Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Working in Dubai

I moved to abu dhabi recently, but its so hard to find proper accommodation here, add to that its crazly expensive. so I started thinking of living in dubai and travel daily here. is that right thing to do? Im so confused.

No ways! I go to AD once or twice in a month or two. It gets crazy everytime i reach jebal ali (while returning back to dubai).

believe me you wouldnt have time for yourself + the petrol expenses (thats if you are paying from your pocket) + the back ache and stiff legs you would have driving everyday.

Depends where you work and where you live. I live in the Marina and work in Shahama so it's actually workable for me. Depending on speed it takes me 40-50 mins to get to work (speeding obviously: 140 Dubai, 150-160 Abu Dhabi). A little longer to get home 'cos of the Jebal Ali traffic.

If you work just on the island it might be an option. Working in Downtown Abu Dhabi would probably not be worth it because traffic would drive you nuts.

That said, I didn't like Abu Dhabi that much and, like you, found the prices there to be stupid compared to what you could get in Dubai, especially quality wise. I love living where I do now. There are also apparently some nice places slightly closer to Abu Dhabi, like [What-Ever-It's-Called] behind Ibn Batutta mall. My friend just got a huge 1 bedroom there for 110K.

To expand on the Jebal Abi effect. When you hit there coming into Dubai all the traffic hitting SZR jams everything up. But, it really varies depending on time. Before 5 is good, 5-6 gets pretty heavy and after 6 is parking lot time. The strange thing is it all starts flowing again when you hit the buildings of the Marina/JTL area. I get off at the Marina turn-off so I'm not sure how long it is clear for.

It get's pretty shit if you have to work late and don't get there until 6:30 or something.

the captain is right,. stay on the edge of Dubai and the travel to Abu Dhabi is not that much of an issue.

Live near DXB airport but have worked adj AUH Airport and now in Mussafah Ind estate and have been doing this trip for 2.5 years!

Takes me 1hr 10-15mins to get to to work in the mornings, a fair bit longer to get home, unless I go to the gym at Ibn Batuta first

Its circa 310km round trip.

yorky500 wrote:Live near DXB airport but have worked adj AUH Airport and now in Mussafah Ind estate and have been doing this trip for 2.5 years!

Takes me 1hr 10-15mins to get to to work in the mornings, a fair bit longer to get home, unless I go to the gym at Ibn Batuta first

Its circa 310km round trip.

Don't you get sick and tired of this commuting each day? I would. Unless there is a view to kill for...but I reckon' its only desert

How do keep up?

RobbyG wrote:

yorky500 wrote:Live near DXB airport but have worked adj AUH Airport and now in Mussafah Ind estate and have been doing this trip for 2.5 years!

Takes me 1hr 10-15mins to get to to work in the mornings, a fair bit longer to get home, unless I go to the gym at Ibn Batuta first

Its circa 310km round trip.

Don't you get sick and tired of this commuting each day? I would. Unless there is a view to kill for...but I reckon' its only desert

How do keep up?

Not really. I find I can plan my day ahead when driving to work, plus my style of driving does not allow one to relax for too long Coming home can be a bit of a drag though.

I have noticed a massive increase in the traffic on the road from Jebal Ali to AUH over the last 2.5 years. Many people live in JA as they are unable to afford/find places in AUH.

yorky500 wrote:

RobbyG wrote:

yorky500 wrote:Live near DXB airport but have worked adj AUH Airport and now in Mussafah Ind estate and have been doing this trip for 2.5 years!

Takes me 1hr 10-15mins to get to to work in the mornings, a fair bit longer to get home, unless I go to the gym at Ibn Batuta first

Its circa 310km round trip.

Don't you get sick and tired of this commuting each day? I would. Unless there is a view to kill for...but I reckon' its only desert

How do keep up?

Not really. I find I can plan my day ahead when driving to work, plus my style of driving does not allow one to relax for too long Coming home can be a bit of a drag though.

Does this mean, you get a lot of speeding tickets...

RobbyG wrote:

yorky500 wrote:

RobbyG wrote:

yorky500 wrote:Live near DXB airport but have worked adj AUH Airport and now in Mussafah Ind estate and have been doing this trip for 2.5 years!

Takes me 1hr 10-15mins to get to to work in the mornings, a fair bit longer to get home, unless I go to the gym at Ibn Batuta first

Its circa 310km round trip.

Don't you get sick and tired of this commuting each day? I would. Unless there is a view to kill for...but I reckon' its only desert

How do keep up?

Not really. I find I can plan my day ahead when driving to work, plus my style of driving does not allow one to relax for too long Coming home can be a bit of a drag though.

Does this mean, you get a lot of speeding tickets...

Actually none. I know where all the camera's are, I guess you can say it is a shortish sprint between them however, I am not like the rest of the morons that slam on their anchors when they see it, I know when I am coming up to one, so I lift my foot off the pedal so that when I pass the camera, my speed is just under the 160, then its back on the gas.

The only time it gets scary is when there is fog!

What!! do camera's in UAE 'outer roads' only sparkle from 160km/h and above?

Thats nice. Here in Holland we got to many of them all going around 50 or 80 km/h. On the highway, you may clap your hands with max. 120-130 before the camera flashes your azz.

160 is allowed?

RobbyG wrote:What!! do camera's in UAE 'outer roads' only sparkle from 160km/h and above?

Thats nice. Here in Holland we got to many of them all going around 50 or 80 km/h. On the highway, you may clap your hands with max. 120-130 before the camera flashes your azz.

160 is allowed?

