[Hunnybunny]

Hello all,

I would just like to know a few more things about Mirdif (from those whom are in the know)

I will be living there in August 2012. It sounds residential and quiet. Having lived in sleepy Al Ain this would suit me down to the ground. I know there is some airport noise but being a very deep sleeper who has lived beside an airport for the last 3 years and has slept through a fire alarm in hotel this year (no I am not kidding which is a bit worrying) I am not too concerned about the airport.


1. Are there any beauty salons in the area? This would be a major plus if there are. What are prices like for a mani or pedi?

2. Transport and Taxis. Now transport is included to school so buying or renting a car for the weekends only seems a little excessive. In Al Ain I survived on taxis only (even though people couldn t understand how I did it). Normally I would hail them from the street. Is it like that in Mirdif or would I need to get some numbers.
The main places I would like to go to are the Jumeriah gardens (for the beach ), the Emirates mall occasionaly. How far would these places be and how much could you expect to pay by taxi? Taxis were more expensive in Dubai than Al Ain but I never paid more than 15-20 dh though I am quite far out this time.

Also more locally how much would it cost to do a 2 km trip to Mirdif city centre? It would only be during the height of the heat in August and September.

3. I have heard good things about the Dubai metro. The nearest stop to me would be Al Rahhyida (the airport I think). Would it be easiest to get a taxi there and get on the metro to most places. I think there is a metro stop near Jumeirah gardens. How about the Irish village? I haven t been able to locate that on a map at all.


4. Mirdif city centre. I got it into my head before I took the job that I had been to Mirdif before as I had been to Deira city centre. It took me a few weeks to realise that Mirdif and Deira city centre are two different malls but have the same logo and a similar name. I think thats why I got confused. What is Mirdif city centre like? Is it like Deira?

5. Festival city. This place is close to Mirdif and where I will be working. Is there much to do here? This might be a much more accesible and cheaper to access by taxi? I am not sure the area looks familiar and I may or may not have driven through. Dubai tends to confuse me

I will be travelling places with a friend who is coming with me so that will halve most taxi costs plus we will be living as a gang of teachers in the flats so I am sure there will be some car pooling and sharing.


6. One thing I am scared of and it was a big problem in Al Ain is cockroaches. I asked for an appartment on the top floor (there are less chance of cockroaches). I lived on the bottom floor in Al Ain and was tormented by the horrible creatures. Often when I woke up and went into take a shower one scuttled across the floor resulting in me screaming the place down. My flat was spotless and I bleached the floors weekly. I used sprays and powder nothing seemed to deter the horrible creatures. Yet my friend above whose appartment was incredible messy never got one. Are cockroaches a big problem for people here?

7. Walking. I absolutely love to walk. As soon as September ends I ll be putting on the walking shoes and getting out and about. From what I can gather the Arabian centre and Mirdif are walking distance (1-2km) so that will be one place to walk to. There are also two parks nearby. Now in Al Ain people though I was insane for walking as much as I did. Lots of cars would stop (all driven by men) and try to get me to take a lift. It was never agressive and usually a simple nod of the head would make them leave. Would it be similar in Mirdif?

8. Lastly are there any tailors in the Mirdif area?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[zin]

1. Uptown Mirdiff and Mirdiff City Center have all these, not sure on pricing.

2. Mirdiff City Center pretty much has everything the MOE has bar a ski slope. There are plenty of taxi companies in Dubai and once you register with one in all likelihood they will send one to you from nearby (e.g. the mall) so you should be fine.

Minimum taxi fare is 10 AED so expect to pay that. Taxi to MOE will be upwards of 50 dirhams.

3. GGICO is the Irish Village metro I believe, it will probably cost you roughly 15 dirhams to go to Rashidiya metro station, you may as well stay in a taxi and go all the way to Irish Village, only a few dirhams more and less hassle.

4. Mirdiff City Center is one of the bigger ones (and in my opinion better ones) I believe it's the same company that has Deira City Center and Mall of Emirates. Much better than Deira City Center in my opinion.

5. Festival City is just another mall albeit with a big IKEA and a nice waterfront with decent restaurants. It really will be a case of seeing if you like it. It's a short trip from Mirdiff City Center, again maybe 15-20 dirhams by taxi.

6. What's a cockroach to you? How big? We had little small ones crawling around but we got the landlord to fumigate a couple of times and we've not had them since.

7. You can walk in Mirdiff, just don't expect it to be an interesting walk

8. Not sure, but would be surprised if not.

Sorry for the short replies, tired and heading to sleep.

 

[Mr Rossi]

"City Centre" is just the branding given to the malls owned by Al Futtaim, though they are fairly similar in that they all have a Carre Four, Magic Planet etc. Deira City Centre is Dubai's most successful mall.

