen aid.

As with the Audi, that's a tricky one ... exposing your car to extreme heat / sand would do a number on your paintjob. But on the otherhand, I wouldnt wanna leave my brand spanking new Audi just sitting there while I'll be away for 3 years on assignment either. Just understand that in terms of maintenance here ... they'll usually bend you over and back. Ask me how I know. Parts here are horribly expensive ... for example .. they wanted to charge me 5,000 dhs for an alternator for my car ... I ended up having one shipped over from the US for $124. Same with a MAF for 4,000 dhs ... got one shipped for $224.00

It also might still be an "unknown" to you at this point ... but the non-existance of customer service from the "majority" of the population here might be surprising .... just my $0.02

Where in SF are you from ?