Furnished accommodation

[mardigras]

I have a few questions, 1. By reading quite a lot on this forum it doesn't look like many people have furnished accommodation .What is normal? 2. To what standard are villas furnished? and do they have everything down to cutlery etc.? Any advise would be great..

[Ogri750]

I rent a villa at Arabian Ranches that was/is furnished.

There was cuttlery, crockery, pots, pans etc here. Beds, bedding, sofa,chair, table & chairs, all white goods etc.

I have replaced some items with new (boxed up the owner's stuff).

The quality of the stuff is ok, certainly good enough to live with.

I would imagine it would all depend on the landlord

[mardigras]

Thanks for reply, I think we are storing our own furniture here for now with the view of moving it over at some time -depending on how it all goes. As I am being brutal with clearing things out and only storing what I really want to continue to use i ear future what then do you do about landlords stuff I wonder.
Not really sure whether I can live long term with all of other peoples stuff. Do you miss anything of your own? I'm not sure whether to get rid of all furniture but some is less than a year old or whether just to have on only personal stuff shipped over. Our house will be sold....

[flossie]

If you rent unfurnished, villas tend to come completely empty. No curtains, cooker, dishwasher - Nothing. So that's something to bear in mind when you make your decision.

[mardigras]

Thanks for that Flossie. Do most people rent fully furnished? Do any of you do any gardening??? I appreciate that in full summer that can be difficult but what about the rest of year? Can you buy any plants for pots etc? This may be a strange question but I do like gardening.
What do you ladies do if you don't work?? And do many of you stay for summer?

[sgilli3]

Renting furnished v's unfurnished usually depends on whether the company you work for is paying for your relocation and / or how much they will contribute to set up costs.
Some companies are happy to pay for all of your relocation costs, so in the case, most people bring all of their possessions here.
Other companies may offer a certain amount of money instead for furnishings once here (ie: instead of relocating furniture, people buy it all here)


We love to garden, and you can still do it most of the year. Once it gets really hot + humid, then its best to just water either very early morning or at evening time.

Some people opt to use a gardener, which would cost approx 400 dhs per month. (depending on size of garden)
There are quite a few places to buy pots, plants and gardening accessories.

We are always here for summer, as we prefer to travel off season.( we love how quiet it is here in summer and love having no crowds when we do travel !!)
If not working, you may want to do some voluntary work (library, hospitals, feline friends, k-9 charity etc)
Also, you may want to go and study Arabic or another language.

[flossie]

Well, I'm heading off home for two months tomorrow. Alot of us leave in Summer but more and more are staying every year.

Finding part time jobs here can be hard and to be honest, most admin jobs that we would normally do at home are done by people here who are willing to work much much less than we are. (Women from the Phillipines, mainly).

Child care as I know it is non existant here. No after school care etc. And then there is the problem of what do in school holidays and during Ramadan when school only goes from 8.30-1.30. So what do we do? Well, personally, I don't have a maid and find it takes longer to keep the house cleaner here than at 'home'. Grocery shopping takes longer because I have to go to 3 supermarkets to get a week's worth of groceries because stock here can be very hit and miss.

Yesterday I had breakfast with friends and school finished at 12. I go to the gym, I generally live the same sort of life I did in Australia. I must admit that I do miss my 2 day a week job I had there, though.

Most people have gardeners that come and water everything in sight and mow the lawn etc for around 300 Dhms a month, depending on the size of the garden. But there are nurseries etc around where you can find a good range of plants. So you can keep that up. Yes it's unbearably hot in the summer, but most of the year it's perfect gardening weather. You will be faced with high water bills, though.

Everyone I know has rented unfurnished and shipped their belongings over. But I don't know everyone! I'm sure there are alot of others who have rented furnished. It costs alot more, though.

Anyway, should be packing!!!!

[sgilli3]

Good luck tomorrow Flossie...give my love to Australia.....

Have a safe trip, and look forward to your return

[mardigras]

Thanks for all your info.. Is it a lot quieter in july and august? Do most people go home in this time?
I think that I will find pleanty to do with what you have told me.
Do you know anything about jumeriah college? Hopefully I have a place for my daughter in September. The facilities look really good and far better than private schools in UK.

[flossie]

My kids to to another GEMS school. About a month ago, Jumeirah College, JPS and Wellington had an 'enrichment' week together and my daughter had to spend a day at JC and said it was really nice. (A bit too much green, though ). The JC kids all seemed really nice, too. (I have a feeling I've told you this already?) Anyway, JC has a good reputation, I'd be happy to send my kids there.

Still not packed!!

Sgilli, will do. Can't wait to eat a barbecued chicken!!!