Another Two Moving to Dubai

[superdarts]

Hi folks,

I am moving to Dubai arround September with my wife. We will both be working in Sharjah (free zone) but would like to stay in Dubai.

We are about to accept a package at follows -

Me
Salary + some extras £85k / year
Housing 130,000AED / Year
2 Flights home for me and my wife.
Med insurance for both.

Wife
Total Package £41GBP

we want to save as much as possible but at the same time we want to have a nice place to stay with minimal time spent on the roads.

Best place to stay - pref a 2 bed villa or appartment, accept that we will have to add to my allowance. we would like to be close to some bars / places to eat out - use of a pool is a must. contract states that it must be within 45 mins of the office.

Best way to buy a 4x4 - lease hire a 3 year only X5 or Q7? any idea how much I will have to put asside for a monthly payment? is Car insurance expensive?

Any help greatly appreciated.

[flossie]

I'm not that familiar with Sharja, but it might be hard to find an apartment within Dubai that has all your requirements and is only 45 minutes to work. Maybe someone more familiar can advise you.

From a quick glance, your salary should enable you both to save.

Car insurance is expensive, well compared to Australia anyway. It's usually about 5% of the value of the car. As a guide, we have just renewed our insurance on the Prado which is 12 months old and it was 7000 Dirhams. I don't know what an X5 would cost. If you look on some car yard websites, some have a calculator.

[sgilli3]

Originally Posted by superdarts

Hi folks,

I am moving to Dubai arround September with my wife. We will both be working in Sharjah (free zone) but would like to stay in Dubai.

We are about to accept a package at follows -

Me
Salary + some extras £85k / year
Housing 130,000AED / Year
2 Flights home for me and my wife.
Med insurance for both.

Wife
Total Package £41GBP

we want to save as much as possible but at the same time we want to have a nice place to stay with minimal time spent on the roads.

Best place to stay - pref a 2 bed villa or appartment, accept that we will have to add to my allowance. we would like to be close to some bars / places to eat out - use of a pool is a must. contract states that it must be within 45 mins of the office.

Best way to buy a 4x4 - lease hire a 3 year only X5 or Q7? any idea how much I will have to put asside for a monthly payment? is Car insurance expensive?

Any help greatly appreciated.

I believe there are 2 free zones in Sharjah - the airport and the port.

If you are going to be working at in the Sharjah airport FZ, then the travel from Dubai will be doable.
Perhaps Mirdiff will be a better area to stay.

If it is Sharjah Port FZ...forget it- you would really need to live in Sharjah.

Sorry, cant help with costs of those cars, but Im with Flossie, insurance is certainly more expensive than Oz

[dxbcamper]

DEFINATELY,

if it is the port free zone, you MUST live nearby, or else your commute and evenings off will be hell. If it's the airport free zone, as Sgilli said, try Mirdiff. I live there and it's great! You'll also be driving against traffic, which helps alot!

Good luck, and don't expect too much from the UAE.....

[mazdaRX8]

I work at the Sharjah Airport FZ and live in Dubai. I am on Sheik Zayed road and the commute is always against the flow of traffic... well not always heh. Try Al Nahda-1 (where I live) or Mirdiff.

[superdarts]

the office is in the Hamriyah Free zone.
we looked at Mirdif when we were over 3 weeks ago - however the noise from the Airport put us off. also - is there places to eat out / bars in Mirdif?

Arabian Ranches looks nice - i know 2 other guys from teh office stay there, no idea what the driving time is.

Thanks again

[dxbcamper]

Forget Arabian Ranches....driving time is ridiculous (at least 1 hour) to Hamriyah.
Believe me, you'll get used to air traffic in Mirdiff. The new uptown project is great for restaurants and shopping. You can be on SZR in less than 15 minutes. Believe me, if you want to live in Dubai while working in Sharjah, this is the only feasible option.....

[superdarts]

Really dont think I would get used to the air traffic. i live in a very quiet area at the moment.

Bur Dubai, Deira, The Greens, southridges possibe?