[Mandz84]

I'm just wondering if anyone here lives in Al Reef and can give a realistic outlook on what commute times are during rush hour? I don't have exact locations of where he will be working as its client based so I just assume in and around the city.

With our housing budget Al Reef appears to be the nicest and would be what we can afford for a 2/3 bed villa with shared pool/gym. I know it's far away, so hoping to get some feedback. Thanks

 

[Geke]

I'm just wondering if anyone here lives in Al Reef and can give a realistic outlook on what commute times are during rush hour? I don't have exact locations of where he will be working as its client based so I just assume in and around the city.

With our housing budget Al Reef appears to be the nicest and would be what we can afford for a 2/3 bed villa with shared pool/gym. I know it's far away, so hoping to get some feedback. Thanks

Al reef is quite far out but if you use the Sadiyaat highway give yourself around 30 to 45min to the Corniche, its not too busy a route but can get a bit slow near the port, the other way is past the airport and during rush hour give yourself an hour, its not bad for Dubai though, so 45min to 1.5hrs depending on which part of Dubai

 

[Mandz84]

Al reef is quite far out but if you use the Sadiyaat highway give yourself around 30 to 45min to the Corniche, its not too busy a route but can get a bit slow near the port, the other way is past the airport and during rush hour give yourself an hour, its not bad for Dubai though, so 45min to 1.5hrs depending on which part of Dubai

Thanks for that! He is only working in AD as far as I know. He wont want to be sitting in traffic for 3 hours every single day.

 

[Teacherofscience]

I'm also interested in Al Reef for the same reasons. The Head says it is a good distance from the school but it looks quite a hike on the map (Al Yasmina). What are the local facilities like? I have come across several forums that talk of lots of unfinished projects in the area.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Geke]

TBH it is unfinished and not a lot there, you can get a nice villa in Khalifa (A) where Al yasmina is for similar money if you dont want to live on a compound. Many expats live in Khalifa.

 

[Mandz84]

TBH it is unfinished and not a lot there, you can get a nice villa in Khalifa (A) where Al yasmina is for similar money if you dont want to live on a compound. Many expats live in Khalifa.

Is khalifa more freestanding villas though? I haven't seen much in khalifa area online with amenities like pool/ gym. We also need to live near schools but want to have gym/pool for use if possible.

 

[Geke]

Khalifa has a lot of small compound say 6 villas some with there own pool, there are also larger compounds with communal pool and gym. Many landlords rent direct so its best to drive around and you see signs 'villas for rent' and a phone number, also you can look in Abu Dhabi Week magazine. Al Yasmina and the new Gems American school are in Khalifa.

 

[Teacherofscience]

Sounds brilliant. Thanks.

 

[Ausee76]

Hi All,

Can any one give me his / her comments on Al Reef Vills?

I Have recently been offered a job in Abu Dhabi and I believe I will be working close to the Abu Dhabi International Airport. I plan to rent a 3 bed villa. my company has offered Housing of Dhr 140,000 year. I will be interested to know any other good areas with villas within my budget.

Also would like to know some important tips for renting a property in Abu Dhabi.

 

[Chiryu]

Hi All,

Can any one give me his / her comments on Al Reef Vills?

I Have recently been offered a job in Abu Dhabi and I believe I will be working close to the Abu Dhabi International Airport. I plan to rent a 3 bed villa. my company has offered Housing of Dhr 140,000 year. I will be interested to know any other good areas with villas within my budget.

Also would like to know some important tips for renting a property in Abu Dhabi.

I've had a 3 bed at Al Reef. Which village are you looking at? Desert and Arabian have pool/gym open. As of last month Mediterranean didn't and contemporary is way off. But you can use any, so if you live in contemporary you can use Arabian etc.

Al reef is good for us as we have 2 kids. It's nice and quiet. Lots of kids play out in the street here which is also good.