160 (or for some 159) km/h is the max speed allowed in the emirate of Abu Dhabi on Freeways/Highways. It's signposted 120, but camera's only flash at 161.

It is the accepted norm that camera's only flash when you are 21km/h and above over the stated speed limit, there are however, exceptions with in Dubai where if it states 70, it means max 70!

yorky500 wrote:

RobbyG wrote:What!! do camera's in UAE 'outer roads' only sparkle from 160km/h and above?

Thats nice. Here in Holland we got to many of them all going around 50 or 80 km/h. On the highway, you may clap your hands with max. 120-130 before the camera flashes your azz.

160 is allowed?

160 (or for some 159) km/h is the max speed allowed in the emirate of Abu Dhabi on Freeways/Highways. It's signposted 120, but camera's only flash at 161.

It is the accepted norm that camera's only flash when you are 21km/h and above over the stated speed limit, there are however, exceptions with in Dubai where if it states 70, it means max 70!

Thanks for that enrichment.
Nice margin, 21 km/h for highways.
Better than with us in Holland. Margin of 3 km/h (GPS measured) which equals 7km/h on the clock in your car.

yorky500 wrote:

RobbyG wrote:

yorky500 wrote:

RobbyG wrote:

yorky500 wrote:Live near DXB airport but have worked adj AUH Airport and now in Mussafah Ind estate and have been doing this trip for 2.5 years!

Takes me 1hr 10-15mins to get to to work in the mornings, a fair bit longer to get home, unless I go to the gym at Ibn Batuta first

Its circa 310km round trip.

Don't you get sick and tired of this commuting each day? I would. Unless there is a view to kill for...but I reckon' its only desert

How do keep up?

Not really. I find I can plan my day ahead when driving to work, plus my style of driving does not allow one to relax for too long Coming home can be a bit of a drag though.

Does this mean, you get a lot of speeding tickets...

Actually none. I know where all the camera's are, I guess you can say it is a shortish sprint between them however, I am not like the rest of the morons that slam on their anchors when they see it, I know when I am coming up to one, so I lift my foot off the pedal so that when I pass the camera, my speed is just under the 160, then its back on the gas.

The only time it gets scary is when there is fog!

Yorks, you sound dangerous

izzit still 160 there?

what about the pole cameras!!!!!

to answer the orignial post, i work in abu dhabi and live in dubai marina and its fine.

i wouldn't want to be living any further north than al barsha but driving for 90 mins each way per day isn't great, but its totally fine, just like anything you get used to it.

if you lived in london you'd could easily spend 2 / 3 hours commuting to work from your home each morning, and that'd be in traffic or on public transport.

if you have to drive for 90mins each way in yoru own car, at highway speeds then its no big deal, traffic is only bad at either end, and to be hoenst its nothing you can't handle / don't get used to.

plus if you work in abu dhabi you can negotiate Capital Emirate salary so you could well end up getting paid more for same job as you would in Dubai.

i'd definitely consider it.

ultimately, i wouldn't want to live in abu dhabi, but i'm happy to drive through there every day for work

sharfraz wrote:izzit still 160 there?

what about the pole cameras!!!!!

There are NO pole camera's on the AUH bit of tarmac.

Abu Dhabi has the craziest Taffic by far, the drive on the way there gives you a sign of it.

I took advanage of the old Dubai speed camera's on the dubai side.

But think it's a much better drive now 98% of the drives are doing just under 140 kph.

I've done inter-emirate travel on a daily basis for a few years. I'd rather do Dubai to Abu Dhabi return than Sharjah Dubai, or across Dubai. It helps if you live in Al Barsha, Dubai Marina, Jumeirah, Umm Suqeim. If you're starting from Deira, that will ba a pain, especially on your return journey. Having a good cruising car makes a big difference. Listen to audiobooks and time flies.

Mine starts from abu hail to abu dhabi - near mina zayd and back to abu hail.

Ah i hate the returning part.. always get off from AD at 5.30 , reach Jebal ali by 6 ..and then return home by 8 or 9 due to the traffic.


@Yorky i assume you stay in abu hail or in mamzar somewhere!

dears.
thank you all for the vital stories, the thing is that its so damn hard to find a flat here in abu dhabi from one side, and on the other its impossible to find a parking. i leave my office at 6:30 (i wish it was 5:30), reaching my building after 45 miutes, then i need 45 minutes more searching for a parking (and sometimes more). i heared many scary stories around here, you rent a flat (which is part of villa only) for not less than 90,000 dhs, and they can kick your butt any moment. no stable life at all. I even can't focus in my work cuz of that, but no one cares. tell me firends, is it possible to find a studio flat in barsha? and whats the rent ?

howdy wrote:is it possible to find a studio flat in barsha? and whats the rent ?

Yes, or Jumeirah Lake Towers, or Dubai Marina, or Discovery Gardens. Studio 60k-80k and probably dropping fast.

That's what turned me off Abu Dhabi. Paying all that money for an apartment and it doesn't even have parking?!? No thanks.

My apartment in Dubai has parking, pool, gym, sauna, ocean view, is clean, is walking distance to shops and more importantly several pubs. How much would you pay for that in Abu Dhabi, assuming you could even find it? 200K+ maybe.

I'll take the highway drive over the nightmarish parking search anyday. Plus parking on the street means your car WILL be bumped into lots.

Captain Australia wrote:

I'll take the highway drive over the nightmarish parking search anyday. Plus parking on the street means your car WILL be bumped into lots.

I find that happens more here in car parks than in streets