 

[Hunnybunny]

i.

6. What's a cockroach to you? How big? We had little small ones crawling around but we got the landlord to fumigate a couple of times and we've not had them since.

Sorry for the short replies, tired and heading to sleep.

Thanks for that info. I am quite interested in using the metro for the longer trips like to the palm and MOE. I think you can connect from where I am by bus to Rashiyada. That would be an adventure but it does seem like westerners are using public transport so hopefully I won t stand out a mile. In fact I love metros and this one does look pretty cool to use. Very modern looking.

As for cockroaches, well these Al Ain cockroaches were the BIGGEST I had ever seen in my life 2-3 inches long, fat and horribly indestructible. I sprayed cockroach spray, covered it in bleach, bashed it with a broom, somehow with a piece of paper threw it down the toilet and it was STILL moving
I heard that if you crush them, they lay eggs So I bleached the floors regularly never saw any babies though. Ooooh they were the bane of my life in Al Ain. I was on constant cockroach alert. They also only seemed to emerge when I was alone!

 

[ibkiss]

As for cockroaches, well these Al Ain cockroaches were the BIGGEST I had ever seen in my life 2-3 inches long, fat and horribly indestructible. I sprayed cockroach spray, covered it in bleach, bashed it with a broom, somehow with a piece of paper threw it down the toilet and it was STILL moving
I heard that if you crush them, they lay eggs So I bleached the floors regularly never saw any babies though. Ooooh they were the bane of my life in Al Ain. I was on constant cockroach alert. They also only seemed to emerge when I was alone!

... Quite a pretty entertaining roach story ! haha

 

[Hunnybunny]

... Quite a pretty entertaining roach story ! haha

I do get quite animated talking about them. I literally declared war on them in Al Ain. That said I heard cockroaches are strong enough to survive bombings and apparently through evolution they are developing the capacity to fly (my nightmares come to life ). Well lets hope i get that appartment on the top floor then.

 

[Barbalee]

1. Are there any beauty salons in the area? This would be a major plus if there are. What are prices like for a mani or pedi?

I just got a shellac mani/pedi at Mirdif City Center for 300 DHS. There are many salons sround Mirdif.

2. Transport and Taxis.

Taxis are easy to hail around Mirdif. If you pick one up at the airport, the flag fare is 20, but elsewhere it's 10. There are many bus stops around Mirdif, and those all connect to the metro. I don't know about Irish Village, but at worst, you could pick up a taxi when you get off the metro.


4. Mirdif city centre.

A nice mall and fairly large. Almost anything you want/need can be found there. Arabian Center and Uptown are smaller but easy to get around. Between the three of them, no problem! Add Festival Center to the mix and there's not much else (well, a beach and a ski slope).

7. Walking.

There is a lot of walking and running around Mirdif. The parks in the area are nice, and even a walk to the mall isn't uncommon.

8. Lastly are there any tailors in the Mirdif area?

Yes. I only one of one, and I only used them for some clothing repair, but they did a fine job.

I live in Mirdif and have seen only two bugs in my apartment: a spider and an ant. Both met with ugly deaths and their cousins haven't tried to intimidate me yet!

 

[Tropicana]

"City Centre" is just the branding given to the malls owned by Al Futtaim, though they are fairly similar in that they all have a Carre Four, Magic Planet etc. Deira City Centre is Dubai's most successful mall.

Isnt it MOE?

For the OP, you will probably like Mirdiff CC better than Deira, firstly its cleaner and newer; its also less crowded as its not connected to a metro station, and the parking on the 2nd floor is a very nice spot for amateur enthusiasts of airplanes !

 

[zin]

Thanks for that info. I am quite interested in using the metro for the longer trips like to the palm and MOE. I think you can connect from where I am by bus to Rashiyada. That would be an adventure but it does seem like westerners are using public transport so hopefully I won t stand out a mile. In fact I love metros and this one does look pretty cool to use. Very modern looking.

As for cockroaches, well these Al Ain cockroaches were the BIGGEST I had ever seen in my life 2-3 inches long, fat and horribly indestructible. I sprayed cockroach spray, covered it in bleach, bashed it with a broom, somehow with a piece of paper threw it down the toilet and it was STILL moving
I heard that if you crush them, they lay eggs So I bleached the floors regularly never saw any babies though. Ooooh they were the bane of my life in Al Ain. I was on constant cockroach alert. They also only seemed to emerge when I was alone!

Yeah, no I've not seen the big ones in Dubai thankfully, we have them back home in Cyprus and I hate the ******s, especially the ones that fly!

I am almost 100% sure there is a bus from Mirdiff to Rashidiya station, it's very close by.

Keep in mind the metro takes about twice as long than taking a taxi to get anywhere. It's convinient but it's sloowwwww.

