Life in Sharjah

Italia06 · #1 (**permalink**) 29th July 2012, 04:26 PM

Moved from California (and miss it oh so much!!!!) to Sharjah for work and have been here for about a month now.

I have NOT gotten the hang of this town yet. Any advice on how you settled in and what you do for fun here?

blazeaway · #2 (**permalink**) 29th July 2012, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Italia06

Moved from California (and miss it oh so much!!!!) to Sharjah for work and have been here for about a month now.

I have NOT gotten the hang of this town yet. Any advice on how you settled in and what you do for fun here?

Go to Dubai?

Jynxgirl · #3 (**permalink**) 1st August 2012, 09:34 PM

Depends what you like to do??? Have you got hobbies? Albeit it is limited, there are things to do in the uae, other then what 90% of western expats do for their entire time here... going to dubai and the bars and malls.

Italia06 · #4 (**permalink**) 3rd August 2012, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jynxgirl

Depends what you like to do??? Have you got hobbies?

They are mainly outdoor ones, like hiking, kayaking or just a simple stroll in the park. With this weather, it seems impossible! I have to say, it's pretty depressing!!

Jynxgirl · #5 (**permalink**) 3rd August 2012, 06:42 PM

Are you a guy or a girl? Sharjah is pretty segregated of the sexes, unless you stick with the western specific club there. There is a large skating ice rink in the womens club, has its own beach and other activities. If you are a woman, that I do highly recommend you check out. There is of course the qasba (the sharjah 'eye' ferris wheel) area but that is something to do with a few friends (and once cooler). It does have nice enough restaurants to go to as well for some interesting people watching. For walking about, I do like the khaleed lagoon/corniche area more so then the sharjah corniche beach road area. There are less men standing about just staring at you in the lagoon/corniche area. It tends to be families. Aljazeera park also is an area to have a look around once it cools off, but still good for evenings to have a walk around. I am a marine life addict so the sharjah aquarium is on the list of things in sharjah. Green Belt park is just for ladies and sometimes has activities planned there. Something you will have to check into. I only get taken there as my friends live in sharjah and know when stuff is going on so just tell me when to come. I wouldnt suggest going hiking out and about in the desert alone, only with a group. If you go are wanting to do the dune bashing, just drive out on the roads towards rak or fujeirah, and soon enough you will see the one of the outfitters on the side of the road after leaving the city. You can also do quad bike riding out in kalba. Do a search on the net and the directions should pop up as that is a specific area. If you want nicer beaches/water, then a trip out to the east coast sharjah territory is recommended. Once it coosl down, going to the waddis up in the mountains for a swim is always nice. Take your passport as a trip up to dibba in the oman terrirtory is well worth it for their clean water and fijords. You will find kayaking out there is a bit better as well. You can rent at the hotels. Am sure there are other places, but those are the places I know have kayaks.

I do hope you have a vehicle. Sharjah isnt the type of place I would wish to be stuck in, without a vehicle. As well, make friends with some of the locals. They are always up to something and they will keep you very very busy. They are usually pretty nice if you tell them you are new, trying to find things to do.

Italia06 · #6 (**permalink**) 7th August 2012, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jynxgirl

Are you a guy or a girl?

I do hope you have a vehicle. Sharjah isnt the type of place I would wish to be stuck in, without a vehicle. As well, make friends with some of the locals. They are always up to something and they will keep you very very busy. They are usually pretty nice if you tell them you are new, trying to find things to do.

Female.

I really appreciate you taking the time to type this! I had no idea any of this existed (except for Al Qasba). I did not know that it is segregated, nor did I know that there's anything western about it!! As for the western club, is it an actual club??

I don't have a car yet, my passport is still with the company (for my residency and whatnot).

I've never met a local, nor would I know how to tell that they are locals without asking them. Where did you meet them, at work?

Jynxgirl · #7 (**permalink**) 8th August 2012, 04:26 AM

Maybe I shouldnt have used the word 'segregated'. It isnt so to say specifically men here, women there. It is just that sharjah is much more religious and as such, muslim women do not go in the company of non family men too much. Men will not tend to befriend a woman unless he has an interest in her or if he has met her in some capacity another way. You overall probly dont want to befriend the local/gcc/pakistani/indian/asian/etc men who are in the bracket that do not speak english much and think any woman who will smile at them wants them.....

There is a whole lot of them

Good luck weeding through them

I dont tend to have the opportunity to meet many women, only through the wives of the guys I have befriended. Maybe if you have more womanly hobbies, you will have better luck.

