Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

[bence8810]

Hi

I am moving to Dubai with my wife and dog (Dachshund) later in May. We wont be able to afford a Villa as per our calculations, therefore all is left are apartments.

Could you please post your opinions about good places to move to with a dog? I was looking at Sports City with all the greenery, but it seems to be still a year from completion, and we need to move now. Things we are looking at are the Dubai Marina, Jumeriah Towers, etc.

My office is at Media City, so anything close would be preferred. Our limit is about 100k/year for a 1 bedroom in DHs.

Since its a small dog, too much exercise is not needed, but two daily walks is still a minimum for at least 30 minutes. If an area has no green places, or has but forbidden for dogs, we cannot really go there.

Thanks for any input, this is our last obstacle to overcome.

Cheers

Ben

[Chocoholic]

Well unfortunately Dubai really isn't very pet friendly. For an apartment, many buildings would require that you get written permission from the landlord to have the dog there. But seeing as it's only a little dog, I can't see you having many problems.

[Anteater]

Have you considered The Greens?

It is directly opposite Media City (across Sheikh Zayed Road).

And whilst out running in The Greens area there is plenty of dog poo to avoid!

[bence8810]

Hi

Thanks for all the input. Although we are picking up the poop at all times, what you say does indicate dogs being there often, which is good.

The Greens have Apartments also, or only villas?

Any other areas?

Thanks

Ben

[Anteater]

http://www.emaar.com/Developments/TheGreens/Index.asp

[bence8810]

Hi

Thanks, I checked for rentals for that property, and they are way overpriced for our budget. We are going to be able to spend maximum 100k/year.

I am looking at places on bhomes.com and they are much over 100k. Is there any other location to look for housing? I sent a message to one of the agents at bhomes, and she called me up this morning at 7AM , thinking I am already in Dubai....

Anyways, she said there will be also a 5% agent fee that is calculated from the annual rate of the rental, which is 5000DHs right upfront only for getting me the rental place. Are there any other hidden charges one faces in Dubai?

Thanks for any help, and some more suggested places for a dog would be great. Like I said, its a small dog, so a small patch of grass that allows dogs on is enough.

Best,

Ben

[bence8810]

Hi

I am still looking for the place. Is there any Green spots in Al Barsha? I am seeing a lot of properties there, and it seems my wife would be fine there in the beginning without a car even, as long as the dog can be kept happy on some greenery.

Any info related to Al Barsha?

Thanks

Ben

[sage & onion]

Hi

I am still looking for the place. Is there any Green spots in Al Barsha? I am seeing a lot of properties there, and it seems my wife would be fine there in the beginning without a car even, as long as the dog can be kept happy on some greenery.

Any info related to Al Barsha?

Thanks

Ben

Al Barsha may fit within your budget, however the whole place is under construction so not much greenery around at the moment.

[bence8810]

Just what I was afraid of.

Any other places with green patches?

Thanks,
Ben

[bence8810]

Hi,

I am coming over to Dubai for a 5 day visit, and will be looking for flats while there. I wont actually visit flats, just the areas to see which fits our requirements.

So far I am thinking on driving by the Greens, Springs, JBT area, Dubai Marina, Sports City.

Are there any other places I should consider visiting while having a dog in mind that needs to walk every day?

Thanks

Ben

[bence8810]

Hi
Just a quick report back, i am in Dubai currently looking around. I have seen only the Marina yet, and its an amazing place, kind of like a beach walk with stylish restaurants and a Hong Kong scenery. As much as I liked it, I don't feel this is the place for a family owning a dog. I walked to the beach at night just by Ritz Carlton and I did see a dog or two, but on the way there on the street, I saw nothing. The Shops there sell Dog food though ....
Anyways, not much of green fields there, its mostly paved or occupied by restaurant terraces.

Tomorrow I am off to the Springs, Greens and some other communities around town.

Please, if there is any suggestions, advise, as I only have 2 days to look around, then I will need to rent something blindly from Hungary.
Again, the budget is 100k/year for a 1 bedroom apt.

Thanks

Ben

[xty]

its a small dog, so a small patch of grass that allows dogs on is enough.

If I were the landlord or the neighbors of you, it's not about big or small, it's how frequent & loud the dog barks Think about a Pomerian, small but very noisy

There are not much greeneries in Dubai and there's too much construction at the moment. I think you should take a look a place (within your budget) near public parks (I'm not sure the rule if you can bring a dog to public park):

- Oud metha/healthcare city area near Creek Park
- Karama near Lulu supermarket (small park, but better than nothing)
- Old Pakistani Consulate area (Bur Dubai) near Creek
- Some areas in Deira

[alwayssuperstylin]

Dubai Green community where I live is by far the most dog friendly place in Dubai, excessive ammounts of grass and walk paths.

[M!]

