commuitable areas from Academic City

[sayfur79]

Hi All,

I've recently been offered a position at telecoms company based in Academic City, I believe surrounding areas are Silicon Oasis and International City.

Does anyone know:
Which areas are commutable from Academic City?
Whats the traffic like in those areas?
Rent prices like?

Will I be able to live in Maria area and commute to Academic City?
Can someone with a UK driving license drive in Dubai?

Thanks!

[Monalisa]

Originally Posted by sayfur79

Hi All,

I've recently been offered a position at telecoms company based in Academic City, I believe surrounding areas are Silicon Oasis and International City.

Does anyone know:
Which areas are commutable from Academic City?
Whats the traffic like in those areas?
Rent prices like?

Will I be able to live in Maria area and commute to Academic City?
Can someone with a UK driving license drive in Dubai?

Thanks!

Hello there,
The closest is Silicon Oasis and International City.
The area is nicer in SO, but rent is higher.It is like 120-150k/yr for 2bedrooms
IC is cheaper, has studios and 1 bedrooms mostly.rent 6500-8000/month
Both are far from the marina.Traffic will be an issue if you live in marina.
Mirdiff would be the closest populated area with nice restaurants and shops.
Hope this does help.I work in Academic City and have an apt in IC.

[Monalisa]

And...
Regarding the driver license, if you come on a work visa, you won't be able to drive with international D.L till you get your residency.
Once you have your residency,you get your UAE license.Since you have a UK license, it is easy to switch it without tests and stuff.
If you come on visit visa, you can rent a car and drive it with the International DL.
Take care.

[sayfur79]

Hey,thanks
How long does it take to get residency? Can you get it straight away?
What's the cost of car insurance like?
I guess it depends on the type of car and your age. I'm 29,thinking about getting a Nisaan Altima. If anyone any idea how much it would cost to insure,it will be great.

[Monalisa]

Originally Posted by sayfur79

Hey,thanks
How long does it take to get residency? Can you get it straight away?
What's the cost of car insurance like?
I guess it depends on the type of car and your age. I'm 29,thinking about getting a Nisaan Altima. If anyone any idea how much it would cost to insure,it will be great.

The time to get residency depends on how efficient is HR of your company.Could take 7-10days.

If you rent a car, insurance is included.
Renting a car like a Toyota Corolla is apr. 2200AED/month
Insurance cost is not like US, I don't know about GB.
Hope this does help

[sayfur79]

Thanks , let me get this right.

it costs 2200 a month? thats around 25,000 AED a year?!
Thats seem extremely expensive, thats almost £5000 in UK pounds!!! Insurance for me is around £500 (for a v.good car) in uk, thats 10 times less...

please tell me you meant 220/month

[Ogri750]

It's not a typo, leasing will be around the AED2000 per month........

Insurance if you buy a car is 5% of the vehicle's value.

Originally Posted by sayfur79

Hi All,

I've recently been offered a position at telecoms company based in Academic City, I believe surrounding areas are Silicon Oasis and International City.

Thanks!

Sayfur79
I work in IT/telecoms and am considering trying to find a job in the UAE.
How long did it take from your first contact with your new firm to their offering you the job? (months?)
And, if I may ask, who is your new firm?

Thanks.

[sayfur79]

its Du, they contacted me as they found my CV on one of the websites (can't remember which one). I had 2 interviews (calls) over 1 week and was offered a position after 3 days, they were very quick. I think I didn't ask for much, I didn't know how much it will cost to live in Dubai so suggested in the UK I'd expect around £60,000 per year, they gave me an offer little above that (63k) in AED, which works out around 30k aed/month.

I'm beginning to think this was a mistake given the high living expense, it seems far higher than London. I can have a fantastic life in London with £63k/year tax free. I don't understand how it can be more expensive to live in Dubai than London. I may end up rejecting this offer now!

Thanks for that. Good to see Du are still hiring. And the speed with which Du moved is also interesting. From these forums, it appears some other industry sectors in the UAE, particularly construction, have been laying staff off and cancelling expat contracts before the expat arrives in the UAE.

Re cost of living: you didn’t mention whether their offer of AED 30 k/mnth was an all up figure or were there other allowances as well such as Housing, Car/Transport, Medical etc. If building up your bank balance is one reason or the sole reason for wanting to work in Dubai, you will need to have all the costs accounted for. I think assessments of living expenses are relative. I think Sydney rents are very high, London rents insane and UAE rents insane. Just depends on your frame of reference.