 

[samsexpat]

Merdif is so good, I have been there for the past 6 yrs. & I never leave that area. I've been in dubai for the past 14 yrs.

Anything close to ghoroob or the elementary uptown school west or east would feel big time the sound of planes.

If you go east to st 74 no sound at all. The same thing on the west wing, but definitely not close to Merdif city center.

When I send my car for service, I go to Rashida station in 15 dhs (taxi) then 13 dhs to DIC or palm. (metro)

Yes, last 1 yr so many places opened in Merdif. It made more alive. However, at 10 everything goes down .

Yes, a tailor is there, free delivery laundry services & uptown Merdif mall, u would luv it.

 

[TallyHo]

1. Are there any beauty salons in the area? This would be a major plus if there are. What are prices like for a mani or pedi?

No comment (male here) but there seems to be salons on every other block in Dubai so I'm sure you'll find something suitable for you.

2. Transport and Taxis. Now transport is included to school so buying or renting a car for the weekends only seems a little excessive. In Al Ain I survived on taxis only (even though people couldn t understand how I did it). Normally I would hail them from the street. Is it like that in Mirdif or would I need to get some numbers.
The main places I would like to go to are the Jumeriah gardens (for the beach ), the Emirates mall occasionaly. How far would these places be and how much could you expect to pay by taxi? Taxis were more expensive in Dubai than Al Ain but I never paid more than 15-20 dh though I am quite far out this time.

3. I have heard good things about the Dubai metro. The nearest stop to me would be Al Rahhyida (the airport I think). Would it be easiest to get a taxi there and get on the metro to most places. I think there is a metro stop near Jumeirah gardens. How about the Irish village? I haven t been able to locate that on a map at all.


Taxis are easy to get anywhere. Have the taxi phone number in your mobile phone and book one a half hour before you need it.

You can conceivably take public transit to the Mall of Emirates from Mirdiff, but it would be at least a hour's journey whereas taxis would be under half a hour. That said, there's no need to make the trek to MoE when you have Mirdiff City Centre.

Jumeirah Gardens was a mega-scale development project that would have seen the demolition of much of Jumeirah 1 and Satwa. It was cancelled. So not sure what you are referring to. Beaches include Jumeirah Beach Park and the public open beaches, which are not reachable by metro. Taxis are your best bet although it's possible to reach the beaches via bus if you don't mind a two hour journey and multiple transfers.

Taxis are reasonably cheap in Dubai. It's about 40 AED from the Greens to Dubai Mall, and I imagine the same is the case from Mirdiff. Mirdiff to Dubai Marina would be 100 AED or thereabouts. A taxi ride within Mirdiff would probably cost 10 AED.

On the whole it's unlikely you'll take the metro often because it's slow and doesn't go everywhere and sharing taxis with friends is inexpensive enough as it is. There's a reason why most westerners on metros are tourists, not locals. But if you are dedicated to public transport you can manage to surive using only the metro/bus.

4. Mirdif city centre. I got it into my head before I took the job that I had been to Mirdif before as I had been to Deira city centre. It took me a few weeks to realise that Mirdif and Deira city centre are two different malls but have the same logo and a similar name. I think thats why I got confused. What is Mirdif city centre like? Is it like Deira?

Mirdiff City Centre is much more upscale than Deira City Centre. It's big and airy whereas DCC is a bit cramped. Plenty of western expats in MCC, few in DCC except for the Russians. You won't go to DCC at all once you've seen MCC.

5. Festival city. This place is close to Mirdif and where I will be working. Is there much to do here? This might be a much more accesible and cheaper to access by taxi? I am not sure the area looks familiar and I may or may not have driven through. Dubai tends to confuse me

Festival City has Ikea and restaurants. The rest of the mall seems to be struggling as it's difficult to compete with Dubai Mall and Mirdiff City Centre. The mall would probably have died long ago if it wasn't for Ikea, but the area is fine as a place to work. Lots of dining options for lunches and post-work drinks at Belgian Beer Cafe.

I will be travelling places with a friend who is coming with me so that will halve most taxi costs plus we will be living as a gang of teachers in the flats so I am sure there will be some car pooling and sharing.

Yep. Sounds normal.

6. One thing I am scared of and it was a big problem in Al Ain is cockroaches. I asked for an appartment on the top floor (there are less chance of cockroaches). I lived on the bottom floor in Al Ain and was tormented by the horrible creatures. Often when I woke up and went into take a shower one scuttled across the floor resulting in me screaming the place down. My flat was spotless and I bleached the floors weekly. I used sprays and powder nothing seemed to deter the horrible creatures. Yet my friend above whose appartment was incredible messy never got one. Are cockroaches a big problem for people here?