If you working near airport it's good location. But if your single bear it in mind closest pub is probably Al Ghazal golf club, Raha hotel or down to Yas Island.

If your set on villas check out khalifa A as well. Closer to Yas and raha, quite close to airport.

If not set on a Villa There's also Al Raha apartments, for your budget I'm not sure how many bedrooms you'd get. Need to check dubizzle, or propertyfinder maybe. See what's available.

Are your company providing temporary accommodation when you arrive?

My tips for renting are :

Remain calm - a lot of agents are useless. There's a never ending supply of people looking so they tend to not return calls/emails etc.

So pester.

If you see something on dubizzle etc ALWAYS go for a good look. Properties are rarely what they seem. I.e look nice on dubizzle, when you arrive you wouldn't let a dog die there.

All depends what you want. As has been said above, some places in khalifa are in compounds so can get pool access.

That's about extent of my knowledge though. So hopefully others will add!

 

[Ausee76]

I've had a 3 bed at Al Reef. Which village are you looking at? Desert and Arabian have pool/gym open. As of last month Mediterranean didn't and contemporary is way off. But you can use any, so if you live in contemporary you can use Arabian etc.

Al reef is good for us as we have 2 kids. It's nice and quiet. Lots of kids play out in the street here which is also good.

If you working near airport it's good location. But if your single bear it in mind closest pub is probably Al Ghazal golf club, Raha hotel or down to Yas Island.

If your set on villas check out khalifa A as well. Closer to Yas and raha, quite close to airport.

If not set on a Villa There's also Al Raha apartments, for your budget I'm not sure how many bedrooms you'd get. Need to check dubizzle, or propertyfinder maybe. See what's available.

Are your company providing temporary accommodation when you arrive?

My tips for renting are :

Remain calm - a lot of agents are useless. There's a never ending supply of people looking so they tend to not return calls/emails etc.

So pester.

If you see something on dubizzle etc ALWAYS go for a good look. Properties are rarely what they seem. I.e look nice on dubizzle, when you arrive you wouldn't let a dog die there.

All depends what you want. As has been said above, some places in khalifa are in compounds so can get pool access.

That's about extent of my knowledge though. So hopefully others will add!

Thanks Chiryu,

At this stage i am still in Australia. Looking to move in Feb or March 2013.
My requirement is 3 bed Villa. I have two Kids as well Both boys and age 3 and 2 months.

I was looking at the plan of 3 bed villa in Al Reef ... really liked it. do most Expats live there? I am also planning to have a maid to look after the house and kids so that my wife can get some free time. But the 3 bed Villa plan didn't show any Maid room.

Your advice was very useful. please tell me is there a fee for the agent as well? whats the usual deposit % to start the lease? I have heard that the landloard ask for a year's rent stright up. Is it possible to arrange payment of rent monthly?

regards

 

[Chiryu]

Thanks Chiryu,

At this stage i am still in Australia. Looking to move in Feb or March 2013.
My requirement is 3 bed Villa. I have two Kids as well Both boys and age 3 and 2 months.

I was looking at the plan of 3 bed villa in Al Reef ... really liked it. do most Expats live there? I am also planning to have a maid to look after the house and kids so that my wife can get some free time. But the 3 bed Villa plan didn't show any Maid room.

Your advice was very useful. please tell me is there a fee for the agent as well? whats the usual deposit % to start the lease? I have heard that the landloard ask for a year's rent stright up. Is it possible to arrange payment of rent monthly?

regards

What type of accommodation allowance is your employer giving? Most will pay the rent for you if you have negotiated this into your package. I've heard of some more stingy employers offering loans, where they pay the year rent and then deduct it back from employee wages.

But in short. Yes. It's for the year. You won't get a monthly on al reef. There are few monthly. They tend to be furnished and seems to me more like holiday type rentals. I might be wrong. But I've never seen a decent looking monthly rental.