Yepp but hard enough to find a stupid Studio for max 100K, cheapest by all meanings, the 1 Bedrooms a was looking for recently (Feb) were 115K to 125K, really crappy locations, next to the main entrance etc.

and Ben forget abt Springs, OK for Dogs but not for your budget. Times are over when you have been able to get a 2 Bedroom Villa for 130K.... but will come again when all this crap fall apart in two years ..... at latest

[bence8810]

Hi

Right, I did see the prices are a bit outrageous in the Green Community, although I like its location being farther away from the traffic problems.

However, as we have budget constraints, we cannot move there, neither to the Springs. I assume we are left with Marina, which isn't best for the dog, but at least we can walk her around.

Any places around the Marina where I can walk a dog? I have been there, but seen no real green patches, just dusty roads, or fancy walks where I am sure a dog is not appreciated.

Thanks

Ben

[Chocoholic]

Ben, I really hate to state the blindingly obvious, but we do live in the 'desert', there's lots of sandy areas for walknig dogs, but not a great deal of greenery, unless you can afford to live in one of those greened up communities.

I live in Mirdiff, no grass, but plenty of sand and dunes for running the pooches over.

In places live the Marina etc, you simply won't see people with dogs there, as there aren't any, or they're these tiny little dogs that get carried around in carriers and not actually walked.

You cannot take dogs into parks here or onto many of the beaches, it's very limited for our four legged friends, so unfortunately you might have to put up with pounding the pavement and get your pooch used to sand.

[bence8810]

Hi,

Thanks, you actually pointed out the obviuous which I should have known by now

Anyways, as for Mirdiff, I did visit the place the last time I was there, and I liked it except for the location. How long does it take you to drive to the office, and where is the office?

When I went there, it was a weekend day, with no traffic, and from Marina it took me 30 minutes,

Thanks a lot,

Ben

[Chocoholic]

Hi ben,

I work in Bur Dubai and it takes me about 20/30 mins to get to work, depending on traffic. For Media City from Mirdiff you'd obviously be heading down Emirates road where traffic can be a bit of a nightmare in the mornings, but it will be better once they've got rid of that stupid round-a-bout at Arabian ranches and sorted the fly over instead.

But it's always going to be a trade off I'm afraid, live near work and pay stupid money for rent, or drive a little and get something bigger and cheaper with more space. You have to weigh it up.

[bence8810]

Hi

I just wanted to get back to the topic and say how and where we ended up being.

We settled for a 1 bedroom flat in Greens, Dubai. They went for higher prices than what we were able to afford but then we found one for 100k which was the very highest tip of our budget limit, so we went for it.

Having been living in the greens for 3 weeks now, I can say its outstanding. The community is very nice, there are plenty of dogs to meet and play with. We can even go to a few cafe shops around with our dog, and they do nothing but welcome her to say and look around.

Very nice area for a dog. The flat itself is very small on the other hand, we barely fit with all our stuff, but again, the dog got priority, as always

Cheers, and thanks for all the help,

Ben

[C-Dog]

Hey there Ben,

I am too moving to Dubai in the next month and visitiong next weekend (Wednesday 9th July). I am luck in that I have a slightly higher budget than you had when you made the move, but I have two 30 kg Labradors!

Yep a sucker for punishment.

In your travels, what can you suggest for a budget around 250,000AED a year?
I will arrive permanently in september but wish to get a "heads up" for my arrival next week.

Ideally we think maybe around the Springs but what prices have you found on the Palm? Arabian Ranches seem like a reasonable opportunity.

Please help as websites seem somewhat limited when it comes to promoting locations of properties.

What about the islands just behind the marina? and what website was most useful? bhomes.com?

Thanks very much

C-Dog

[bence8810]

Dear C-dog,

Your dogs will definitely require something more than what ours required, but again, your options are broader by the budget.

I have been to all the places you mention, and as for living, I prefer the Arabian Ranches, however it has its shortcomings. Traffic is massive in the morning, as there is a roundabout at the corner of it, and you need to get through that unless your work place will be in the Downtown area, or Airport Free Zone. If you will commute to the Dubai Internet City or Media City, you will face the traffic. But this roundabout will be eliminated shortly by a proper interchange, due to be completed at the end of 2008.

As for Springs, its very close to the Dubai Internet City and Media City, but isnt as new as the Arabian Ranches, and isnt as classy. Although the Springs have a few neighbouring areas like the Meadows or Emirates Hills, but I am afraid they are a bit pricey.

I would outrule anything but a villa for you, so the areas around the Marina are not really good. The Palm is an option, but a very expensive one.

As for property finding, we used bhomes.com or net (cannot remember) and www.dubizzle.com and www.gnads4u.com (Gulf News)

Cheers, best of luck with the move,

Ben

[theories]

Sorry

[bence8810]

Sorry

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