Cockroaches are hit or miss. Had them in my villa. Never seen them in my current apartment. Apparently roach problems vary greatly from building to building depending on how the building was constructed. If the concrete wasn't properly dried during the construction process it greatly increases the odds of getting cockroaches, no matter how clean your habits are.

7. Walking. I absolutely love to walk. As soon as September ends I ll be putting on the walking shoes and getting out and about. From what I can gather the Arabian centre and Mirdif are walking distance (1-2km) so that will be one place to walk to. There are also two parks nearby. Now in Al Ain people though I was insane for walking as much as I did. Lots of cars would stop (all driven by men) and try to get me to take a lift. It was never agressive and usually a simple nod of the head would make them leave. Would it be similar in Mirdif?

You can walk around Mirdiff. Dubai still isn't a walker's town but you'll be fine.

8. Lastly are there any tailors in the Mirdif area?

Most tailors are in Satwa/Bur Dubai/Deira.

Thanks in advance for any replies![/QUOTE]

 

[Hunnybunny]

Taxis are easy to hail around Mirdif. If you pick one up at the airport, the flag fare is 20, but elsewhere it's 10. There are many bus stops around Mirdif, and those all connect to the metro. I don't know about Irish Village, but at worst, you could pick up a taxi when you get off the metro.

Yes I was thinking the metro would be good for days when I want to potter off on my own and dawdle about. In Al Ain I liked going off on my own quite a bit as living and working as a group of teachers in the same place can get rather stiffling. Otherwise sharing a taxi is fine!

A nice mall and fairly large. Almost anything you want/need can be found there. Arabian Center and Uptown are smaller but easy to get around. Between the three of them, no problem! Add Festival Center to the mix and there's not much else (well, a beach and a ski slope).

There is a beach in Festival city? I never knew that. Is it a public one?
I thought it was like a creek. Then again I could be getting confused . Is there only one Ikea in Dubai? As I had been to the Ikea and I remember a place with loads of canals? Am I talking about the same place

On that same note are there hotels in Festival city? For nightlife and that? That could be a nearer cheaper option if coming from Mirdif. There is an Intercon there yes?

Jumeirah Gardens was a mega-scale development project that would have seen the demolition of much of Jumeirah 1 and Satwa. It was cancelled. So not sure what you are referring to. Beaches include Jumeirah Beach Park and the public open beaches, which are not reachable by metro. Taxis are your best bet although it's possible to reach the beaches via bus if you don't mind a two hour journey and multiple transfers

Yes Jumeirah beach park is what I am refering to. I thought it was reachable just by looking at the metro. Just under a km walk from the station. In any case I would probably go with friends.

 

[Tropicana]

Yes Jumeirah beach park is what I am refering to. I thought it was reachable just by looking at the metro. Just under a km walk from the station. In any case I would probably go with friends.

Its definitely not under a km walk , more like 2-3 km from the nearest metro station...

 

[TallyHo]

Courtesy of google earth: 3.24km from the nearest metro station.

Its definitely not under a km walk , more like 2-3 km from the nearest metro station...

 

[Felixtoo2]

That will make for a nice stroll when the temps start hitting the 40`s!!

Not sure how noisey Al Ain Int Airport is but Dubai is now shifting 1000`s planes a day so it will be a bit more intrusive.

 

[Hunnybunny]

That will make for a nice stroll when the temps start hitting the 40`s!!

Not sure how noisey Al Ain Int Airport is but Dubai is now shifting 1000`s planes a day so it will be a bit more intrusive.

No where I lived is Hounslow and it was Heathrow next to me.
I would only start walking from October onwards when the temperatures dip. I have lived in the UAE before and I m not that mad!

 

[Felixtoo2]

And just how many movements are there at Heathrow after the 11.30pm night time curfew??

 

[Hunnybunny]

And just how many movements are there at Heathrow after the 11.30pm night time curfew??

I ve friends who live where I am going and they are not particularly bothered so I doubt I ll be. I have slept through fire alarms, noisy AC. Heathrow planes do start early in the morning but I got used to them.

Its definitely not under a km walk , more like 2-3 km from the nearest metro station...

The Gardens are not where I thought they were. Might be better off just going with a gang by taxi or car.

 

[ibkiss]

That will make for a nice stroll when the temps start hitting the 40`s!!

Not sure how noisey Al Ain Int Airport is but Dubai is now shifting 1000`s planes a day so it will be a bit more intrusive.

Oh yeah ... At 40s ,first dip at beach .... later on natural sweaty dip !! :tongue1:

 

[Hunnybunny]

Oh yeah ... At 40s ,first dip at beach .... later on natural sweaty dip !! :tongue1:

Don't think I ll set foot outside for the first two months except to go in the pool and back Oh yeah and work. Think October is the time for visitors somehow.....