You can sometimes negotiate into 2 cheques, I.e you give one cheque plus another post dated cheque that they cash 6 months later. You tend to get things a little cheaper if you pay in 1 cheque. As in, could be 130000 two cheques, 125,000 one cheque.

You would get away with using the top floor as maids room if your boys room together. Mine do, we just had a spare room. You can also get live out maids.

Agent fees can vary. In general I've seen fees around 4000-5000dhs for agent. Then deposit is around 5000dhs.

I've just moved to another part of al reef and we paid 5000 agent and 5000 deposit.

Have you looked at 4 beds? They're at about 145k at the minute but fluctuate so worth keeping an eye on.

If there's anything else I can help with I'll do my best but I'm still considered a newbie myself!

Let me know when your here though. My boys are 1 and 2, if your wife's looking to get out and about I'm happy to meet up.

 

[Chiryu]

Edit last post.


I re read your original post. If your company is offering housing allowance they should arrange the cheque. My husband takes the offer of lease to work, they issue cheque. Then he gives it to the agent.

So I wouldn't worry about the year upfront thing.

Your hr should help you out with that.

 

[Ausee76]

What type of accommodation allowance is your employer giving? Most will pay the rent for you if you have negotiated this into your package. I've heard of some more stingy employers offering loans, where they pay the year rent and then deduct it back from employee wages.

But in short. Yes. It's for the year. You won't get a monthly on al reef. There are few monthly. They tend to be furnished and seems to me more like holiday type rentals. I might be wrong. But I've never seen a decent looking monthly rental.

You can sometimes negotiate into 2 cheques, I.e you give one cheque plus another post dated cheque that they cash 6 months later. You tend to get things a little cheaper if you pay in 1 cheque. As in, could be 130000 two cheques, 125,000 one cheque.

You would get away with using the top floor as maids room if your boys room together. Mine do, we just had a spare room. You can also get live out maids.

Agent fees can vary. In general I've seen fees around 4000-5000dhs for agent. Then deposit is around 5000dhs.

I've just moved to another part of al reef and we paid 5000 agent and 5000 deposit.

Have you looked at 4 beds? They're at about 145k at the minute but fluctuate so worth keeping an eye on.

If there's anything else I can help with I'll do my best but I'm still considered a newbie myself!

Let me know when your here though. My boys are 1 and 2, if your wife's looking to get out and about I'm happy to meet up.

Thanks Chiryu,

to be honest the bedroom on the second floor is the best bedroom out of all three. living out maid seems like a better option.

I have just got the initial offer with the contract and I still have to neg and arrange terms of payment of the housing and Kid's education allowance. I think getting a loan from the company and getting it deducted monthly is a better option and will work on that. As I have also heard that the Law there is very strict and if for any reason the check is bounced its very serious.

I have looked at the 4 bed Villas as well and i liked them. specially I liked the bed room on the ground floor can be perfect for the maid. and the price difference is not much eigther. I have sent an email to the Pink property agents letting them know about my plans and asking them for their assistance. are there any other good ones for the Al Reef?

Do you send your 2 year old to any day care or early learning centre? We are planning to start our 3 year old at school and would be looking for some good ones. my company is giving me Dhr 25,000 year for primary education each. I plan to get this allowance up to 37,000 / year from the company as well.

Sure My wife would love to meet up. As we wont be knowing any one in Abu Dhabi "Friends" is what we are planning to make so that we can have a good time there.

I really appreciate your advices and help. How would I contact you once i get there? Do you check your blogs regularly?

regards

 

[Chiryu]

I'm always logged into here cos its just iPhone app. I get emailed if I get a message/reply to post etc.

If your company is going to give you allowance you should try and get this from them. Most companies will pay the housing on top of whatever else you get. Not sure who your working for but ask other employees if you can.

Eg if you were getting 25k a month wage, then you should get 140k for housing, 37k for education etc. but if you can negotiate it get it so they pay.

