5 days to look round. Where do we start?

[dottie]

Hi.

I'm new to this forum but I have been following it with interest for a couple of weeks.

Our situation is gathering speed so I have joined in to ask some questions.

Hubby is coming out at the end of April for 2 weeks and myself and 2 kids age 12 and 9 will join him for 5 days to see what we think.

I don't want to waste the time being a tourist as we have to decide if we want to live there. Impossible I know in 5 days but I want to cram as much as I can in.

Is there a best way to evaluate things, ie villas, schools etc? We will start our search on a Friday which is the start of the weekend as I understand it, so schools will have to wait till the monday or is it possible to make appointments to view on a Sunday?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

[sgilli3]

For schools the weekend is Fri + Sat.
You are probably best to get in touch via email with them + organise to see them Sun/Mon
See as many as you can.
You will need to register with them ASAP as most have long wait lists or are full (you may be OK with older kids though)

Schools/housing etc will all depend on where you/hubby is working. Work backwards from there.

If you dont want to be a tourist, dont do malls etc..
There are a few real estate agents around...also get someone to show you places INSIDE while here....Rent is ridiculously expensive, so if you know your budget, tell the agent...waste of time being shown places you cant afford.

Are you staying at a hotel? If so, see if they can organise a car/driver for you for the day...so you arent also wasting time...lost !!!

hope this helps

[dottie]

Sgilli3

Thanks for that info.... although I might just have to squeeze a mall in somewhere it would be rude not too !

We will be staying in a hotel but I won't know which one till the end of the week. The company is contacting some of the schools for us but again I don't know which ones yet. I will have to get hubby on the case for a bit more info on our location.

Dottie

[Elphaba]

I agree with sgilli, but I'd also try & fit in a couple of fun things Let us know where you'll be staying & we can recommend a few restaurants etc for the evenings. You also want your children to see that Dubai is a good place to live.

Definitely get a car & driver for the day if you need to see lots of places. Your husband's prospective employer or the hotel will be able to organise that for you.

Just about everyone's weekend is Fri-Sat, and be warned that many shops etc will be closed until Friday afternoon.

Do get details of where your husband will be working. No point in finding a great place to live then discovering it is a 2 hour journey each way.

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[dottie]

Thanks Elphaba

Thank you for replying.

Like I said I will have to get hubby to find out which hotel we will be staying in. We only had the email this morning so we've got a few more details to sort out.

I gather the traffic is dreadful so we need to know which office he would be based at before we choose a specific area to look at that's not too far away.
I know that someone who is already there is living at Arabian Ranches and has a 40 min drive to the office. I don't suppose you know which English curriculum schools are in that area?

[Elphaba]

Sorry, I don't know anything about schools.

The only thing I do know is that none of them is considered awful. Let me know where you'll be staying/working and I'll give some pointers then.


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[sgilli3]

I also cant help with schools...I home school mine
I agree with Elphaba..non are considered awful...they all have pros + cons , like schools anywhere in the world

Lots of the schools here offer the British Curriculum if thats what you mean by English??

[Equus08]

Take the Big Bus Tour. It goes around majority of the nice places in Dubai and then some!

Oops! I thought this is a 5-day sight-seeing tour!

[Geordie Armani]

BSME: British Schools in the Middle East

[dottie]

Sorry for the delayed reply.

Thank you to everyone for their input.

Although it's not a sight seeing tour, it wouldn't hurt to do a Big Bus tour to get the feel of the different areas.

Thanks again.

Ali