Sharjah doesnt have a large western expat community. They do have western expats, just takes a bit more looking

Head down to the Kapinski. Is on the beach road, in ajman. Probly nicest place nearby if you wish to have a drink. For the club, SHARJAH WANDERERS SPORTS CLUB I am not active in this but I know others who have been and were quite happy with the group. It will help your outdoorsy itch to get involved.

Most my friends are reef aquarium friends overall. I met them because they either joined masuae.org or I have happened along them and they had a tank, involved with something marine related, or some other addict along those lines. I am a biologist by education and live and breath marine aquatics in general

As much as I hate to admit it, but being blonde and exotic to locals has landed me the opportunity to talk to many locals. 99% of them were douches up to no good, but every once in a while, I come across a normal local/gcc/arabic/long time uae resident who thinks or pretends is local/etc. Everyone that I have ended up becoming friends with, has been educated in the usa/europe/uk. If not, then they will not have a good mentality about women and being friends only. As far as being able to tell who is a local, who is saudi, who is kuwait, it is good to just learn the basics of the kandoras and foot wear. For an example, Saudis have sleeves with cuffs and buttons and they tend to wear black actual shoes, not the sandals that you will see other gcc natives wearing.If you do a goodle search, am sure will come up.

I guess its what you want out of the experience. I decided quickly enough that because I dont really drink, western expats lifestyle of bars and clubs and fancy restaurants wasnt for me, and dove into my marine aquarium group to stay busy and sought out different people/cultures. As much as I dislike dubai and overall the uae, I have gotten to experience lots of different cultures and seen so many strange things that maybe the experience was worth it

uae_newbie · #8 (**permalink**) 8th August 2012, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jynxgirl

Are you a guy or a girl? Sharjah is pretty segregated of the sexes, unless you stick with the western specific club there. There is a large skating ice rink in the womens club, has its own beach and other activities. If you are a woman, that I do highly recommend you check out. There is of course the qasba (the sharjah 'eye' ferris wheel) area but that is something to do with a few friends (and once cooler). It does have nice enough restaurants to go to as well for some interesting people watching. For walking about, I do like the khaleed lagoon/corniche area more so then the sharjah corniche beach road area. There are less men standing about just staring at you in the lagoon/corniche area. It tends to be families. Aljazeera park also is an area to have a look around once it cools off, but still good for evenings to have a walk around. I am a marine life addict so the sharjah aquarium is on the list of things in sharjah. Green Belt park is just for ladies and sometimes has activities planned there. Something you will have to check into. I only get taken there as my friends live in sharjah and know when stuff is going on so just tell me when to come. I wouldnt suggest going hiking out and about in the desert alone, only with a group. If you go are wanting to do the dune bashing, just drive out on the roads towards rak or fujeirah, and soon enough you will see the one of the outfitters on the side of the road after leaving the city. You can also do quad bike riding out in kalba. Do a search on the net and the directions should pop up as that is a specific area. If you want nicer beaches/water, then a trip out to the east coast sharjah territory is recommended. Once it coosl down, going to the waddis up in the mountains for a swim is always nice. Take your passport as a trip up to dibba in the oman terrirtory is well worth it for their clean water and fijords. You will find kayaking out there is a bit better as well. You can rent at the hotels. Am sure there are other places, but those are the places I know have kayaks.

I do hope you have a vehicle. Sharjah isnt the type of place I would wish to be stuck in, without a vehicle. As well, make friends with some of the locals. They are always up to something and they will keep you very very busy. They are usually pretty nice if you tell them you are new, trying to find things to do.

That was really helpfull, I will be flying to Sharjah next week hope to catch up with some people and make some friends there.

Italia06 · #9 (**permalink**) 9th August 2012, 12:58 PM

Jynxgirl, thank you so much for all this info. It gives me some hope!

I'm going to send you a private message, hope you don't mind.

Skywalker76 · #10 (**permalink**) 15th October 2012, 07:55 AM

Hello, I'm new to this forum, but I am an american expat who's been here in the UAE for almost 10 yrs now. And 90% of that has been in sharjah. If you have a family, or enjoy walking in the park, there are many nice parks away from the main part of the city or "city centre" as they call it. You have to go to the villa neighborhoods where mostly Emirates stay. there you will find very nice parks with grass and places to sit. Also there is a ladies park called Greenbelt Park new the "cultural square" or otherwise known as the book roundabout/kitaab round about near airport road.

If you like museums then there are a few new the old souq in rolla and majaara. And since the weather is getting cooler there will be some festivals coming up soon. Other than that, its pretty much like the others said...jump in your car and check out Dubai. They have other activities there that are not related to shopping or going to places for "a drink" since not everyone is into that.