And not that they pay it then deduct it off your 25k if that makes any sense?!!?! I just read it and got a bit confused. It tends to be tighter employers that make you pay it back. Essentially your paying your own rent. Most good companies will pay your rent for you.

Like I said though. See if you can contact other employees. See what their policy is.

Neither are in nursery, I look after them full time but I'm hoping to go back to work. Even then I'm looking at a nanny as most nurseries are only open until 2pm here.

There is a group called Abu Dhabi mums, (hope that's not classed as advertising! I'm unsure of rules on that!lol)

They arrange meet ups for different age groups in the city etc. you can google them.

I'm hopefully going to start going there as well but been busy moving of late and haven't got round to it.

There's normally other children around the pools too for socialising. I'm sure I saw a woman doing swimming lessons for babies as well. That might be a good way for your wife to make friends. I'm assuming your youngest will be around 6-7 months when you come? Trying to remember what you said in original post.

 

[Chiryu]

Oh and I never had a good experience with Pink Properties so tread carefully.

Saying that. They're all pretty rubbish.

On al reef there's;

pink properties
Property shop investment
Nationwide property
Llj property
Gravity ?? Something like that.

Probably more but they're main ones I've come across.

 

[Ausee76]

I'm always logged into here cos its just iPhone app. I get emailed if I get a message/reply to post etc.

If your company is going to give you allowance you should try and get this from them. Most companies will pay the housing on top of whatever else you get. Not sure who your working for but ask other employees if you can.

Eg if you were getting 25k a month wage, then you should get 140k for housing, 37k for education etc. but if you can negotiate it get it so they pay.

And not that they pay it then deduct it off your 25k if that makes any sense?!!?! I just read it and got a bit confused. It tends to be tighter employers that make you pay it back. Essentially your paying your own rent. Most good companies will pay your rent for you.

Like I said though. See if you can contact other employees. See what their policy is.

Neither are in nursery, I look after them full time but I'm hoping to go back to work. Even then I'm looking at a nanny as most nurseries are only open until 2pm here.

There is a group called Abu Dhabi mums, (hope that's not classed as advertising! I'm unsure of rules on that!lol)

They arrange meet ups for different age groups in the city etc. you can google them.

I'm hopefully going to start going there as well but been busy moving of late and haven't got round to it.

There's normally other children around the pools too for socialising. I'm sure I saw a woman doing swimming lessons for babies as well. That might be a good way for your wife to make friends. I'm assuming your youngest will be around 6-7 months when you come? Trying to remember what you said in original post.

I am joining AMMROC. Its a subsidiary of Mubadala. Provides Manitenance to UAE defence forces , Airforce equiptments . I am joining them as a Chief Procurement Officer.

I will surely let my wife know about Abu Dhabi Mums. thats a great tip. And I am sure we will meet other ppl there as well. like you said at the pool and etc.

Please tell me whats this App called? I will get that on my phone as well. I wonder if Android has that App.

If i come in Feb my youngest would be 4 months old than.

 

[Chiryu]

It's just the expat forum app. I have iPhone so not sure about android.

There's other things to do family wise too. There's family friendly brunches. Stars and bars at Yas marina do a family fun day on Saturdays. If they're still doing it. They give out toys to the kids and do face painting and things. You can send them off while the adults have a drink!

 

[Ausee76]

It's just the expat forum app. I have iPhone so not sure about android.

There's other things to do family wise too. There's family friendly brunches. Stars and bars at Yas marina do a family fun day on Saturdays. If they're still doing it. They give out toys to the kids and do face painting and things. You can send them off while the adults have a drink!

Just got the app on my phone.

May i know how long have you been living in Abu Dhabi? and what you use to do for living?

 

[Chiryu]

Just got the app on my phone.

May i know how long have you been living in Abu Dhabi? and what you use to do for living?

I've been here 5 months. Husband here 14 months. He's in heavy industry and I'm from a government administration background.

One thing, it can drive you crazy this place so bring bucket loads of patience!